Page 3642 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 22 November 2022
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
I spoke to my colleague Mr Davis about what opportunities he saw for greater investment in public and active transport in Tuggeranong. He told me about a bike ride he recently took with one of his constituents from the Tuggeranong Town Centre to the Lanyon Marketplace. His constituent pointed out a range of issues, including damaged traffic calming infrastructure, poor signage and a bike path that just ends in a dirt path.
Mr Davis also told me about one of his constituents in Gordon who has been trying to get covered seating at their neighbourhood bus stop for more than 10 years, and Mr Davis has told me he hears regularly from constituents who would like to see better footpath maintenance, more bus routes and more bike paths in Tuggeranong. This is what we need more funding for.
I thank Senator Pocock for championing the cause of the ACT in the Senate to receive its fair share. Using some of the calculations on his website, the ACT should receive $595 million in infrastructure payments between 2021 and 2026. So far, we have received some funds already pledged and redirected to light rail. I support this redirection but I note that we are still not getting our fair share of commonwealth infrastructure funding.
Imagine what we could do with $595 million—half a billion—in new public and active transport investment in the ACT. We could have world-class city-wide bike and path networks. We could upgrade our bus fleet as quickly as we need to do it.
This amount of new funding, if redirected to public and active travel, would be a gamechanger for the ACT.
I am really hopeful that my colleagues in the ACT Legislative Assembly will be supportive of the ACT getting our fair share of funding and for it go into public and active transport projects first, noting the chronic and historic underinvestment in infrastructure we have had in the ACT and noting that we have prioritised new road projects for private motor vehicles for such a long time.
Where we get federal funding for roads, it should be for projects that we have carefully scoped, that we have selected, and that we know we really, really, do need. It should be for roads that fit into our transport policy and fit into our long-term planning policy.
While the ACT Greens will not be supporting Ms Lee’s motion, I would like to thank her for bringing it today, and I would like to acknowledge many of the legitimate issues that she has raised. I also appreciate the opportunity to discuss the historic commonwealth underinvestment in the ACT and the really amazing opportunities we have right now to kickstart genuinely and truly sustainable transport in the ACT.
We have so much opportunity now if we make better choices than we have.
MS LEE (Kurrajong—Leader of the Opposition) (4.26), in reply: I thank Mr Parton—well, you, Mr Deputy Speaker—and Ms Lawder for your support for my motion and your continuing advocacy for the people of Brindabella. That is always welcome.
I thank Ms Clay for her contribution. Of course, there were no surprises in the Greens position. I think that she should be commended for her newfound rigour in terms of
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video