Let's get to the point - dogs should be able to run happy and free
To many, a row over dogs and how they are exercised is pretty small beer. But that's underestimating a whole lot of things.
One, people love their dogs. Two, nothing pleases them more than seeing their dogs happy, active and engaged. Three, sometimes things really don't need fixing. And four, people are sick of bureaucrats apparently not understanding real life.
So, what's up?
The Point Hut Dog Exercise Area has been a much-loved secret corner of the Lanyon community in Tuggeranong for at least 20 years. It's a very large piece of land, at the intersection of Woodcock Drive and Jim Pike Avenue, where dogs can exercise off-leash. Dogs can play together across acres of land or trot next to their owner on a one-kilometre loop along the fence line, with beautiful views and sunsets added bonuses.
Full disclosure: I didn't know this facility existed until last week but I really wish I had. There are few places dogs can run or sniff or socialise off-leash in nature. Some south coast beaches allow for that. It's a true joy to watch your mutt free and happy.
The Point Hut Dog Exercise Area is fenced, it's well-maintained, volunteers have brought in portable water for the dogs and made benches for people to sit and rest or have a chat. (Someone said maybe all that's needed now is a bin for the poo bags but most people seem to take them and dispose of them).
The area is not some pristine bushland. According to Gordon resident James Sizer, it was used to dump building waste when the suburb was under construction in the 1990s. There are great swathes of blackberries in amongst the open land. But it's a friendly place. People know each other and the dogs. It's not like a regular dog park. It's huge. You can socialise or enjoy some solitude. It's peaceful.
The ACT government has built a new dog park right next to the existing dog exercise area. It's not very big. A fraction of the size of the current exercise area. It's a bright, shiny doggy playground. Some dogs and owners will love it. The government says more than 80 per cent of respondents to a survey liked the design. Perhaps, if the government had been upfront and respondents had known it would become the only off-leash facility in the area, the results would have been very different.
The new dog park also looks like a case of the government giving with one hand and taking with the other.
The latest advice is that as soon as the new dog park opens, the Point Hut dog exercise area will be leash-only. Which kind of defeats the purpose of the space and the way people have used it, without any dramas, for decades. (It's been, let's face it, a dog park before dog parks were a thing. Just not tizzed up to the nth degree.)
Needless to say, the proposed change has been like a red rag to a bull - or a slobbery tennis ball to a Labrador. Lanyon locals are livid, saying the area needs to stay off-leash. And, like a dog with a bone, they're not going to give up. They want to know the reason for the decision. Why can the stroke of a pen steal so much joy?
New Brindabella Labor MLA Caitlin Tough has, refreshingly, decided to stick up for her community. Only elected last October, Tough is obviously not afraid to challenge her Labor colleagues. She's written a letter to City Services Minister Tara Cheyne asking her to clarify conflicting advice from the minister's office about whether the exercise area will remain a leash-on or leash-off place once the dog park opens. Tough's letter to the minister was to-the-point but respectful - and great to see. That's what we want from our local members - true representation.
Liberal MLA for Brindabella Deb Morris has also come on board, sponsoring a petition to keep the area off-leash. In a few days, the petition had close to 1000 signatures.
Tara Cheyne, to her credit, is proving to be a City Services Minister who is responsive and open to discussion with the community rather than stubbornly intransigent as her predecessor Chris Steel was on a great many issues.
The government, however, says it's actually the "Conservator of Flora and Fauna" who is deciding what areas are off-leash or on-leash. The conservator is a bureaucrat in Environment Heritage and Parks who looks after conservation matters such as protecting native plants and animals.
James Sizer says Lanyon is the "Tuggeranong of Tuggeranong", a forgotten part of a forgotten district. He just wanted the public servants responsible for making the decisions to come out and have a look at the Point Hut dog exercise area. Realise it's not impacting the Murrumbidgee River corridor; that it doesn't hold any magical environmental value. That it's right across the road from Gordon suburbia.
Tara Cheyne says she can't "direct the conservator's decisions". "However, I can direct them to be more consultative and to not blindside the community. Like you, I want a resolution to this quickly and I also agree it shouldn't have come to this," she said.
Cheyne also described herself publicly as a "fellow dog - and off-leash dog park - lover".
So, maybe, just maybe, these dogs will have their day.
To many, a row over dogs and how they are exercised is pretty small beer. But that's underestimating a whole lot of things.
One, people love their dogs. Two, nothing pleases them more than seeing their dogs happy, active and engaged. Three, sometimes things really don't need fixing. And four, people are sick of bureaucrats apparently not understanding real life.
So, what's up?
