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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 1 Hansard (19 February) . . Page.. 139 ..

MR HUMPHRIES: I will not put my amendment yet; but, if I may, I will speak to my amendment.

MR SPEAKER: Yes.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, the advantage I believe that this amendment has over Ms McRae's amendments is that I think that the wording of the four numbered paragraphs would imply to people's minds that the Government needs to actually have done this work and demonstrated to the Assembly's Planning and Environment Committee that it has done this work before the committee can come back and report to the Assembly; that is, we have to actually have completed the future public transport options study in response to the joint committee's report and acted on its recommendations.

The public transport options study is a very long-term process which will take years and years yet to complete. Certainly, to have acted on its recommendations would be impossible in the timeframe concerned. Similarly, to implement a detailed strategy of measures to facilitate the use of public transport and other non-car modes of transport by Canberra residents is an exercise which will take years to complete. I certainly believe that that work in some form needs to be done. Indeed, I would argue that many of the transport studies which have been done to date address those sorts of issues.

As I read this motion, if it were passed in this form we would be saying that these things need to be completed before the Government can make any decision on the timing and route of the proposed John Dedman Parkway. That is why I suggest to the Assembly that it would be better to allow the Planning and Environment Committee to overview the work that the Government is doing in the area directly of consultation on the route of the John Dedman Parkway, the Maunsell study, and overview the other issues which are referred to in Ms Horodny's motion; that we report on all those things to the Planning and Environment Committee and then the committee report back to the Assembly. At that point we can decide as an Assembly whether to proceed to allow the Government to make a decision on that issue or not. That is the position that I put to the Assembly, Mr Speaker, and I hope members will support that position.

Ms McRae: May I just clarify a point? Is that "and the Committee has responded to the Assembly" or "reported to the Assembly"?

MR HUMPHRIES: "Reported to the Assembly". I am sorry. You are quite right, Ms McRae. It should be "reported". I seek leave to make that simple amendment, Mr Speaker, to my amendment.

MR SPEAKER: Yes. We are not looking at it yet, so we can do it. It will be amended. For the benefit of members, the words "responded to" have been replaced by the words "reported to".

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