Page 2151 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 2 August 2022
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decision about how we live and how we spend our money. What tools do we have and what tools do we need to make sure that all of our government and budget decisions are helping us make that systemic change?
MR RATTENBURY: It is an interesting question as we work through transitioning our way of living and our community towards our goal of net zero emissions by 2045 or earlier if we can achieve it. The sorts of systemic issues that Ms Clay raises are good ones. We are looking at a range of indicators. The government has started to use the Social Cost of Carbon as one tool to examine decision-making. Similarly, for example, major infrastructure projects above $10 million are now required to go through an ISCA rating process to examine their performance. Also, of course, we have wellbeing indicators built into the budget. These are the sorts of systemic tools that help us make better long-term decisions and make sure that we are considering the true long-term costs as well as perhaps the costs that are not necessarily traditionally considered or obvious to people in these decision-making processes.
I think there is undoubtedly room to continue to develop these tools and to make sure they are more thoroughly implemented and possibly look at new tools as they are developed. So I think this will be an evolving area. An example would be looking at scope 3 emissions. The government commissioned the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment to look at these measures. She has given us a range of recommendations which the government is now seeking to follow through on. All of these kinds of tools will help us make better decisions into the future.
MS CLAY: Minister, can you give me any examples of how you would use some of these tools in decision-making in your portfolio, or how you have seen them used in other portfolios?
MR RATTENBURY: Light rail would be an example. I know that Major Projects Canberra is looking at, for example, whether we can procure lower carbon concrete for the development of the infrastructure that goes with light rail. I think this is a really good example of where the consideration of scope 3 emissions and the application of the ISCA tool are helping and shaping the way that decision-making is being undertaken in that very significant project. That would be a large-scale example. There would be many other smaller-scale examples through the ACT government, and I would be happy to provide Ms Clay with some more.
Light rail stage 2A—vehicle fleet
MR PARTON: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is to the Minister for Transport and City Services. Minister, as part of Stage 2A of light rail, the government has committed to acquiring four additional CAF Urbos 3 LRVs. What does the government expect the unit cost of these additional vehicles to be? How much higher is it anticipated to be than the original vehicles?
MR STEEL: Madam Speaker, I have corrected Mr Parton on this before. We are not talking about four; we are talking about five. I have already corrected him—I think in Question Time or in a debate here about that before—and he consistently brings it up as if it is a different number. We are in active procurement for this at the moment. We are trying to achieve a cost for the light rail vehicles. We can then contract for them so
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