Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

On Sunday the people of Clovelly came together to reimagine their streets and their suburb. They transformed Clovelly Road into the street that they want to live in and the environment they want to be a part of. The result was more trees and plants, wider foot paths with public chairs and tables, slower traffic and more bike lanes, street art, performances and kids' activities. They created the public space that we all want to live in. The result was an overwhelming success. Thousands came to participate and be part of the Clovelly Road Better Block project. I want to congratulate and thank the volunteers and supporters of Clovelly Road Better Block for their hard work and vision to transform Clovelly Road.

Theirs is a vision for our future and how we want our cities and our suburbs to develop: more interaction between people, safer streets for our kids, fewer cars and more bikes and walking. These are the cities and suburbs that people want to live in, and we as leaders and politicians must listen to them.

The Commonwealth can be involved in activities such as this. In the UK at the moment they have a policy of spending 10 pounds per person till 2020 on developing bike and walking paths. We can transform our cities. Clovelly Road Better Block proves that.

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