The Point Hut Dog Exercise Area has been a much-loved secret corner of the Lanyon community in Tuggeranong for at least 20 years. It's a very large piece of land, at the intersection of Woodcock Drive and Jim Pike Avenue, where dogs can exercise off-leash. Dogs can play together across acres of land or trot next to their owner on a one-kilometre loop along the fence line, with beautiful views and sunsets added bonuses.
Full disclosure: I didn't know this facility existed until last week but I really wish I had. There are few places dogs can run or sniff or socialise off-leash in nature. Some south coast beaches allow for that. It's a true joy to watch your mutt free and happy.
The Point Hut Dog Exercise Area is fenced, it's well-maintained, volunteers have brought in portable water for the dogs and made benches for people to sit and rest or have a chat. (Someone said maybe all that's needed now is a bin for the poo bags but most people seem to take them and dispose of them).
The area is not some pristine bushland. According to Gordon resident James Sizer, it was used to dump building waste when the suburb was under construction in the 1990s. There are great swathes of blackberries in amongst the open land. But it's a friendly place. People know each other and the dogs. It's not like a regular dog park. It's huge. You can socialise or enjoy some solitude. It's peaceful.
The ACT government has built a new dog park right next to the existing dog exercise area. It's not very big. A fraction of the size of the current exercise area. It's a bright, shiny doggy playground. Some dogs and owners will love it. The government says more than 80 per cent of respondents to a survey liked the design. Perhaps, if the government had been upfront and respondents had known it would become the only off-leash facility in the area, the results would have been very different.
The new dog park also looks like a case of the government giving with one hand and taking with the other.
The latest advice is that as soon as the new dog park opens, the Point Hut dog exercise area will be leash-only. Which kind of defeats the purpose of the space and the way people have used it, without any dramas, for decades. (It's been, let's face it, a dog park before dog parks were a thing. Just not tizzed up to the nth degree.)
Needless to say, the proposed change has been like a red rag to a bull - or a slobbery tennis ball to a Labrador. Lanyon locals are livid, saying the area needs to stay off-leash. And, like a dog with a bone, they're not going to give up. They want to know the reason for the decision. Why can the stroke of a pen steal so much joy?
New Brindabella Labor MLA Caitlin Tough has, refreshingly, decided to stick up for her community. Only elected last October, Tough is obviously not afraid to challenge her Labor colleagues. She's written a letter to City Services Minister Tara Cheyne asking her to clarify conflicting advice from the minister's office about whether the exercise area will remain a leash-on or leash-off place once the dog park opens. Tough's letter to the minister was to-the-point but respectful - and great to see. That's what we want from our local members - true representation.
Liberal MLA for Brindabella Deb Morris has also come on board, sponsoring a petition to keep the area off-leash. In a few days, the petition had close to 1000 signatures.
Tara Cheyne, to her credit, is proving to be a City Services Minister who is responsive and open to discussion with the community rather than stubbornly intransigent as her predecessor Chris Steel was on a great many issues.
The government, however, says it's actually the "Conservator of Flora and Fauna" who is deciding what areas are off-leash or on-leash. The conservator is a bureaucrat in Environment Heritage and Parks who looks after conservation matters such as protecting native plants and animals.
James Sizer says Lanyon is the "Tuggeranong of Tuggeranong", a forgotten part of a forgotten district. He just wanted the public servants responsible for making the decisions to come out and have a look at the Point Hut dog exercise area. Realise it's not impacting the Murrumbidgee River corridor; that it doesn't hold any magical environmental value. That it's right across the road from Gordon suburbia.
Tara Cheyne says she can't "direct the conservator's decisions". "However, I can direct them to be more consultative and to not blindside the community. Like you, I want a resolution to this quickly and I also agree it shouldn't have come to this," she said.
Cheyne also described herself publicly as a "fellow dog - and off-leash dog park - lover".
So, maybe, just maybe, these dogs will have their day.
To many, a row over dogs and how they are exercised is pretty small beer. But that's underestimating a whole lot of things.
One, people love their dogs. Two, nothing pleases them more than seeing their dogs happy, active and engaged. Three, sometimes things really don't need fixing. And four, people are sick of bureaucrats apparently not understanding real life.
So, what's up?
The Point Hut Dog Exercise Area has been a much-loved secret corner of the Lanyon community in Tuggeranong for at least 20 years. It's a very large piece of land, at the intersection of Woodcock Drive and Jim Pike Avenue, where dogs can exercise off-leash. Dogs can play together across acres of land or trot next to their owner on a one-kilometre loop along the fence line, with beautiful views and sunsets added bonuses.
