Page 153 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 9 February 2022
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Leave of absence
Motion (by Mr Gentleman) agreed to:
That leave of absence be granted to Ms Stephen-Smith for today due to ill health.
Sitting suspended from 11.48 am to 2.00 pm.
Ministerial arrangements
MR BARR (Kurrajong—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Climate Action, Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Tourism) (2.01): Madam Speaker, the Minister for Health is unwell and will not be present in question time. I understand that there is a question to be directed her way, so I will endeavour to assist members with that question.
Questions without notice
Municipal services—footpaths
MR HANSON: Madam Speaker, my question is to the Minister for Transport and City Services. Minister, a freedom of information request for the community path priority list was released in February 2021. An updated one was released in November. One of the decision notices states that the list is updated daily, yet the top 72 listed paths in the February FOI are exactly the same as the top 72 listed paths in the November FOI, indicating none of these paths have actually been built. Minister, have any of these priority paths been built?
MR STEEL: I thank the member. I will take the detail of the question on notice. What I can say is that our government has a very significant $77 million investment in active travel. This is a significant amount of money that is being spent on new shared path connections as a particular priority because they support the trunk routes, and large numbers of cyclists and walkers in particular, connecting different regions of Canberra.
We also undertake footpath upgrades. Those are ranked, as Mr Hanson has alluded to, on the footpath priority list. There may be a request from the community that comes on to that list from time to time, and it is ranked accordingly and prioritised for action. We have undertaken a significant amount of work, particularly during the pandemic, on the screwdriver-ready program, to get on and deliver on many of those projects. I am happy to come back to the chamber to provide some information on the footpath projects that we have delivered, which have been significant.
MR HANSON: Minister, can you come back with the reason why the 72 footpaths listed in February are exactly the same as the 72 listed in November and explain why the footpaths haven’t been upgraded if they are a priority?
MR STEEL: I thank the member for his question. I am happy to provide some information about what we are doing in relation to the upgrades.
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