5 August 2008

$20 million for the Gungahlin Pool

| johnboy
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The ABC informs that Labor is promising $20 million for a Gungahlin leisure centre (what we used to call a swimming pool) if they’re re-elected.

Odd they couldn’t sort this out in the last seven years.

The Libs like the idea of having a pool but aren’t ready to promise the money.

UPDATED: Showing their usual rapid reactions the Canberra Liberals have finally put their response online. Zed dislikes the vague and uncosted nature of the promises.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Andrew Barr’s office have finally put out a media release on this announcement.

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Good decision but what about other area’s of Canberra? the south side is vastly under-serviced compared to the north side! what is really needed is small facility in Weston Creek as that suburb goes through the cycle of older people followed by a mini-baby boom plus the inner south needs a decent facility (Oasis doesn’t cut it) and Tuggeranong pool is always over-crowded in peak times so a satellite facility around Lanyon seems sensible.

Given that more than 50% of Canberra population live SOUTH of the central lake, and given that the North already has tons more pool space (see below) i’m not sure this project should be the highest on the governments list of pool priorities at this point in time…

South Canberra

Pool Lanes Total Metres
Manuka* 6 x 30 180
Deakin Oasis 6 x 50 300
Phillip 7 x 50 350
Tuggeranong 8 x 50 400
Tuggeranong** 3 x 27 81
Erindale 4 x 25 100
Total 1411
* Unsuitbale for for competitive swimming
** Used for family swimming and learn to swim

North Canberra
Pool Lanes Total Metres
Civic (main pool) 8 x 50 400
Civic (Dive pool) 6 x 20 120
Dickson 7 x 50 350
AIS* 8 x 50 400
AIS* 6 x 25 150
CISAC 10 x 50 500
CISAC** 4 x 25 100
Jamison 8 x 50 400
Kaleen 6 x 25 150
Gold Creek 4 x 20 80
Total 2650
* Doesn’t include new AIS training facility
** Used for recreation and learn to swim

ACT Population as @ 2007 (ABS): 339,865

North 168,420
South 171,153

Population under 15 years

There were 62,400 people aged under 15 years in the ACT at June 2005, making up 19.2% of the population. Nearly one-quarter of the populations of both Gungahlin-Hall SSD (23.9%) and Tuggeranong SSD (23.6%) were aged under 15 years. The SLAs with the highest proportion of population under 15 years were the Tuggeranong suburbs of Conder (31.1%) and Banks (29.1%). North Canberra SSD had the lowest proportion of people aged under 15 years at 13.5%, with Acton having only 1.7%

Gungahlin Al4:21 pm 05 Aug 08

Been a few years since I went ice skating HA. But there is large scale light industry land available in Mitchell if it was a commercial proposition. I can’t see government chipping in for ice rinks though. Their attention seems more focused on ‘mainstream’ sports (and futsal).
Intrigued by your energy transfers idea…heat the pool, cool the ice?

HA said :

I wanna an ice rink in with the pool. The energy transfers are there, the need is there (have you seen what a dump and dangerous OH&S pothole the facility at Pjillip has been allowed to become), and the ice sports communities in Canberra from wherever won’t mind travelling a few extra minutes to get to a modern rink. Where are Labor or the Libs now?

looking at the dragway proposal….

I wanna an ice rink in with the pool. The energy transfers are there, the need is there (have you seen what a dump and dangerous OH&S pothole the facility at Pjillip has been allowed to become), and the ice sports communities in Canberra from wherever won’t mind travelling a few extra minutes to get to a modern rink. Where are Labor or the Libs now?

Two P&Cs + one special ed subcommittee = slightly overwhelmed at the moment

; )

but I will try and at least turn up to the meetings.

Gungahlin Al12:32 pm 05 Aug 08

Cheers Granny!

PS: additional volunteers most gratefully accepted.

Well done to you and the team, Gungahlin Al!

: )

Thanks so much for all your hard work.

It must have been very discouraging at times, but the council has persevered through thick and thin to improve outcomes for Gungahlin residents.

There is still a long way to go, and it seems like every step forward has had to be hard-fought for facilities and infrastructure that other Canberrans have been handed on a plate, but it is so nice to get a win now and then.

Jonathon Reynolds10:47 am 05 Aug 08

The Liberals still refuse to commit to actually funding the aquatic centre:
http://www.canberraliberals.org.au/html/s02_article/article_view.asp?id=321&nav_cat_id=&nav_top_id=55

Gungahlin Al10:44 am 05 Aug 08

LG: that’s the design population for Gungahlin.
The Town Centre Planning Study mentions 50,000 by 2014, but with 34,000 now and the upcoming land releases, I’d suggest you’ll see it sooner than you’d expect.

