Valley Voice Issue 4 - May 2011

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Tuggeranong Community Council Newsletter Issue 4: May 2011

Rates hardship, TCC tells MLAs

The Tuggeranong Community Council(TCC) has warned the ACT Governmentthat many Valley families face seriousfinancial hardship and the recent ACTBudget will only add to their woes.

Addressing the ACT Select Committeeon Estimates 2011-2012, TCC President,Darryl Johnston and Vice President, DugHolmes, described the Budget as bit of amixed bag. Mr. Johnston said while Tug-geranong residents would benefit fromCanberra wide initiatives announced inthe Budget and from capital projectstargeted to Tuggeranong residents thereal sting comes from an increase ingeneral rates.

He said for the second year in a row,Tuggeranong residents had been hit with

an average rate increase higher than anyother district in the ACT.

“Rates across the Valley will rise by anaverage of 5.5%. This is higher than the

consumer price index of 3.3% and higher than other parts of Canberra. The 5.5%average rate increase in Tuggeranongcompares to average rate rises of 2.82%in North Canberra, minus 0.16% in SouthCanberra, 2.81% in Woden Valley,

4.79% in Weston Creek, 3.98% in Bel-connen and 3.68% in Gungahlin,” Mr.Johnston told members of the SelectCommittee.

increases in general ratesare having a significant

impact on many Tuggeranong families

“Residents in my own suburb of Chis-holm will again suffer the largest rise of 7.45% or an additional $94 on their rates

bill. They are followed by Banks resi-dents with a 6.27% increase in their rates, Calwell and Isabella Plains on5.88% and Gowrie with an increase of 5.78%.”

He said this follows a higher than aver-age rate increase last year.

“In 2010 Tuggeranong ratepayers wereslugged an average increase of 6.57%.That was compared to 0.51% in SouthCanberra, 2.07% in North Canberra,2.99% in Gungahlin, 3.67% in WodenValley, 3.76% in Belconnen and 3.86%in Weston Creek.”

Mr. Johnston said the TCC is not theonly group concerned about rate in-creases. The ACT Ratepayers Associa-tion warned last year that; “Rates havebeen going up about 30% greater thanthe Consumer Price Index for the last four years.”

He said he is concerned the increases ingeneral rates are having a significantimpact on many Tuggeranong familiesand individuals who are already doing ittough with rises in their weekly grocerybills and forecasted interest rate rises.

“Charitable and social welfare organisa-tions in Tuggeranong are reporting sig-nificant increases in demand for their services from families and individualssuffering hardship. Not only those onwelfare but also those who are employed

and are still finding it difficult to makeends meet.”

“One major charitable organisation thatworks with the Tuggeranong community,St Vincent de Paul, has reported a 12%increase in demand for its services in thelast nine months. It also reports a 22%increase in the numbers of employedpeople seeking assistance.

“These are people, who despite working,are facing difficulty keeping up withrental and mortgage payments and the

general costs of living,” Mr. Johnstonsaid.

Continued on Pg 2

Tuggeranong Community Council Working with our community www.tuggcc.com Page 1



CONTENTS PAGE

Rates hardship, TCC tells MLAs 1

Budget costs families say Libs 2

TCC welcomes randomroadside drug testing 3

Valley university discussions 3

TCC meets to discuss roads 3

TCC farewell to Stanhope 4

Fed Budget pays off 4

Group centre review 4

Canberra seniors to have ownassembly 5

TCC members among honouredvolunteers 5

Govt aims to put tabs on tabbies 5

Canberra Airport readying for take off 6

Fears for aged residents 6

FaHCSIA grants open 6

Lynne takes the reins at C@W 7

News in Brief 7

Walking and cycling projects 7

Call for National Youth Week helpers 8

Learner driving defended 8

Molonglo Valley Forum 2 8

Can Tuggeranong make the transition? 9

How to tell you are an email junkie 10

Don‟t Forget 10


From Pg 1

“The level of assistance St Vincent dePaul provides for those Tuggeranongresidents in need has increased from

just over $90,000 in 2008/09 to $126,000in 2009/10,” Mr. Johnston said.

“Other charitable and community welfareorganisations tell a similar story. For example Communities@Work reports an

18% increase in the last 9 months in thenumber of individuals and families towhom it has provided emergency relief.This does not include the many peoplewho come to Communities@Work seek-ing assistance and have to be turnedaway and referred to other organisationsbecause they are already overstretched.”

“Meanwhile The Salvation Army expectsa 10 to 15% increase in demand for itsservices when it ramps up operations inthe Tuggeranong Valley,” Mr Johnstonadded.

TCC Vice President, Dug Holmes toldthe Select Committee the TCC, in asso-ciation with the Lanyon Valley Commu-nity Forum, had forwarded a Budgetsubmission to the ACT Government witha list of project needs for consideration.

