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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 9 Hansard (29 August) . . Page.. 2811 ..

MR DE DOMENICO (continuing):

Since the implementation of the 1994 plan, the Territory has undergone a number of changes. However, there has been no review of the metropolitan structure, despite changes to population growth rates, the employment base, lifestyle, work patterns, community expectations and Commonwealth funding arrangements, and the introduction of self-government. In December 1995, the Chief Minister, in a joint statement with the then Federal Minister for Housing and Regional Development, Mr Howe, announced the metropolitan Canberra growth strategy review. The purpose of the review, known as National Capital Beyond 2000, is to provide a framework for urban planning, development and management. The outcome of the review will be a strategic plan which sets out principles and broad policies to guide change. It will reflect agreed economic, social, cultural and environmental objectives. It will be a springboard for future economic development and the implementation of detailed strategies on a range of matters such as public transport. The results of the review will be available by the end of September this year. Preliminary advice indicates that the community has identified public transport as an important issue.

Important as the review is, the Government has not been sitting on its hands awaiting the outcome. We have been able to make improvements on a range of fronts, including ACTION service standards, priority measures and productivity gains, the establishment of the Transport Reform Advisory Committee, parking, and an examination of personal public transport options. Let us look at ACTION buses. The Government has continued and accelerated the program of reform for Canberra's public transport service. External benchmarking studies conducted by the Commonwealth Grants Commission through the Steering Committee on Performance Monitoring of Government Trading Enterprises and by the industry through the Australian City Transit Association have all identified the need for ACTION to improve its productivity and efficiency and to reduce costs and improve revenue collections.

The Government has appointed an advisory board to guide ACTION through this reform process and to overview the introduction of a more commercial approach to operations. The board includes members from the local business sector as well as from the community. Enterprise bargaining processes have been successfully employed by ACTION to implement key improvements in labour productivity and work practices. I commend the work done by ACTION and by the Transport Workers Union in achieving that outcome. The introduction of part-time employment conditions and multiskilling of employees between workshops and driving and across other traditional employment boundaries has resulted in significant efficiency improvements and cost reductions.

ACTION has been set a savings target of $12m over three years. Among other things, ACTION is looking at cost reductions across its complete operations, including overhead areas and in fleet investment and utilisation. Improvements in vehicle maintenance, scheduling and rostering practices have supported a fleet reduction that will allow the closure of one of our older bus depots, with a consequent saving in overhead costs in excess of $700,000 per annum. That saving will be achieved without any impact on service delivery.

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