Belconnen Community Council – Chair’s Report August 2020

The Ongoing challenges being faced by Victoria has had an indelible effect on life here in the ACT. Belconnen is not immune: the gateway to our territory from Victoria is via the Barton Highway and we have seen the number of police vehicles monitoring entry increase over recent days as the window to travel home closes. Can I ask you all to stay vigilant, continue the fantastic community effort of the last five or so months and please ensure you are tested at the first sign of symptoms.

Waste Services for the Belconnen District

There’s been a fair amount of talk about the current and future state of waste management services for our district in the lead up to the election. We are not alone in our concern for the management of waste and the ACT Government has implemented a feasibility proposal for all of the territory; the efforts of the Combined Community Councils of the ACT have turned their attention to influencing this process for the best possible outcomes. While political parties of all colours are ramping up the rhetoric, the BCC (as a participating member of the CCC) are actively looking at ways to identify gaps, source solutions and put together a package that can be considered by government to address the community concern. If you have ideas and feedback on this important issue, please get in touch with us so they can be included.

Three years down

This month marks the final time I will lead the BCC as its Chair. Since joining on as a member in 2014 (after being asked to participate in the forum to fight the move of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection away from Belconnen) I have been privileged to watch our district and its people expand and grow. We are now:

• home to over 100,000 people
• in the top two apartment dwellers in the territory (in 2017 we were the biggest!)
• have the best rehabilitation hospital and facilities in the region

When I took over the role in 2018, one of my goals was to help solve the impasse with the proposed expansion of the Kippax Centre. While we are not yet at a point to say we have solved all the problems, we are able to say we have a way forward and at some stage next year (depending on the outcome of the land use tender) plans may be available for the community to peruse. Along with all the other stakeholders, we believe the most recent offering by the current owners will address the bulk of the community concerns raised with us over the last five years and set our West Belconnen area up for facilities that will last them for another 50 years. My thanks to all those who have worked so positively with us on this crucial issue.

I would like to pay tribute to our team of exceptional committee members over the last three years. We have faced many challenges and some which I don’t think any of us had envisaged when we started; but we have weathered them all and kept our dignity intact (except for perhaps that moment at the Florey Fair last year when I took a tumble!). Each of you have contributed to our community in a way few others have and your support for me has been more valued than you can ever know. You are the reason our council exists and may you always be remembered for your time and efforts to keep Belconnen the Jewel in Canberra’s Crown.

And a plea to all of our members to think about stepping up and becoming a committee member. We are in need of new faces to help take us into 2021 so if you have just a couple of hours to spare we would be grateful for your help!

Please visit our Facebook and BCC website pages to keep up with everything that’s happening.

Stay safe and well in these challenging times.

Glen Hyde

Chair

Belconnen Community Council

18 August 2020