Full disclosure: I didn't know this facility existed until last week but I really wish I had. There are few places dogs can run or sniff or socialise off-leash in nature. Some south coast beaches allow for that. It's a true joy to watch your mutt free and happy.
The Point Hut Dog Exercise Area is fenced, it's well-maintained, volunteers have brought in portable water for the dogs and made benches for people to sit and rest or have a chat. (Someone said maybe all that's needed now is a bin for the poo bags but most people seem to take them and dispose of them).
The area is not some pristine bushland. According to Gordon resident James Sizer, it was used to dump building waste when the suburb was under construction in the 1990s. There are great swathes of blackberries in amongst the open land. But it's a friendly place. People know each other and the dogs. It's not like a regular dog park. It's huge. You can socialise or enjoy some solitude. It's peaceful.
The ACT government has built a new dog park right next to the existing dog exercise area. It's not very big. A fraction of the size of the current exercise area. It's a bright, shiny doggy playground. Some dogs and owners will love it. The government says more than 80 per cent of respondents to a survey liked the design. Perhaps, if the government had been upfront and respondents had known it would become the only off-leash facility in the area, the results would have been very different.
The new dog park also looks like a case of the government giving with one hand and taking with the other.
The latest advice is that as soon as the new dog park opens, the Point Hut dog exercise area will be leash-only. Which kind of defeats the purpose of the space and the way people have used it, without any dramas, for decades. (It's been, let's face it, a dog park before dog parks were a thing. Just not tizzed up to the nth degree.)
Needless to say, the proposed change has been like a red rag to a bull - or a slobbery tennis ball to a Labrador. Lanyon locals are livid, saying the area needs to stay off-leash. And, like a dog with a bone, they're not going to give up. They want to know the reason for the decision. Why can the stroke of a pen steal so much joy?
New Brindabella Labor MLA Caitlin Tough has, refreshingly, decided to stick up for her community. Only elected last October, Tough is obviously not afraid to challenge her Labor colleagues. She's written a letter to City Services Minister Tara Cheyne asking her to clarify conflicting advice from the minister's office about whether the exercise area will remain a leash-on or leash-off place once the dog park opens. Tough's letter to the minister was to-the-point but respectful - and great to see. That's what we want from our local members - true representation.
Liberal MLA for Brindabella Deb Morris has also come on board, sponsoring a petition to keep the area off-leash. In a few days, the petition had close to 1000 signatures.
Tara Cheyne, to her credit, is proving to be a City Services Minister who is responsive and open to discussion with the community rather than stubbornly intransigent as her predecessor Chris Steel was on a great many issues.
The government, however, says it's actually the "Conservator of Flora and Fauna" who is deciding what areas are off-leash or on-leash. The conservator is a bureaucrat in Environment Heritage and Parks who looks after conservation matters such as protecting native plants and animals.
James Sizer says Lanyon is the "Tuggeranong of Tuggeranong", a forgotten part of a forgotten district. He just wanted the public servants responsible for making the decisions to come out and have a look at the Point Hut dog exercise area. Realise it's not impacting the Murrumbidgee River corridor; that it doesn't hold any magical environmental value. That it's right across the road from Gordon suburbia.
Tara Cheyne says she can't "direct the conservator's decisions". "However, I can direct them to be more consultative and to not blindside the community. Like you, I want a resolution to this quickly and I also agree it shouldn't have come to this," she said.
Cheyne also described herself publicly as a "fellow dog - and off-leash dog park - lover".
So, maybe, just maybe, these dogs will have their day.
To many, a row over dogs and how they are exercised is pretty small beer. But that's underestimating a whole lot of things.
One, people love their dogs. Two, nothing pleases them more than seeing their dogs happy, active and engaged. Three, sometimes things really don't need fixing. And four, people are sick of bureaucrats apparently not understanding real life.
So, what's up?
The Point Hut Dog Exercise Area has been a much-loved secret corner of the Lanyon community in Tuggeranong for at least 20 years. It's a very large piece of land, at the intersection of Woodcock Drive and Jim Pike Avenue, where dogs can exercise off-leash. Dogs can play together across acres of land or trot next to their owner on a one-kilometre loop along the fence line, with beautiful views and sunsets added bonuses.
Full disclosure: I didn't know this facility existed until last week but I really wish I had. There are few places dogs can run or sniff or socialise off-leash in nature. Some south coast beaches allow for that. It's a true joy to watch your mutt free and happy.
The Point Hut Dog Exercise Area is fenced, it's well-maintained, volunteers have brought in portable water for the dogs and made benches for people to sit and rest or have a chat. (Someone said maybe all that's needed now is a bin for the poo bags but most people seem to take them and dispose of them).
