IF elected next month, the ACT Greens promises to bring democracy to the suburbs, saying the party will give each Canberra neighbourhood an annual budget of about $100,000, and will allow them to choose how its spent.
The ACT Greens says this annual investment could go to projects such as small-scale park upgrades, new playground equipment, tree planting, employing people to work on a particular project or community-building activities and events.
ACT Greens candidate for Murrumbidgee Emma Davidson says the people who know best about what their neighbourhood needs are the people who live there.
“What makes this program so effective is not just the individual projects each neighbourhood decides upon, but the way in which they come to a community consensus,” she says.
“Communities will be supported to build skills in understanding the diversity of views in their own neighbourhood, and resolving a range of viewpoints/opinions constructively.
“We want to create a government that listens, respects and trusts the community voice, and has the skills and desire to turn this voice into tangible changes that people see in their neighbourhoods.
“Too often, it’s property developers or those with the loudest voices that have the biggest say in how a neighbourhood develops. This leads to decisions that benefit a handful of people, not the whole community.”
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