Page 3191 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 18 October 2022
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The government are happy to make election promises. They are happy to take money from hardworking Canberrans and promise big with that money. They are happy to start work, to pose for photos, to impose the greatest traffic disruption Canberra has seen in 50 years and, to quote the minister, “to force Canberrans to change their commuting habits,” but, when it all boils down, they do not have enough respect for Canberrans to let them know how much the tram will cost and when it will arrive.
The contempt of this government for the people they should be serving is gobsmacking. Why does this budget and why does this government not provide the information on how much the tram will cost and when it will be delivered? The government are happy to spend the money of hardworking Canberrans but are not happy to be transparent and have no confidence in themselves to determine or share key pieces of information with Canberrans. I think that is what it gets down to. I think it is a lack of confidence. I wonder why they are not confident. Why do the government think themselves to be above what Canberrans deserve? Is it just that they are not delivering on their promises?
In various announcements and suggestions in recent times, the government have promised that the tram 2A would be delivered by 2024. That promise was very, very clearly made. The Chief Minister suggested, I think in 2019, that the tram would be delivered to Woden by 2025. Very, very clearly, none of those predictions are going to be realised, and they are going to fall short by a long, long way. Perhaps the government have no confidence in the billions of dollars they are paying to contractors to deliver the project, because the cost is blowing out.
We cannot trust this government’s election promises. We cannot trust them to deliver on time and within budget. I would reflect, Mr Assistant Speaker, that when you use an Uber—and I am sure you are extremely familiar, Mr Assistant Speaker—
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Mr Parton, to the speech.
MR PARTON: Excuse me?
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Mr Parton, to your speech.
MR PARTON: Yes of course, Mr Assistant Speaker. Before you hop into the car, you clearly know how much the ride will cost. The user has been given a good estimate of when it will start and when it will arrive at its destination. When you purchase any item in Australia, it is the law to disclose how much the item will cost and it is the law to include all applicable charges, such as GST, and the amount is disclosed to the customer. When you catch a bus or the tram, there are apps to show the traveller how much it will cost, when the tram will arrive and when it will reach its destination.
When you go to build a house, responsible builders will draw up a contract on how much it will cost and provide a good estimate of when the work will start and end and provide this before work begins. Dodgy builders may be sneaky and they might add on charges after the build has started. They may not tell you when they intend to finish the build. Can you imagine building a house and the builder says to the homeowner, “I can’t tell you how much this is going to cost. I just can’t tell you.”
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