“Among other things that submissionhad called for the establishment of afood cooperative and community cafe toprovide low cost food to the disadvan-taged, training and employment opportu-nities and community contact,” he said.

Mr. Holmes said the submission alsohighlighted the need for a library in theLanyon Valley based on the KingstonLibrary model.

The ACT Budget was released on 3 Mayand included new infrastructure spend-ing in Tuggeranong totalling more than$12.3m.

It included $6m for a pedestrian bridge atKambah linking the new Namadgi P-10school, $2.1m for a new multi-purposeIndoor community facility and Men‟s

Shed, $1.7m for workshop spaces at theHume Recovery Centre, a share of $1.1m for the restoration of the IsabellaPlains Sportsgrounds, $0.72m for designworks for the new Southern Cemetery atHume and $0.7m for design works for anew CIT learning centre in Tuggeranong.

Ongoing works announced in the Budgettotal $20m and include among other things; $3.7m for construction of Na-madgi P-10 school, $3.03m for the Erin-dale Centre Major Bus Station, $1.35mfor Park and Ride facilities at Erindale,

$1.49m for enhancement of the Tidbin-billa Sanctuary and Birragai Outdoor School and $0.5m for construction of theTuggeranong 55 Plus Club premises.

Budget costsfamilies say

LibsACT Leader of the Opposition, Zed Se-selja, used his Budget Reply Speech to

highlight, what he describes as, a dec-ade in which rates and taxes have dou-bled across the territory. In doing so hereleased his own Party‟s Cost of Livingstudy, called “ACT Labor vs the FamilyBudget”.

Mr Seselja said the budget is a battle-ground between the ACT Labor puttingtheir hands in Canberrans‟ pockets topay for their bills and Canberra familiestrying to pay theirs.

Mr Seselja said the ACT Labor govern-

ment talks about cost of living, but little inthis budget helps alleviate that pressure.“Today in my budget reply I provided acomprehensive analysis on the rise of the cost of living pressures on Canberrafamilies under the ACT Labor govern-ment. It shows that since Labor hascome to power taxation per capita hasrisen 94 percent. From $1,809 whenLabor came to office to an expected$3,505 per person in 2010-11. “Since Labor came to power in 2001property rates and charges grew by over 75 percent; rents have grown approxi-mately 68 percent; water prices havemore than doubled (163 percent); elec-tricity has increase by 75 percent; andparking fees for all day places in Civichave increased by 57 percent since July2001.”

Mr. Seselja said there is no bigger or better symbol of being completely out of touch than the decision to spend $430million on a new office building at a timewhen cost of living is biting more andmore households.

Meanwhile, Treasurer Katy Gallagher called on the Opposition Leader to setout a full, alternative budget.

“We have heard a lot of criticisms fromMr. Seselja but we haven't heard manyalternatives or suggestions about whathe would do if he had to deliver aBudget.

Ms. Gallagher said the 2011/12 ACTBudget is a responsible, targeted andmeasured approach to deliver morefrontline services and ease cost of living

pressures on thousands of Canberrahouseholds.

Sources: media releases




Brindabella, Joy Burch and BrendanSmyth.

The proposal has now been taken a stepfurther in separate discussions with theCEO of Canberra Institute of Technol-ogy, Adrian Marron and University of Canberra Vice Chancellor, Professor Stephen Parker.

More than 4,330 residents from the Tug-geranong Valley and surrounds are cur-

rently enrolled at universities in Can-berra.

There are approx 5,000 Valley residentsstudying at the various Canberra Instituteof Technology (CIT) campuses, includingthe Tuggeranong Learning Centre.

Meanwhile the ACT Government an-nounced in the recent Budget that$700,000 had been allocated to proceedwith the forward design for a new CITLearning Centre in Tuggeranong.

ACT Education Minister, Andrew Barr,said the new facility will support CIT‟sprovision of vocational education andtraining services to the Tuggeranongcommunity.

The Tuggeranong Community Council‟s(TCC) call to boost tertiary educationfacilities in the Valley appears to be gain-ing momentum.

The TCC called for the establishment of a combined technical college and univer-sity campus in the Tuggeranong Valleyin a motion passed at its April meeting.

After initial discussions with the former Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope, who saidthe proposal had merit, it has also beenraised in discussions with Members for

Valley university discussions

“Random, roadside drug testing hasbeen in operation in many other Austra-lian states for a number of years,” shesaid.

“I am pleased our efforts have paid off and we are now seeing the introductionof another measure that will work to-wards making our roads safer for all,” MsRyan added.

She said the TCC‟s argument was sup-ported by an online survey that showedthat more than half of all respondents(57%) said they knew someone who haddriven a vehicle while under the influ-ence of illicit drugs.

“Meanwhile, 73% of respondents saidthey were concerned or very concernedabout drug driving and 60% said theysupported random roadside drug testing

in the ACT.”

