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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 1 Hansard (20 February) . . Page.. 183 ..

MS McRAE (continuing):

I think that this inquiry will end up facilitating a far better outcome for the Minister than the current study seems to have yielded, although I carry no brief to either criticise or praise Maunsell. They are simply there to do a job. They are doing their job. I accept that some people are not happy with that job; but, equally, I accept that they are there to do that job, and, as we said yesterday, we will let them finish that work. We will then be able to examine, against the result of their work and the Government's response to their work, the types of criticisms that have been levelled and the veracity of those concerns, and retest those against the study. That, in essence, is what we propose to do with this inquiry.

The terms of reference will be negotiated within the committee and then announced in the Assembly - I propose in the May sittings, because that will give sufficient time for us to know where we are at in terms of Maunsell's study and the Government's response. The inquiry may not begin until June or July. I am just suggesting that the May sittings is an appropriate time, or perhaps the June sittings. I am not troubled by that. I am suggesting that the committee will talk through the proposed terms of reference, announce the terms of reference and conduct the inquiry in June. That will be up to the committee chair to negotiate and detail. I commend the motion to the Assembly. It gives us, as legislators, an opportunity to be involved in a thorough and wide-ranging inquiry, and it will produce a result that, I think, will be of satisfaction to all concerned, in a way that the current study seems not to be able to do.

MS HORODNY (10.38): Mr Speaker, I move:

Omit paragraphs (1) and (2), substitute:

"(1) the Planning and Environment Committee undertake a wide-ranging inquiry into Gungahlin's transport links, including the Government's proposals with respect to the following:

(a) the completion of the Future Public Transport Options Study initiated in response to the Parliamentary Joint Committee's Report and acted on its recommendations;

(b) the development and implementation of a detailed strategy of measures to facilitate the use of public transport and other non-car modes of transport by Canberra residents, particularly including Gungahlin residents;

(c) the development and implementation of a strategy to reduce the number of vehicles travelling between Gungahlin and Civic or other southern destinations, such as by encouraging employment opportunities in Gungahlin and restricting employment growth in Civic;

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