Hence the Gungahlin Community Council’s urgency in pursue a catch-up with community infrastructure and an employment base – while appropriate land remains available. Without our campaigning, the LDA (under direction from the ACT Government of course) would have continued on its merry way burying all available land right up to the shopping centre under endless townhouses.

In April 2007, then Planning Minister Simon Corbell told us (via Ross Solly’s ABC666 program) that a 50m pool would need 100,000 people to be viable, and as we didn’t have anything like that as yet, it would be some time away. The message was that we’d likely have to put up with somewhat less. Our 2007 community survey had 83% of respondents telling us to not accept this and to continue to push for a 50m pool. And that’s what we’ve done in the 18 months since then.

So what is different this time around? We’ve been involved in a lot of master planning and design workshops with large numbers of ACT staff for each of the components of the college precint – the enclosed oval, the shared library, aquatuic complex and the college itself.

We know from this work that it is a serious commitment – it has only been a matter of scale and timing. We’ve said it needs to include a 50, 25 “learn to swim” pool and toddlers pool. On timing – yesterday’s announcement was along the lines of “within the next 4 years”. However the college will open for the 2010 school year, so there will be considerable pressure to complete the other components in short order as well. We have enjoyed a good working relationship with Sports and Planning Minister Andrew Barr, and I believe that this has helped lead to yesterday’s announcement. Likewise I believe that Andrew will be pushing hard for completion sooner rather than later.

Anyway – yesterday was a good day for Gungahlin.
And GCC folk Jonathon, Kevin, Barry and I had a very busy hour at the meet the ministers meeting afterwards chasing down a wide range of other things from footpaths to schools, to light rail and overhaul of suburb concept plans for better passive solar design, with reasonable hearings from all of the ministers present.

Jonathon Reynolds said :

The Gungahlin community has lobbied hard to ensure that an aquatic facility in the town centre would be appropriate for the anticipated needs and ultimate population of 100,000+ residents in Gungahlin.

100,000? When’s that planned to happen?

Jonathon Reynolds1:55 am 05 Aug 08

The Gungahlin community has lobbied hard to ensure that an aquatic facility in the town centre would be appropriate for the anticipated needs and ultimate population of 100,000+ residents in Gungahlin.

We were previously told by the then planning minister, Simon Corbell, that Gungahlin did not have sufficient population to support such a facility. The Community Council and countless individuals from Gungahlin (and those involved in the “swimming” community and others outside the region) lobbied hard not to be short-changed by the provision of a facility with only a 25m pool.

However cynical it may appear that the commitment to build an appropriate facility as requested by the community has been made with the election just weeks away, the government has indeed ceded to our requests.

In relation to the response (as reported by the ABC) of the opposition:

The ACT Opposition has accused the Government of trying to buy votes in Gungahlin.

Opposition Leader Zed Seselja says the Government has been talking about a Gungahlin pool for years but has failed to deliver.

“I think Gungahlin has been under-serviced in relation to sporting facilities and in relation to a range of infrastructure needs,” he said.

“This Government has shown no commitment to doing that, I certainly as all Canberrans would hope that they are genuine this time, but I think people will look at it fairly sceptically.”

The opposition rather than using weasel words and saying absolutely nothing about what they are going to do, should either put up and match (or preferably better) the government commitment or admit that it either has no plans or no intention of providing an equivalent facility if they are elected as the alternative government.

Footnote:
In the June 2008 issue #107 of GunSmoke (the bimonthly newsletter of the Gungahlin Community Council – with over 14,500 copies delivered in the region) the leader of the opposition ran an article entitled “Where is our Swimming Pool?”. Nowhere in that “advertorial” did he indicate that the ACT Liberal party had any commitment for actually providing funding for the building of the aquatic facility.

Funny what a google search turns up

Vic Bitterman10:02 pm 04 Aug 08

Desperate times from stanhopeless and his pathetic cronies… desperate times….

Good work TP

Spot on saraj. It looks like this was promised already prior to the 2004 election

http://www.hansard.act.gov.au/hansard/2005/week09/2726.htm

So now another election rolls around and the beneficent Chief Minister promises the same pool a second time. It’s a bit like the promise of a 4 lane Gungahlin Drive which we already voted for and missed out one.

How many times can an old (broken) promise be re-treaded?

I remember reading some years ago that the government wanted to build a 25m pool and the community wanted 50m. Dont know if this is one of the reasons its taking so long. Whatever the case, I wish they’d hurry up!!

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