ACT Traffic Operations Officer-in-Charge, Sergeant Jeff Knight said thatrandom roadside drug testing will berolled out gradually, with the view to con-duct drug testing in similar ways to drinkdriving operations.

“This is the first time motorists in theACT will be subjected to random road-side drug testing,” Sergeant Knight said.

“As we build the team and experience toenact this new capability, we will worktowards targeted random roadside drugtesting operations in line with our other traffic campaigns,” he said.

Police will use an oral (saliva swab) to

test if a driver has drugs—cannabis,methamphetamine and/or MDMA(ecstasy)—in their system. People un-able to undertake an oral saliva swab willbe tested through blood tests.

Unlike alcohol testing, there is no level or limit for prescribed drug content.

The offence relates to the presence of the drug, an active ingredient of canna-bis, methamphetamine and/or MDMA, inthe blood or saliva.

An independent and qualified laboratorywill undertake the analysis of the drugtests to confirm the presence of drugs inthe system.

Legislation to enable random roadsidedrug testing of motorists on ACT roadscame into effect on 1 December 2010.

The legislation allows for the use of bothblood and oral testing, targeted and ran-dom.

The Tuggeranong Community Council(TCC) has welcomed the commence-ment of random roadside drug testing inthe ACT.

Chairperson of the TCC Community Ser-vices and Transport Committee, AlisonRyan, said the TCC was among a num-ber of groups, organisations and indi-viduals that fought for the introduction of random roadside drug testing.

She said the TCC lodged submissionsand responses to the ACT Government‟sdiscussion paper and draft legislationsupporting the introduction of randomroadside drug testing.

TCC welcomes random roadside drug testing

Inside the new random roadside drug testing unit to be operating on ACT roads.

TCC meetingon roads

The state of roads in the TuggeranongValley, traffic volume and parking areexpected to be hot topics at the nextmeeting of the Tuggeranong CommunityCouncil.

Guest speaker will be Mr Tony Gill,Director of Roads ACT within the Officeof Transport.

The meeting will be held in the upstairsconference room of the Canberra South-ern Cross Club on the corner of Holwell

and Pitman Streets in Greenway onTuesday 7 June. It will commence at7.30pm. Visit; www.tuggcc.com

The CIT Learning Centre at Tuggeranong hasbeen allocated funding in the recent ACT

Budget for a new home.

http://www.tuggcc.com/






Group centrereview

The ACT Planning and Land Authority(ACTPLA) is seeking community com-ment on its review of planning and devel-opment policies for Canberra's commer-cial zones.

In launching a discussion paper , ACT-PLA Chief Planning Executive, Neil Sav-ery, said group and local centres play animportant role in our daily lives. Mr. Sav-ery said the centres are also increasinglyhome to many Canberrans.

“Policies for group and local centresneed to meet community expectationsnow and into the future, so we want resi-dents to tell us how we can improveplanning policies to make thesecentres environmentally sustainable,

socially inclusive and economically dy-namic,” he added.

Mr. Savery said the discussion paper outlines issues and options and asksreaders to comment on various ques-tions on land use, planning controls,supermarket competition, buildingheights, residential development in cen-tres, housing to meet the needs of theACT's changing demographics, noisecontrol and nightlife activities.

“These and other questions arise from

the contemporary challenges our centresface. They are relevant to the currentdevelopment of master plans for keyCanberra centres and will complementthe outcomes of Time to Talk, whichhelped identify community aspirations for how Canberra should develop,” he said.

“Feedback from public comments on thediscussion paper will help determinepolicy directions for recommendation toGovernment and likely changes to thecurrent policy settings of the TerritoryPlan.”

“As part of the commercial zones reviewprocess, ACTPLA will reconvene thereference group that reviewed commu-nity comments during the review of theresidential and subdivision codes,” Mr.Savery concluded.

The discussion paper and an explana-tory fact sheet are available at:www.actpla.act.gov.au/TerritoryPlanreview and ACTPLA's shop-front at 16 Challis St Dickson.

Comments close on Monday, 4 July

2011. For more information please call6205 3146 or 0402 780 981.

Source: media release

The Tuggeranong Community Council(TCC) has congratulated Katy Gallagher on her appointment as Chief Minister.

The TCC has also extended its bestwishes to former Chief Minister, JonStanhope, who announced his retirementon 9 May after 10 years at the helm.

TCC President, Darryl Johnston, saidthat he wished Mr. Stanhope well andthat he appreciated the time the former Chief Minister gave the TCC in regular one on one meetings.

“Despite his busy scheduled our meet-ings would often run over time. Our last

meeting was in April,” Mr. Johnston said.

“Putting politics aside, it was clear theformer Chief Minister was a committedCanberran.”

“He always spoke about the city withpassion,” Mr. Johnston said.

He added that he looked forward to thefirst meeting between the TCC and MsGallagher and building on the goodworking relationship that existed be-tween the Council and Mr. Stanhope.

