Page 849 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 6 April 2022

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(3) calls on the ACT Government to:

(a) make bus travel free in the ACT for six weeks; and

(b) return to the full bus timetable.

Canberrans have been through a lot in the last couple of years. It has been tough. The pandemic has been the biggest factor, but it has been coupled with extraordinary rises in the cost of living, and these are rises which are being felt more in the ACT than just about anywhere in the nation. This morning we were greeted with yet another report that shows that we in Canberra have the highest rents in the nation. We are paying among the highest rates in the country and there are a lot of people that are feeling financial pressure.

The Morrison government have come to the party with a number of big-ticket budget announcements aimed at easing the cost of living. They have certainly highlighted how much impact the high petrol prices are having on people in the suburbs. The federal government’s cut to petrol excise is already starting to flow through to the various service stations in the suburbs of Canberra, which is great, and we thank the Treasurer, Mr Frydenberg, for that. But things are still tough out there, and there is no doubt that the cost of transport is still a big factor in the bottom line of household budgets in the suburbs.

The Tasmanian government has very clearly identified that high petrol prices are impacting Tasmanians. Earlier in the year they announced a five-week period of free bus travel on the apple isle. I understand that there have been some teething problems with the rollout of that program in Tasmania, but it remains to be seen whether those problems are COVID-related or not. Indeed, the head of the equivalent of the TWU in Tasmania absolutely dismisses the fact that their cancellations have anything to do with COVID.

I know that we will hear from Mr Steel on the Tasmanian experience. Again, I would point out that Ric Bean, the head of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, used some quite colourful language when he spoke to the media, absolutely dismissing COVID as a reason for driver shortages this week. I think that we should take note of those words.

Additionally, I would like to make the chamber aware that the first week of free bus travel in Tasmania—and I know that Ms Clay in particular will be pleased with this, if she was not already aware of it—resulted in a 13 per cent increase in patronage. That is pretty cool, isn’t it?

The transport minister in Tasmania, Michael Ferguson, said that it was encouraging that more people were giving the buses a go, especially for those who had not caught the bus for a while, and who had never considered it before. This is genuine behavioural change. To quote Michael Ferguson, the Tasmanian transport minister:

The first week of free public bus services has shown strong results with preliminary figures demonstrating an increase of about 13 per cent …

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