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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 3 Hansard (10 April) . . Page.. 848 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

Mr Speaker, the goal of this proposed inquiry is to examine the impact a very high speed train could have on Canberra's future economic development. This would be an important step in ensuring that the ACT is prepared and also that the community is aware of the impact such a development could have on the ACT economy in the short, medium and long term.

Such an examination has not been undertaken by the ACT Government since the early years of self-government. Three reports were undertaken at various stages during 1990. These included a report by the ACT Office of Industry and Development, a report by the ACT VFT Advisory Committee, and an ACT Government response to the specific VFT Concept Report put forward by the transortium of BHP, Elders IXL, KumagaiGumi and TNT for a very fast train linking Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. Each report, in its time, was beneficial to the debate that was occurring then on the BHP bid and its implications for Canberra. The reports do not address the circumstances facing our city now; nor do they address the context in which the very high speed train proposal is now emerging. This is not a failing of these reports; it is simply a result of the time and context in which they were written.

Today the ACT Government is relying on reports written and based on circumstances which existed nearly eight years ago. It is a basis which should be built on, not one which should be left as is. That is what this inquiry, if it is successful, would seek to achieve. For Canberra and its residents to fully understand and be prepared for the development of a very high speed train and its impact on our city we need to take a closer look now at what it will mean for our future. We need to start looking at details and implications. We need to stop making assumptions and simply presuming that the project will bring benefits automatically, without any foresight, without any planning. This is why I am proposing this inquiry today.

Mr Speaker, this inquiry will be able to examine in an open and consultative manner, relying on a wide field of knowledge available in our community, the consequences of what the development of a very high speed train will mean for our future economic development, with particular regard to the consequences for employment growth, in direct relation to the project's construction and maintenance, and also the impact on the broader areas of our economy and its costs and benefits, not only for the private sector but also for the public sector in Canberra. I believe that this is an important point. This Assembly must demonstrate that it maintains its belief in Canberra as the national capital and that therefore it also supports Canberra as the administrative centre for the Commonwealth Government.

The impact of a rapid transport link between Canberra, the seat of Federal government, and Sydney, as our leading financial and industrial centre, must be examined and the implications for our city of closer links clearly understood. The consequences for employment growth in the short, medium and long term for our private sector also must be looked at closely. Our city, I believe, does not want to become a satellite and feeder suburb for Sydney. We cannot afford to risk Canberra becoming a dormitory for Sydney, with jobs and employment opportunities increasingly concentrated in that city. A rapid train link may or may not result in this; but, again, it is an issue which we need to understand and examine.

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