Former Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope with

TCC Vice President, Colin Petrie (left) and

President, Darryl Johnston (right) following

one of their quarterly meetings.

TCC farewellto Stanhope

Fed Budgetpays off

Member for Canberra, Gai Brodtmann,has welcomed 2011/12 Federal Budgetinvestment in Tuggeranong. MsBrodtmann said the Budget strengthensAustralia‟s economy, creates more jobs,and generates training opportunities inTuggeranong.

She said the key highlights include:

$82.2 million for road infrastruc-ture this financial year

$68 million to partner with theACT Government for Canberra‟sCentenary celebrations.

$30.6 million for the AustralianSecurity Intelligence Organisationbuilding

$6.1 million increase in base

funding for the High Court$33.9 million increase over four years for the Australian War Me-morial

$1.7 million seed funding for theAustralian War Memorial to com-mence planning for a new perma-nent exhibition on the first WorldWar to commemorate the Cen-tenary of ANZAC

Additional $2 million this financialyear for the completion of theNational Gallery of Australiabuilding refurbishments and en-

hancement project$2.3 million dollars to improvecritical outreach and training inhealth

6700 local families eligible for anextra $4200 per child between 16-19 years old to assist with thecost of living

7397 apprentices will be eligiblefor the Trade Apprentice bonusscheme.


http://www.actpla.act.gov.au/TerritoryPlanreview








ACT Minister for Ageing, Joy Burch, isasking Canberrans to nominate for theACT Older Persons Assembly, a newinitiative which seeks to encourage older persons to have their say in policy devel-opment.

“An ACT Older Persons Assembly will beheld in the ACT Legislative Assembly onFriday, 30 September 2011 to coincidewith celebrations for the InternationalDay of Older Persons,” Ms Burch an-nounced.

She said the purpose of the ACT Older Persons Assembly will be to hear andunderstand the key issues that affect thelives of older people, and to give older persons a platform to participate in publicpolicy development.

"ACT Older Persons Assembly was in-spired by the Scottish Older PersonsAssembly held in 2009, and it will includesolution-focused discussions that buildupon the themes of the ACT StrategicPlan for Positive Ageing 2010-2014," MsBurch said.

“The 2011 Older Persons Assembly is aninitiative of the ACT Legislative Assem-bly in consultation with the Speaker andpeak ageing and seniors' organisations."

“Participants in the Older Persons As-

sembly will be selected following the

nomination process to ensure that abroad cross-section of the ACT's older citizens is represented.”

"Nominations are open to all ACT resi-dents aged 55 years and over. The totalnumber of available places is limited bythe size of the ACT Legislative Assemblychamber. Two-thirds of the places will beallocated to individuals and one third torepresentatives from seniors' organisa-

tions.”

"This is the first time that an Older Per-sons Assembly will be held in the ACTand is possibly a first for Australia, and Ibelieve it can become a useful forum for debate and discussion," Ms Burch con-cluded.

Nominations close on 30 June 2011 andnomination forms are available at:www.dhcs.act.gov.au/wac/ageing/OPA


Canberra seniors to have own assembly

Representatives of Scotland's older people fill the Scottish Parliament for the Assembly.

The ACT Government will undertake asurvey to gather community attitudes onresponsible cat ownership.

Former Chief Minister and Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, JonStanhope, said the survey aims to gather information about cat registration andmicro chipping, control of feral and straycats, containment of domestic cats and

wildlife and bushland conservation.

Mr. Stanhope said three groups of resi-dents will be surveyed - non-cat owners,

cat-owners and residents of cat contain-ment suburbs such as Forde and Bon-ner.

“The results will help us develop andimplement policies related to domesticand stray cats,“ he said."

“Cats are important companion animals

in our society but there are also costsassociated with them. These costs arewider than the financial expense of car-ing for them, extending to predation onnative wildlife and animal welfare con-cerns relating to homeless and mis-treated cats,” Mr. Stanhope said.

The random telephone survey will beundertaken during May. The questionshave been developed in collaborationwith the Australian National University,the RSPCA and the Invasive AnimalsCooperative Research Centre.

The results of the survey were expectedto be available in June 2011.


Govt aims to put tabs on tabbiesTCC membersamong honoured

volunteersTuggeranong Community Council (TCC)members, Jan Petrie and Rusty Wood-ward, were among those recently hon-oured for their volunteer work.

Rusty and Jan are also community edu-cation volunteers with the Council of theAging (COTA) and were among 13COTA members to be honoured as ACTVolunteers of the Year. The award rec-ognises their outstanding voluntary ser-vice to the ACT and wider Canberra re-gion.

Community Education Manager, Chris-tine Spicer, said the volunteers enjoyworking with and have a passion to en-hance the health and wellbeing of mem-bers of our community.

“These key elements make them highlyvalued members of the Community Edu-cation Team,” she said.

http://www.dhcs.act.gov.au/






If you have travelled overseas or inter-state recently you would have noticedsome changes at the Canberra Airportconstruction site.

