Tuesday, 17 October 2023

 Jess WILSON (Kew) (15:07): (350) My constituency question is for the Minister for Environment. What consultation has Parks Victoria – noting that the chair of Parks Victoria is in the gallery right now – or the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action conducted before its decision to close Dickinson Reserve playground in Kew? My constituents have had to chase Parks Victoria for information about the future of this popular local playground and have now been told by Parks Victoria that it will be removed entirely and not replaced. Given the closest playgrounds to Dickinson Reserve are over 1 kilometre away, this leaves many local families without a walkable playground facility. As one local mum said:

When you have a toddler on a trike and a baby in a pram, you can only walk so far to a playground.

This is what Dickinson Reserve playground offers many young families in the Studley Park area of Kew. It is important that communities are always given the opportunity to provide decision-makers with feedback about decisions that affect them, and I will be disappointed if Parks Victoria have not attempted to hear from residents about how the closure of this playground will impact them. I hope we can work together to ensure Dickinson park playground is preserved and replaced.