Gungahlin Community Council Newsletter Edition 132 June 2014 Designed by JM Publishing TEAM GUNGAHLIN JUMPS TO CURE DIABETES FROM THE POLLIES Download the latest Gunsmoke Loui Seselja photography Next public meeting: Wednesday 11 June 7.30pm - Gungahlin Library Gungahlin TUESDAY 22 July 2014 Community Council 7:00am for a 7:30am start – 8:45am Kamberra Wine Company Business Breakfast Northbourne Ave, Lyneham ACT 2602 Enhancing Business Opportunities in Gungahlin Jeremy Hanson Chris Faulks Leader of the Opposition CEO Canberra Liberals Canberra Business Council Gungahlin is a thriving satellite region of the Come along to hear what may be planned or ACT with one of the fastest growth rates in the feasible. Help start a process where your country. The population is expected to reach views can be heard! over 60,000 as planned suburban developments reach completion. This level of The Gungahlin Community Council (GCC) is a population needs to be serviced by adequate voluntary, community-based association amenties, infrastructure and a greater diversity operating in the Gungahlin district of the ACT. of business to satisfy a self-sustaining Our objective is to preserve and improve the community. social, cultural, economic and environmental well-being of the Gungahlin community. Ideally significant business development opportunities will become available. Door Prize 1 place in the Small Business M.B.A The GCC wants to see a process where the (Making Business Awesome) Program. A 7 future needs of the growing community are week webinar and activity based program met through adequate planning. The views of to fast track business results plus unlimited access to your own Business Coach Tony existing businesses and prospective businesses Ozanne. www.smallbusinessmba.com.au are vital to this process. Valued at $597 For more information RSVP by Friday 18 July - Limited Spaces - via Trybooking: http://www.trybooking.com/89043, or call Ewan Brown on 0418 486 471 or email [email protected] GunSmoke is available online, and printed copies are President: Ewan Brown - [email protected] available through key shopping centres. To subscribe to the Vice President: Peter Elford - 0401 890 387 online edition visit www.gcc.asn.au and click on the “Sign [email protected] Up For Our Newsletter” button at the bottom of the page. To advertise your business or organisation in GunSmoke, please Communications Director: James Milligan - 0418 599 167 visit our website. Secretary: Tony Ozanne - [email protected] Disclaimer: Treasurer: Brad Kane - [email protected] GunSmoke is published to allow residents to keep in touch Web Administrator: Prasad Tipirneni - [email protected] with their local community. The views expressed in Gunsmoke do not necessarily represent the opinion of the editor, or Public Officer: Kevin Cox - [email protected] 2 I Gungahlin Community Council - Newsletter Edition 132 June 2014 members of the Gungahlin Community Council Inc. GCC Committee: Michael Norfor, Gillian Yeend Gungahlin TUESDAY 22 July 2014 Community Council 7:00am for a 7:30am start – 8:45am Kamberra Wine Company Business Breakfast Northbourne Ave, Lyneham ACT 2602 Enhancing Business Opportunities in Gungahlin From the President Ewan Brown The positive news in Gungahlin is the long It is growing more likely that the Raiders’ Jeremy Hanson Chris Faulks awaited opening of the Leisure Centre after extension, the Woolworths’ extension and the perhaps 8 years of trying to get theses much Bunnings development will be underway, albeit Leader of the Opposition CEO needed facilities for our region. Also the recently at different stage, at the same time thus causing Canberra Liberals Canberra Business Council opened oval seems to be providing a valued significant disruption to Town Centre users venue for a number of sporting organisations. The for many months. Why can’t we have some office block is progressing apace and a start has intelligent scheduling of planning to minimise Gungahlin is a thriving satellite region of the Come along to hear what may be planned or been made on the Park,n,Ride behind the Big W impact on the community? carpark entrance. Gungahlin suffers from a complete lack ACT with one of the fastest growth rates in the feasible. Help start a process where your Yet no progress has been evident on the of local representation whereas other areas, country. The population is expected to reach views can be heard! Bunnings or cinema sites. The proposed Tuggeranong in particular, seem to have the over 60,000 as planned suburban Planning and Development (Project Facilitation) favour of local elected representatives regularly developments reach completion. This level of The Gungahlin Community Council (GCC) is a Amendment Bill 2014 was withdrawn in the fighting for their cause. This in turn has an effect population needs to be serviced by adequate voluntary, community-based association Assembly in recent weeks mainly because on the attitude and resolve of developers who it provided uncurtailed power to the relevant are