Construction crews are already busy withgetting on with building the next stage of Canberra‟s new terminal.

Already emerging from the ground is thesecond multi-storey car park. This 1,200

space car park will be the mirror imageof the existing multi-storey car park, rep-licating the four levels of parking, topped

with what will be known as the PlazaOffices West.

The 600,000 litre water tank that sitsbelow the car park is already complete,as are the footings and the majority of the ground floor columns. The car park isexpected to be complete by the end of this year.

Not so quietly, in the background of the

car park construction, a demolition teamhas made short work of what was oncethe old Qantas terminal.

Canberra Airport readying for take off

An aerial view of the construction site for stage 2 of the new Canberra Airport Terminal.

Now completely demolished, the excava-tion for the basement of the WesternConcourse Terminal Extension has be-gun, which should take another threemonths to complete.

Much like the multi-storey car park, the

Western Concourse Terminal Extensionis the mirror image of the now completedsection of the new terminal joined by aspectacular 17 metre high centralatrium.

This all glass atrium will be the centre-piece of the terminal, creating a light-filled, open space that will welcome pas-sengers and facilitate their movementthrough to the departures area. Con-struction on the Western Concourse Ter-minal Extension is scheduled for comple-tion in early 2013.

The Tuggeranong Community Council(TCC) is represented on the CanberraAirport Community Consultative Forum.

The Forum meets on a regular basis toconsider wide ranging issues concerningthe airport and their impact on the com-munity.

Other members include Federal, NSWand ACT government representatives,other community and interest groups andthe ACT business community.

Source: Canberra Airport and TCC

Fears were raised at the last Tugger-anong Community Council (TCC) meet-ing over the safety of elderly residents of a new aged-care complex proposed for the Valley. Uniting Care Aging proposedto build a $60 million aged care complexin Gordon that will house more than 200elderly residents.

At its last meeting TCC members andguests raised concerns over access be-tween the aged care development and

the Lanyon Marketplace. They ex-pressed fears for the safety of elderlyresidents crossing busy Tharwa Drive.

The preliminary plans call for a signal-ised pedestrian crossing but many of those at the meeting believe the safer option would be to construct an over-head pedestrian bridge.

Uniting Care Ageing Executive Manager,Jane Nolan, told the meeting a signal-ised pedestrian crossing would be timedto allow elderly people to complete their crossing of the road in safety.

She said a pedestrian bridge would bethe responsibility of ACT Governmentand she would raise it with ACTPLA.

The TCC had raised the issue of pedes-

trian safety in an earlier submission tothe ACT Government on the proposedGordon aged care residential develop-ment.

FaHCSIAgrants open

The Volunteer Grants for 2011 are cur-rently open through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Servicesand Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA)

The Department will be providing $16million to help organisations buy muchneeded equipment to support their vol-unteers throughout Australia.

Organisations can apply for grant fund-ing ranging from a minimum of $1000 toa maximum of $5000.

Applications are to be lodged throughFaHCSIA.

For more information please visit:http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/volunteers/

funding/Pages/volunteer_grants2011.aspx

Fears for aged residents

An artists concept of the aged care project




Lynne Harwood (pictured) has takenover the reins as the new CEO of Com-

munities@Work. Her appointment comeson top of the successful amalgamation of Communities@Work and Galilee Inc andfollows the retirement of Maureen Canein March.

Lynne had been Galilee‟s CEO sinceAugust 2009. Prior to her position atGalilee she was the CEO of Home HelpService ACT. Lynne is a certified practic-ing accountant and holds a bachelor of commerce degree. She worked for 14-years as an accountant, consultant andbusiness services manager prior to join-

ing the community service sector. Withher background she believes that astrong business acumen can be com-bined with empathy and compassion tocreate robust community organsiations.

Ms Harwood said there is no doubt thatthe amalgamation between C@W andGalilee was the right thing to do.

Lynne takes the reins at C@W“The possibilities and opportunities arenumerous, with improved capacity andenhanced capabilities enabling us tobuild on existing synergies and comple-mentary programs to establish a contin-uum of care for clients, with improvedaccess and enhanced choice of coordi-

nated support services.

“It also allows us to provide more capac-ity and capability to research and createprogram models in current areas of un-met need.”

“Among others these include supportservices for young Indigenous women,educational services for at-risk youngpeople, counselling and mental healthsupport services for young people at-tending the Galilee School, targeted pa-rental development and support pro-grams,” she said.

Communities@Work is a not-for-profitcompany limited by guarantee, governedby a volunteer Board of Directors.

Lynne said it is a large community or-ganisation that provides services to morethan 10,000 people annually, utilising apaid workforce in excess of 400, over 200 volunteer staff along with 150 self employed family day care educators.

“It has been operating for nearly 35years in the ACT and staff are committed

to delivering quality community servicesof social value and practical benefit.

“We work towards the development of strong and socially inclusive communi-ties that care for the well being of all,”Lynne said.

Source C@W

Centenary trail

Canberra's 100th birthday celebrationshave received a 2011-12 ACT Budgetboost through funding of $3.3million for the construction of the Canberra Centen-

ary walking and cycling trail.

The self-guided trail will start at Parlia-ment House and loop around the ACTthrough locations including Anzac Pa-rade and the War Memorial, ParliamentHouse, Lake Burley Griffin, MountAinslie, Mount Taylor, Red Hill, the Na-tional Arboretum Stromlo Forest Parkand Mulligans Flat Sanctuary.

Boundary changes

The ACT Redistribution Committee hasproposed changing the ACT LegislativeAssembly electoral boundaries for the2012 election.

The Redistribution Committee has pro-posed that the suburbs of Palmerstonand Crace be transferred from Molongloto Ginninderra and the portion of thedistrict of Molonglo Valley north of theMolonglo River be transferred fromGinninderra to Molonglo.

Members of the public have 28 days inwhich to object to the RedistributionCommittee‟s proposal. Objections maybe made writing to the ACT ElectoralCommission up to 2 June 2011.

Landcare Awards

The ACT Landcare Awards are an initia-tive of Landcare Australia and supportedby the ACT Government.

The Awards recognise the invaluablework by committed volunteers across thecountry protecting and restoring our

natural resources.

The 2011 ACT Landcare Awards areopen to farmers, Landcare and Parkcaregroups, businesses, schools, youthgroups or individuals who are involved inhelping manage the environment.

Environmental volunteers can be nomi-nated for a range of activities includingcommunity gardening, habitat restorationand caring for rivers and creeks and with10 categories, there is sure to be one for every type and size of project or group.

Entries close on 12 June 2011. Visit:www.landcareonline.com.au

News in Brief

The ACT Trunk Walking and CyclingInfrastructure Working Group is consid-ering detailed proposals for on-road cy-cle lanes along Athllon Drive, and for anaccessible street project on PitmanStreet and Athllon Drive.

Canberra Pedestrian Forum Convenor,Leon Arundell, said the cycle lanes pro-

ject involves filling in the missing links onAthllon Drive, between Atkins Street andHindmarsh Drive.

Mr. Arundell said they are discontinuousand of varying quality. He said the pro-

posals include the provision of suitableintersection treatments.

“The accessible street project involves a

detailed audit of the footpaths alongPittman Street and Athllon Drive in Tug-geranong Town Centre and the provisionof tactile paving, wayfinding signage andassociated infrastructure to enable in-creased accessibility for those with mo-bility impairments.

“This route was identified in consultationwith stakeholders as the primary routefor mobility impaired people through thetown centre,” Mr. Arundell added.

Contact the Canberra Pedestrian Forumon 6248 0873 or email:

[email protected] if you wish toreview the detailed plans.


Walking and cycling projects

http://www.landcareonline.com.au/favicon.ico


mailto:[email protected]?subject=Walk%20and%20Cycle%20Projects







MolongloValley Forum 2

The ACT Planning and Land Authority(ACTPLA) has invited interested resi-dents to attend the second communityforum on the Molonglo Valley residentialdevelopment. The forum will be held on

Thursday, 2 June 2011.

The preferred option for future develop-ment of the Molonglo Valley stage 2 willbe presented at the forum along with theDraft PDF, and a further opportunity willbe provided for community review andinput.

This is the second of two communityforums, which is part of the overall com-munity engagement program for theMolonglo Valley stage 2 draft PDF. Areport on the first community forum is

also available on the ACTPLA website athttp://www.actpla.act.gov.au

The forum will be held at St PetersChurch Hall on the corner of Watling andParkinson Street at Weston on Thurs-day, 2 June.

The information display will be open from3.00pm with the workshop commencingat 6.30pm. RSVP: [email protected]

Molonglo Valley, Image source RiotACT.

Learner drivingdefended

The ACT Government has defendeddriver education in the ACT after con-cerns raised by the Tuggeranong Com-munity Council (TCC).

In a motion passed at its April meetingthe TCC called for a review of driver edu-cation and examination after expressingconcerns that learner drivers of manualvehicles are discouraged from workingtheir gears in combination with their brakes when slowing their vehicle andbrining it to a stop.

The NRMA and defensive driving instruc-tors had also expressed their concernsover this issue and the NRMA hasagreed driver education and training inthe ACT needs to be reviewed.

However, in a letter to the TCC, former ACT Chief Minister and Minister for Transport, Jon Stanhope, said the sys-tem of vehicle control taught in the ACThas proven a successful method in main-taining vehicle control for all drivers sinceits inception in 1997.

Mr. Stanhope said the requirement for alearner driver to slow the vehicle by brak-ing prior to choosing the appropriategear for the conditions is taught as partof the Competency Based Training andAssessment (CBT&A) scheme.