The area is not some pristine bushland. According to Gordon resident James Sizer, it was used to dump building waste when the suburb was under construction in the 1990s. There are great swathes of blackberries in amongst the open land. But it's a friendly place. People know each other and the dogs. It's not like a regular dog park. It's huge. You can socialise or enjoy some solitude. It's peaceful.
The ACT government has built a new dog park right next to the existing dog exercise area. It's not very big. A fraction of the size of the current exercise area. It's a bright, shiny doggy playground. Some dogs and owners will love it. The government says more than 80 per cent of respondents to a survey liked the design. Perhaps, if the government had been upfront and respondents had known it would become the only off-leash facility in the area, the results would have been very different.
The new dog park also looks like a case of the government giving with one hand and taking with the other.
The latest advice is that as soon as the new dog park opens, the Point Hut dog exercise area will be leash-only. Which kind of defeats the purpose of the space and the way people have used it, without any dramas, for decades. (It's been, let's face it, a dog park before dog parks were a thing. Just not tizzed up to the nth degree.)
Needless to say, the proposed change has been like a red rag to a bull - or a slobbery tennis ball to a Labrador. Lanyon locals are livid, saying the area needs to stay off-leash. And, like a dog with a bone, they're not going to give up. They want to know the reason for the decision. Why can the stroke of a pen steal so much joy?
New Brindabella Labor MLA Caitlin Tough has, refreshingly, decided to stick up for her community. Only elected last October, Tough is obviously not afraid to challenge her Labor colleagues. She's written a letter to City Services Minister Tara Cheyne asking her to clarify conflicting advice from the minister's office about whether the exercise area will remain a leash-on or leash-off place once the dog park opens. Tough's letter to the minister was to-the-point but respectful - and great to see. That's what we want from our local members - true representation.
Liberal MLA for Brindabella Deb Morris has also come on board, sponsoring a petition to keep the area off-leash. In a few days, the petition had close to 1000 signatures.
Tara Cheyne, to her credit, is proving to be a City Services Minister who is responsive and open to discussion with the community rather than stubbornly intransigent as her predecessor Chris Steel was on a great many issues.
The government, however, says it's actually the "Conservator of Flora and Fauna" who is deciding what areas are off-leash or on-leash. The conservator is a bureaucrat in Environment Heritage and Parks who looks after conservation matters such as protecting native plants and animals.
James Sizer says Lanyon is the "Tuggeranong of Tuggeranong", a forgotten part of a forgotten district. He just wanted the public servants responsible for making the decisions to come out and have a look at the Point Hut dog exercise area. Realise it's not impacting the Murrumbidgee River corridor; that it doesn't hold any magical environmental value. That it's right across the road from Gordon suburbia.
Tara Cheyne says she can't "direct the conservator's decisions". "However, I can direct them to be more consultative and to not blindside the community. Like you, I want a resolution to this quickly and I also agree it shouldn't have come to this," she said.
Cheyne also described herself publicly as a "fellow dog - and off-leash dog park - lover".
So, maybe, just maybe, these dogs will have their day.
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"The situation is unlikely to have arisen had the aircrew been made aware through the MRH-90 flight manual of the risk of fire associated with landing lights," Ms Walker said in the ACT Coroners Court. "This failure reflects a systemic failure to apply the lesson learned in one context ... to the broader yet patently alike context of another aircraft utilising similar technology." The crew, who had been tasked to identify safe helicopter landing points as bushfires raged across southern NSW, were within their rights to stop for a break, the coroner found. But they made an error of judgment by failing to report the fire to their superiors and other authorities. The inquiry heard the crew noticed the fire soon after landing at 1.38pm, with a flight recording capturing one crew member saying: "We started the fire. We started a fire." As the flames moved towards the fuselage and the crew prepared to take off, another crew member was recorded saying: "Yep f***ing searchlight. Dammit." The crew made an emergency call at 1.45pm to report fire damage to the helicopter, but did not alert anyone to the blaze. When asked why he didn't immediately raise the alarm about the bushfire, the pilot said he was concerned the helicopter could "fall from the sky at any moment". Ms Walker said the situation was clearly frightening for the crew, but they should have reported the fire at a time of heightened risk. "It must have been obvious to any thinking person that a delay in reporting the fire could potentially impact the capacity of the relevant organisations to respond to it," she said. During the inquiry, the federal government did not dispute the searchlight had ignited the fire. Ms Walker made several recommendations, including that the findings from incident reports be shared across the ADF and included in any risk and training materials. The Australian Defence Force knew about fire risks