either reluctant to commit to our area or are amenties, infrastructure and a greater diversity operating in the Gungahlin district of the ACT. Minister to approve developments of economic faced with decision-making and administrative of business to satisfy a self-sustaining Our objective is to preserve and improve the importance without a thorough testing of the processes which add to the cost burden of community. social, cultural, economic and environmental parameters and ramifications. There were also development proposals. well-being of the Gungahlin community. significant concerns that the new powers would Gungahlin, and the Town Centre in particular, enable the government to push through preferred will never flourish until a significant number Ideally significant business development developments associated with construction of our population is present and available opportunities will become available. Door Prize of the Capital Metro service, mainly along the throughout the day to support a wider variety Northbourne Avenue corridor. of commercial outlets. At present we export a 1 place in the Small Business M.B.A The criteria for a project of major significance significant component of our residents to other The GCC wants to see a process where the (Making Business Awesome) Program. A 7 future needs of the growing community are week webinar and activity based program included: areas during the working week thus leaving • Substantial public benefit and our Town Centre underserviced by the level met through adequate planning. The views of to fast track business results plus unlimited access to your own Business Coach Tony • Major economic, social, cultural or of custom necessary to provide a dynamic existing businesses and prospective businesses Ozanne. www.smallbusinessmba.com.au environmental significance to the Territory. commercial environment during the full range of are vital to this process. GCC believes that these criteria could certainly business hours. Valued at $597 be applied to speed-up the development and Every time we almost get to a point where construction process for a number of projects some promise is shown towards remedying across Canberra. Gungahlin’s problems a new, mainly Federal, Could this bill be seen to offer a remedy set of fiscal or budgetary parameters intervenes to the already excessively drawn-out process to block any potential. Given the threat to the for approving developments? In Gungahlin we APS in Canberra what chance do we stand of regularly bemoan the length of time it takes to getting a Commonwealth employment presence bring a project to fruition, even after numerous in Gungahlin? Perhaps the 600 ATO personnel attempts to alert the community of the intention slated to move to the NSW Central Coast could to proceed. We often refer to the Canberra Airport be shifted to Gungahlin! developments as a benchmark and wonder why Gungahlin may well bear a disproportionate the ACT bureaucracy cannot act more quickly. burden from the recent Federal Budget due to Why, for example, is the Raiders Club enduring a large cohorts of low income residents, students, wait of over 15 months for final approval of their young families and seniors – most of the groups development application? Why has no work detrimentally affected by the recently announced started on the proposed Bunnings store? fiscal measures or cuts. Gungahlin Community Council - Newsletter Edition 132 June 2014 I 3 FROM THE FROM THE POLLIES POLLIES Katy Gallagher MLA Shane Rattenbury MLA Chief Minister ACT Greens With the speculation surrounding the Public transport may not be a suitable Commonwealth budget finally brought option for every journey, but a better public to an end on 13 May, it’s fair to say there transport system helps everyone and was not much good news for the ACT. reduces congestion on our roads. Our community and particularly our public Once in place, light rail will transform our servants have been asked to shoulder city’s transport landscape, particularly in the more than our fair share of the burden of Gungahlin region. In preparation, there are Commonwealth cost cutting and I am very other important improvements that are being mindful of the uncertainty facing many rolled out which will improve the ability of our Canberra families. public transport system to service the fastest The ACT Government will do everything growing region of our city. we can to maintain confidence in our Recently I launched the new enlarged economy and support local jobs through Gungahlin bus station with improved seating, what will be some challenging times ahead. shelter, and space for real-time bus displays. Our economy has proven its strength and The station has also been designed to cater resilience over the past two years but the for future light rail. Two new bus stops have cuts announced by the Commonwealth – been installed on Hibberson Street, and two our main employer and economic driver stops on each side of Anthony Rolfe Avenue – will inevitably have a negative impact.