He said this method is used for slowingand stopping a vehicle only and not for descending steep hills.

“Its purpose is to ensure that the vehi-cle's brake lights are activated immedi-ately as a warning to following driversand to reduce road speed prior to select-ing a lower gear. This avoids the possi-bility of a loss of vehicle control,” Mr.Stanhope said.

Call for National YouthWeek helpers

ACT Minister for Children and YoungPeople, Joy Burch is urging young peo-ple aged between 12 and 25 from theCanberra region to have a hand in shap-ing the country's biggest youth event,National Youth Week.

"National Youth Week is the largest cele-bration of young people in Australia andone reason that it is so successful isyoung people help create the event," MsBurch said.

"This year's National Youth Week in theACT was again a hit with 93 events heldand about 6,000 young people in atten-dance."

Events held this year included a „lipdub'music video by students at Alfred DeakinHigh School where they lip synched andproduced a video in one continuous take,an exhibition of artwork at the NationalGallery of Australia by young people whoaccess support from housing and home-lessness services and a flashmob andbarbeque in the City.

Nominations have now opened to seekan ACT representative on the NationalPlanning Group for National Youth Week

2012.

The young member will help develop andimplement National Youth Week by pro-viding a youth perspective in the plan-ning. The person will also act as a mediaspokesperson during Youth Week.

Ms Burch encouraged young people toapply for this important position repre-senting ACT young people at the na-tional level.

"National Youth Week is a celebration of young people and provides an opportu-nity for all young people to share ideas,take part in events and activities andgenerally showcase their talents througha diverse range of mediums.”

"If you want to be an integral part of thisevent, meet some great people, have avoice in the community and have a won-derful experience, I encourage you toapply, “ Ms Burch said.

Youths aged between 12 and 25 areeligible to apply, and applications closeon 27 June 2011. To find out more or to

submit an application visit: http://www.youth.act.gov.au/


http://www.actpla.act.gov.au/


mailto:[email protected]?subject=RSVP%202%20June%202011



http://www.youth.act.gov.au/











Many communities around the world aretaking up the “transition town” cause.Residents have banded together to pooltheir skills and knowledge with the aim of becoming eco friendly, more self reliantand stronger communities. One success-ful transition town is Totnes in Devon in

the south west of England.

Tuggeranong resident and communitydevelopment worker, Karen Jesson, re-cently visited Totnes to learn more aboutthe Transition Towns program. Karendescribes the program as an inspira-tional community based initiative.

“The program is designed to produce lowcarbon emission communities that will beable to meet the impacts of an oil short-age and climate change,” she said.

“Since its inception, Transition Townshas gained much momentum and thereare now over 360 official Transition Towninitiatives in over 30 countries. The pro-gram aims to create stronger and hap-pier communities.”

“Transition Towns was developed in theUK in 2006 by permaculture teacher,Rob Hopkins, who lived in Totnes. It is agreat example of how the initiative canwork,” Karen added.

Karen believes Totnes is a perfect exam-ple of a successful transition town. Shesays Totnes has its own local currency,nut and fruit trees are planted around thetown providing shade and fresh producefor local residents, herbs and vegetablesare grown in unused public spaces andresidents enjoy the benefits of being ableto purchase a variety of fresh local pro-duce from regular farmers markets.

“The town has also developed severalresources, groups and activities to assistthem in becoming a more sustainableand self sufficient community. Residentshave access to a local food directory,

sustainable construction company, re-skilling workshops, seed savers group,film club, cycling group and much more,”she said.

One program run under the TransitionTown banner is designed to provide af-fordable and eco-friendly housing. It iscalled “cohousing” and is based on simi-lar programs in Scandinavia, Holland,Germany and North America. In the UK,there are four fully-established cohous-ing communities up and running, with upto ten times as many in various stages of

development. The key features of co-housing projects include:

The combination of self-containeddwellings with shared facilities,

A lifestyle which can be moreaffordable and more ecological,

Projects are developed and man-aged by the residents for mutualbenefit, with the site held in com-mon ownership,

Developments are designed toencourage social contact and asense of neighbourhood andcommunity, while honouring pri-

vate space.

According to Transition Towns Totnes(TTT) cohousing provides a means bywhich people can maintain a level of independence and control over their liv-ing situation, whilst gaining from the mu-tual support and neighbourliness thatcohousing projects engender.

TTT says the program also provides anideal structure for developing lower-carbon lifestyles. It says car pooling,food growing and laundry facilities are

just three examples of resource sharingthat can be in-built into cohousing pro-

jects. TTT believes cohousing also leadsto the development of a community spiritthat encourages a wealth of beneficialrelationships to flourish between mem-bers and beyond, which can benefit theenvironment as well as the individualsinvolved.

