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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 11 Hansard (24 September) . . Page.. 3293 ..

MR DE DOMENICO (continuing):

Mr Speaker, it has been recognised nationally that ACTION has the lowest average fares of all Australian public transport operators. For most years during the 1990s fares were increased only in line with the CPI. Cash fares remained the same for adults and those eligible for concessions. A new off-peak daily ticket for adults, as you know, Mr Speaker, has been introduced for the shoppers special, allowing for unlimited travel in the off-peak periods. We have also introduced a new family day ticket for two adults and three concession passengers, which is very attractive for family groups travelling at weekends and off-peak periods. Since the introduction of the new fare schedule, commuters have been given a greater range of travel options, and general patronage levels are increasing.

Mr Berry: Nobody believes that.

MR DE DOMENICO: Listen carefully. Since the new initiatives were put forward by this Government, patronage levels have increased. They have not gone down; they have gone up. Mr Speaker, the Industry Commission benchmarking report into ACTION's performance over the last five years continues to show improvements against nearly all indicators, reflecting the impact of the budgetary strategy and associated productivity initiatives. ACTION's performance compared with other States was considered most competitive. When rated against the efficiency and effectiveness indicators, ACTION was amongst the top three performers.

Mr Speaker, this Government and ACTION will not be resting on their laurels. The Chief Minister will shortly outline a full range of initiatives in the budget to further improve ACTION, including the trial of 30-seater midi-buses, the trial of smart cards and stored value cards as an alternative to paying cash or using prepaid tickets on ACTION buses, and a sale and lease-back arrangement for the ACTION fleet. This last initiative, Mr Speaker, brings the ACT into line with a number of other jurisdictions, including New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, whose bus systems have proven far more effective since they also went down this path.

Mr Speaker, this move has received criticism from the Greens. This morning they issued a press release, once again, condemning the Government's decision and accusing us of contravening a motion passed in the Assembly on 31 May last year. That motion required the Government to bring before the Assembly any proposal to corporatise ACTION or to sell its services. Let me be clear, Mr Speaker, that the Government is not selling its bus services but rather selling assets; nor are we corporatising ACTION. We are not selling services, and we are not corporatising.

Ms Horodny, who put out the press release, suggested that we take a leaf out of Toronto's book and look at their public transport initiatives. What an amazing analogy, Ms Horodny! I did a little bit of research when I heard of this wonderful system in Toronto. She has compared Toronto with Canberra. Toronto is a city of over two million people. It has a complex transport system which includes buses, heavy and light rail systems, and an underground metro. Why would we want to emulate a transport system that is currently in decline, with reducing passenger boardings? It has had an

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