Page 2870 - Week 10 - Thursday, 7 October 2021
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governing agreement with Labor commits to building stage 2. I would like to see light rail stage 2 completed as soon as possible, with a view that the beginning of construction of stage 3 to Belconnen should begin seamlessly after this stage is completed.
Over the past three elections Canberra has backed the ACT Greens in our calls for light rail. I know that not everyone supports it, but a vast majority of Canberrans do. They have voted for it in three elections. Polls show that most Canberrans support it. We overwhelmingly vote for light rail when it is due to come to our area. Canberrans have hopped on board with the project, with higher pre-COVID patronage numbers than expected. Canberra has chosen light rail.
This makes perfect sense. Canberra is a planned city. Our original designs featured large national institutions, grand boulevards with medium density dwellings and a light rail network connecting the entire thing. We got the institutions, but we did not get the living space or rail network to go with it. Instead, we got lots and lots of cars. The car-centric planners of the past ensured that Canberra’s boulevards would only suit the car. They ensured that our city would sprawl and expand well beyond the original design.
I want my constituents to be able to take light rail from Kippax to the airport. I want to see a network spine that stretches to every part of Canberra, and a system of integrated neighbourhood buses and active travel connections that makes public and active transport the best way to get around in Canberra, and the most desirable way to get around in Canberra.
We want those people buying a home in Woden, Belconnen, Tuggeranong and Molonglo to know that light rail will reach them. We need to know that we will be connected to the public transport network that has been promised. Gungahlin and inner north residents have flocked to this network because of its comfort, reliability and frequency, and the rest of us need to get the same benefits.
We want transit-oriented development. This will help to end the urban sprawl that is eating up our bushland and encroaching on ecologically significant areas. Let us stop forcing Canberrans into cars, with all of their social, financial and health costs.
Canberra needs light rail and we need a whole network, not just one line. The ACT government, and the ACT Greens as part of that government, understand this, and I am glad to see Minister Steel progressing stage 2A, with the work just started and the allocation of funding in the budget.
Unfortunately, the Canberra Liberals do not understand this. They have consistently shied away from this investment. They do not want to make the changes that will futureproof us and tackle some of our big problems. They do not offer any other transport plan, either, to tackle congestion, accessibility and climate change.
I am a strong advocate for transparency, and there is a really good place for critique. I am delighted that we have an Auditor-General in place; I am really glad that we have a committee system that can provide scrutiny. I am happy to call on the
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