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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 13 Hansard (4 December) . . Page.. 4394 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

The perennial problem with watering, Mr Osborne, you will be pleased to know, is currently being worked out as a long-term project in terms of the long-term watering usages and how we budget for that between the Bureau of Sport, Recreation and Racing and OFM. It was a very productive meeting. There were some excellent ideas from not only Mr McIntyre but also, might I say, Mr Ellis. I think a lot of good for the Territory in relation to watering of sportsgrounds will come out of that in the very long term. You will be pleased to know the immediate problem, as far as you were concerned, is certainly solved. I think there are going to be a lot of long-term benefits for the Territory as a result of that meeting.

MR OSBORNE: I have a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. Are you able to provide the Assembly with some of the details of the ideas that came out of that meeting - now or at some stage?

MR STEFANIAK: Probably, at some stage, yes. There are certainly a few areas being worked out between OFM and Sport and Recreation. I think they need to develop those programs further. There are about four or five points which Mr McIntyre made in relation to more efficient management of sportsgrounds which we are investigating. I am sorry I cannot think of all of them off the top of my head, but I am happy to dig out my notes and get back to you in the next few days in relation to that, if you want that to occur.

MS HORODNY: My question is to the Minister for Urban Services. I note that ACTION intends to reduce its daily bus services for three weeks over the Christmas-New Year break to the Saturday timetable which, for most routes, means that there will be a one-hour wait between buses. When this was tried last Christmas, it was described in the media at the time as a public relations disaster for the ACTION bus service, with long delays between buses, overcrowding on some services and poor connections at interchanges. Could the Minister tell us how those people who regularly use buses to get to work, in particular, and who are not taking time off over Christmas are expected to get to work during those three weeks?

MR DE DOMENICO: I thank Ms Horodny for the question. Can I say that the decision by ACTION to have a holiday timetable at that time of the year is something that ACTION has been doing for quite a number of years. I am assured by ACTION that, this time, should there be a situation where people need extra buses in the high-peak times in the morning and at night, to go to and from work, those buses will be provided.

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