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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 9 Hansard (29 August) . . Page.. 2816 ..

Mr Whitecross: Minister misleads parliament.

MR DE DOMENICO: Mr Whitecross interjects, "The Minister for Squiggles". Yes, Mr Whitecross, the squiggles are an important element of road maintenance, which we will continue to use, by the way, because all engineering advice available suggests - - -

Mr Whitecross: Mrs Carnell is out of the room. Wait until she comes back.

MR DE DOMENICO: When Mrs Carnell reads the report of the experts in this area, she will realise that, with a few modifications, Mr Whitecross, the squiggles are the things that will continue.

Mr Whitecross: You are very courageous to anticipate her opinion on this, Mr De Domenico.

MR DE DOMENICO: There is one thing I cannot be accused of and that is not being courageous. For Mr Whitecross's edification, because he continues to interject, Mr Speaker, squiggles do not cause potholes. Mr Whitecross might think they do, but squiggles, Mr Whitecross, do not cause potholes.

MS TUCKER (4.23): Probably a lot of employment would come out of an international airport, but I think it would be more to do with noise-proofing lots of houses and legal fees. It is quite obvious that there is no assurance that the noise will not be a major issue. I am delighted to speak on this matter of public importance, and I am glad Mr Moore has raised it, because it is a very important issue. I would suggest that the focus could have been widened. Public transport is a necessary part of our transport infrastructure; but it cannot be viewed in isolation, and I noticed that in his speech it was not. I, therefore, want to address this MPI in terms of the need for a coordinated transport strategy for the ACT, of which public transport is a major component.

Public transport in the ACT will always be struggling to gain patronage and to be economically viable while there is so much emphasis put by government on providing for private motor cars. The postwar planning of Canberra was based around the assumption that the motor car would provide the major transport needs of this city. As a result, the city was actually encouraged to sprawl out into separate towns and low-density suburbs, with freeways and major arterial roads providing the links between the town centres. While the original plans for Canberra also provided for an intertown public transport corridor, which is still shown in the Territory Plan, this has not been developed to any great extent. As a result, only about 5 per cent of total passenger kilometres travelled in the ACT is by public transport. The figures are higher for the journey to work, with about 13 per cent of people using public transport to get to work. These figures are far too low.

The promotion of public transport has many environmental and social advantages which are not adequately recognised by this Government. I would like to point out the social advantages. As someone who has caught buses throughout the winter, the social implications have become very clear to me at first-hand, particularly in the evenings. If I do not leave this place by 6 o'clock, I have to wait for 40 minutes for my next bus.

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