How you had YourSay:
In late 2017, we asked Canberrans to provide feedback on how you rate some of the city services we provide.
The community provided feedback by:
- completing a survey online or hardcopy
- submitting a comment on the YourSay discussion board
- attending a pop-up sessions
- submitting a written response
What we looked at:
By 2030, we're heading towards Canberra being home to 500,000 people. Our suburbs will look and feel different and our city services will need to respond to changing expectations. How we use our land for housing and other purposes, move around our city, care for our environment and have services and space that allow us (and our animals) to be social will be different.
Decisions about our city services need to be made now for the future. They will have to balance community needs with being financially sustainable. A Better Suburbs Statement will give us a shared vision for city servicing in 2030, along with short term priorities that will lead us to this goal.
The city services included in the Better Suburbs Statement will be:
- Community lifestyle services - management of domestic animals, parks and public amenity, library services, recreational facilities, shopping precincts and trees and shrubs.
- General services and infrastructure - the management of construction and maintenance of roads, waste management, traffic management, street lighting, stormwater and construction and maintenance of footpaths and cycle paths.
What we heard:
Canberrans value and appreciate the suburbs in which they live. Over 86% of survey respondents indicated that they would promote their suburb as a great place to live.
The quality of facilities and standard of service is also important to Canberrans. A strong majority (82%)
of people responded that they prefer having less infrastructure but of a higher quality and servicing,
to having more infrastructure with less servicing.
Overall, survey respondents are satisfied with community facilities and have further ideas for their improvement.
Libraries, dog parks and sporting and recreational facilities are seen as less important than basic,
day‑to‑day services, however the community is happy with these facilities and services currently.
Over the course of phase 1, we heard from:
- 1,242 Canberrans through the survey
- 8 people who lodged written submissions
- 175 people who attended 5 pop-up sessions
- 43 people through the YourSay discussion board
- 302 people who engaged with our posts on social media
Top 5 features that you said contribute most to a great suburb:
- Access to shopping precincts
- Access to parks and amenities
- Safe and connected footpaths
- Maintained trees and shrubs
- Maintained and connected roads
How we are using your views:
YourSay survey and discussion board responses have been reviewed and the results can now be found in the Better Suburbs Community Consultation and Engagement Summary Report.
Using the results from phase 1 consultation, a Kitchen Table Discussion Guide has been developed and gives a framework for friends, family and small groups to have a deeper discussion and gain understanding on an issue. You'll also be able to give feedback online.