posed by its aircraft years before an army helicopter sparked a catastrophic blaze that razed most of a national park during Black Summer, a coroner has found. The fire was ignited by the searchlight on an ADF MRH-90 Taipan helicopter, known as ANGEL21, when the crew landed for a toilet break while on a reconnaissance mission outside Canberra on January 27, 2020. The fire quickly spread from the Orroral Valley and went on to burn more than 82,000 hectares of the Namadgi National Park, causing significant damage to the environment and Indigenous sites. The ADF knew about the risk of the lights, which can reach temperatures as high as 500C after 10 minutes of use, after a Black Hawk helicopter ignited a grass fire in 2013, ACT Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker said in inquiry findings handed down on Friday. But while a warning about the lights was added to the Black Hawk flight manuals, it was not included in the MRH-90 document. "The situation is unlikely to have arisen had the aircrew been made aware through the MRH-90 flight manual of the risk of fire associated with landing lights," Ms Walker said in the ACT Coroners Court. "This failure reflects a systemic failure to apply the lesson learned in one context ... to the broader yet patently alike context of another aircraft utilising similar technology." The crew, who had been tasked to identify safe helicopter landing points as bushfires raged across southern NSW, were within their rights to stop for a break, the coroner found. But they made an error of judgment by failing to report the fire to their superiors and other authorities. The inquiry heard the crew noticed the fire soon after landing at 1.38pm, with a flight recording capturing one crew member saying: "We started the fire. We started a fire." As the flames moved towards the fuselage and the crew prepared to take off, another crew member was recorded saying: "Yep f***ing searchlight. Dammit." The crew made an emergency call at 1.45pm to report fire damage to the helicopter, but did not alert anyone to the blaze. When asked why he didn't immediately raise the alarm about the bushfire, the pilot said he was concerned the helicopter could "fall from the sky at any moment". Ms Walker said the situation was clearly frightening for the crew, but they should have reported the fire at a time of heightened risk. "It must have been obvious to any thinking person that a delay in reporting the fire could potentially impact the capacity of the relevant organisations to respond to it," she said. During the inquiry, the federal government did not dispute the searchlight had ignited the fire. Ms Walker made several recommendations, including that the findings from incident reports be shared across the ADF and included in any risk and training materials. The Australian Defence Force knew about fire risks posed by its aircraft years before an army helicopter sparked a catastrophic blaze that razed most of a national park during Black Summer, a coroner has found. The fire was ignited by the searchlight on an ADF MRH-90 Taipan helicopter, known as ANGEL21, when the crew landed for a toilet break while on a reconnaissance mission outside Canberra on January 27, 2020. The fire quickly spread from the Orroral Valley and went on to burn more than 82,000 hectares of the Namadgi National Park, causing significant damage to the environment and Indigenous sites. The ADF knew about the risk of the lights, which can reach temperatures as high as 500C after 10 minutes of use, after a Black Hawk helicopter ignited a grass fire in 2013, ACT Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker said in inquiry findings handed down on Friday. But while a warning about the lights was added to the Black Hawk flight manuals, it was not included in the MRH-90 document. "The situation is unlikely to have arisen had the aircrew been made aware through the MRH-90 flight manual of the risk of fire associated with landing lights," Ms Walker said in the ACT Coroners Court. "This failure reflects a systemic failure to apply the lesson learned in one context ... to the broader yet patently alike context of another aircraft utilising similar technology." The crew, who had been tasked to identify safe helicopter landing points as bushfires raged across southern NSW, were within their rights to stop for a break, the coroner found. But they made an error of judgment by failing to report the fire to their superiors and other authorities. The inquiry heard the crew noticed the fire soon after landing at 1.38pm, with a flight recording capturing one crew member saying: "We started the fire. We started a fire." As the flames moved towards the fuselage and the crew prepared to take off, another crew member was recorded saying: "Yep f***ing searchlight. Dammit." The crew made an emergency call at 1.45pm to report fire damage to the helicopter, but did not alert anyone to the blaze. When asked why he didn't immediately raise the alarm about the bushfire, the pilot said he was concerned the helicopter could "fall from the sky at any moment". Ms Walker said the situation was clearly frightening for the crew, but they should have reported the fire at a time of heightened risk. "It must have been obvious to any thinking person that a delay in reporting the fire could potentially impact the capacity of the relevant organisations to respond to it," she said. During the inquiry, the federal government did not dispute the searchlight had ignited the fire. Ms Walker made several recommendations, including that the findings from incident reports be shared across the ADF and included in any risk and training materials.