The Transition Towns Totnes communityfood programs are extremely successful.Under Transition Towns Totnes runs afood hub, links local producers with local

residents and restaurants, turning un-used land into community gardens andplanting fruit and nut trees in the town.The Totnes Food Hub is an alternative

food distribution model. It is a co-operative where members can order fresh food from local producers and haveit delivered, ready for collection, to aconvenient location in the heart of thecommunity at affordable prices.

The Incredible Edible Totnes is a newprogram run by an inspired group of green-thumbs planting vegetables and

other edibles in public and unusedspaces for the common plate. The poten-tial vegetable output of even smallspaces is huge. The program re-localises the food supply, cuts down onpackaging, food miles and oil use, andreduces the supermarket stranglehold onthe food system.

Food Link aims to increase the availabil-ity of local food, by linking local farmersand producers with retailers and restau-rants in Totnes. According to TTT thereare many small-scale farmers producingbountiful quality food that has helped toboost the region‟s reputation as afoodies heaven. However TTT says de-spite this, most of the locally producedfood is sold outside of our region. At thesame time, much of the food purchasedlocally is brought in from far and wide.

Since returning from Totnes Karen hasgained a new drive and enthusiasm for the Transition Towns program. She be-lieves Tuggeranong could learn a greatdeal from the lead taken by Totnes. For more information visit: http://www.transitiontowntotnes.org/ or http://

www.transitionnetwork.org/

Sources: Karen Jesson and Darryl Johnston.

Can Tuggeranong make the transition?

Locally grown fruit and vegetables for sale in Transition Town, Totnes.

http://www.transitiontowntotnes.org/



http://www.transitionnetwork.org/









Valley Voice

Tuggeranong Community Council‟snewsletter, Valley Voice is designed toinform Valley residents of issues thatimpact on them and to act as a vehiclefor other community groups and organi-sations to communicate with residents.

Valley Voice will be produced on a regu-lar basis and will be circulated amongstTCC members and beyond. If you wishto receive copies of Valley Voice in thefuture please email [email protected].

Meanwhile if you have articles or imagesyou wish to contribute to Valley Voiceplease email them to [email protected] the 20th of each month.

Please feel free to pass Valley Voice onto those who you think will be interestedin its contents.

____________

Valley Voice is published by the Tugger-anong Community Council (TCC). Mate-rial in this publication comes from a vari-ety of community and government basedsources and therefore does not neces-sarily reflect the views of the TCC.

Material submitted to the TCC for inclu-sion in Valley Voice may be subject toeditorial changes. Material that includesdates, times and contact details is cor-rect at the time of publishing. Therefore,the TCC cannot be held responsible if itis not informed of any changes to that

information prior to publication.

Tuggeranong Community Council.E: [email protected]: www.tuggcc.com

Tuggeranong Community Council Inc. (TCC)

is an incorporated, voluntary, not for profit, non political, community based association operat-

ing within the Tuggeranong district of the Australian Capital Territory.

TCC is formally recognised as the peak community representative body in Tuggeranong pro-

moting the goals and aspirations of local residents and other community groups and organisations within the Tuggeranong Valley.

TCC receives partial funding from the ACT Government.


Tuggeranong Community Council acknowledges its supporters.

Jun 7: TCC General Meeting, 7.30pmTuggeranong Southern CrossClub.

12: Lions Club TuggeranongHomestead Markets.

30: Tuggeranong FestivalCommittee Meeting, 6.30pmTuggeranong Community Centre

Jul 5: TCC General Meeting, 7.30pmTuggeranong Southern CrossClub.

3: World Environment DayNational Heart Foundation Walk Lake Burley Griffin



Aug 2: TCC General Meeting, 7.30pmTuggeranong Southern CrossClub.



Sept 6: TCC Annual General Meeting,7.30pm Tuggeranong SouthernCross Club.



How to tell you@re @n em@il

junkie.com

You wake up at 3am to go to thebathroom and stop to check your email on the way back.

You name your children Grape-vine, Teepeegee and Dotcom.

You turn off your modem and getthis awful empty feeling, as if you

just pulled the plug on a lovedone.

You spend half the plane ride withyour laptop on your lap, and your child in the overhead compart-ment.

You decide to stay in college for an additional year or two just for the free internet access.

You start using smileys in your snail mail.

You refer to going to the bath-room as downloading.

You can‟t call your mother be-cause she doesn't have a mo-dem.

You check your email and after itsays “no new messages” youcheck it again.

You move to a new house andyou decide to Netscape beforeyou landscape.

You tell the cab driver you live athttp://1324.edison.street/house/brick/html.

You don‟t know what gender three of your closest friends are,

because they have neutral screennames and you never bothered toask.

You find yourself ending a con-versation with “dotcom.”

You start tilting your head side-ways to smile.

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Re:%20Valley%20Voice



http://www.tuggcc.com/favicon.ico

http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/Pages/default.aspx



http://www.tuggcc.com/favicon.ico




Documents

Valley Voice Issue 4 - May 2011