Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 10 Hansard (4 September) . . Page.. 3021 ..

MR DE DOMENICO (continuing):

that process, a service that currently goes via Kippax but has a particularly low patronage level might be rerouted and used more efficiently. That would be a benefit to the people at Belconnen, Mr Berry. Is that not what we are all interested in? Maybe not. Are we all interested in what Mr Berry wants to do?

ACTION will also be looking at the number of buses that go to Kippax in comparison with those that go to surrounding group centres such as Charnwood and Hawker. That is simply a matter of equity and commonsense. A number of suburbs that Mr Berry mentioned - such as Scullin, Florey, Hawker and Cook - have direct services to Kippax shops. However, these suburbs are intended to be catered for by other group centres such as Scullin and Hawker. Did Mr Berry go out and talk to the small businesses at Scullin and Hawker or Charnwood? Of course not.

Mr Moore: They are not group centres.

MR DE DOMENICO: They are shopping centres. I am sorry, Mr Moore.

Mr Berry: Some of the petition signatures were collected at Scullin shops.

MR DE DOMENICO: You did not say that, Mr Berry. You said Kippax. Come in here and tell us the whole truth and then we might be able to listen to you. In your interjection, you have just told us that you did not take them just at Kippax. You supposedly have taken them somewhere else. You should have said so.

Mr Berry: Mr Speaker, he used the words "the whole truth" again.

MR DE DOMENICO: My question to you, Mr Berry - - -

Mr Berry: He is again imputing that people are not telling the truth here. You have ordered him to withdraw, Mr Speaker.

MR DE DOMENICO: Mr Speaker, in order to get things going, if Mr Berry is precious about that, I withdraw it. My question to you, Mr Berry, is: Did you take your petition to the shopkeepers in these other centres - all of them? No answer. Did you ask them whether they thought it was fair that ACTION was reviewing bus services in the Belconnen area? No answer. Somehow, I very much doubt it, Mr Berry.

Another initiative that ACTION will be putting forward for public comment is the introduction of an off-peak shoppers service from the very suburbs Mr Berry is talking about to the Kippax centre. A review is done every year. We on this side of the house do not stand still, Mr Berry. We keep asking questions of the people who may want to use the bus service.

Mr Berry: You have received a bit of a jolt. That is what has happened.

MR DE DOMENICO: No, we do not receive jolts from you. You chuck marshmallows across the floor, and they land halfway. Do not talk about jolts. The only jolts you get are those you get every time you pick up a newspaper and you get a reflection of what the community thinks about you. Have a look at the cartoon today

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .