Madam Speaker, I rise to speak to a petition which I have sponsored on behalf of Paul Calvert and the Giralang community.

Madam Speaker, this year will mark 16 years that the Giralang Community has been without shops in their suburb.

When I was growing up in Giralang, the shops near the school included a hairdresser,  Vietnamese restaurant, baker, newsagents, supermarket, tavern, a VHS video store and fish and chips shop. It was a great little community hub within walking distance of every residence in the suburb.

Since the shops were vacated by those tenants, they have sat bare, been demolished and currently sit in a state of initial but not completed build. This is after years of court cases, stop starts on building and the promise in 2018 of an approved DA for a new development.

This could once again be a great community hub and a convenient facility for the community. This is particularly important as many of the residents of Giralang are getting older but want to be able to age in place.

Since this petition started we have heard from what feels like all of Giralang and they are unanimous that they want something to happen.  

The community hasn’t had an update from the developer in close to a year, and in that update the Developer noted he couldn’t secure a supermarket, the deposits for the apartments would be handed back and a rethink would have to happen. 

But since then no further update has come to the community, despite being requested many times.

The community just wants to know what is happening which is why 585 residents and supporters have signed this physical petition and 321 have signed online. Making a total of 906, which is a number equal to almost a third of every Giralang resident. I not that almost every signature is from a Giralang resident.

I want to thank Paul for putting together this petition and everyone who has signed it. I’d like to particularly acknowledge the residents who got their neighbours and friends to sign.

I ask that the committee this petition is referred to inquire into the issue to ask the questions the Giralang community just wants answers to.