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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 6 Hansard (17 June) . . Page.. 1660 ..

MR KAINE (continuing):

However, the more significant changes recommended in the report, such as network redesign and fares, need careful planning. They will require extensive consultation with all stakeholders. Such large changes will, I expect, take about 12 months to introduce. The Government has agreed to proceed with network redesign along the lines recommended in the report, with the aim of implementing the new network and fare structure by May or June of next year. The Transport Workers Union has a clear role and responsibility here to contribute to improvements and reform work practices so that the network can be redesigned and improved services delivered to the community.

The aim of public transport policy in Canberra is to make bus travel attractive and a viable alternative to the car. This will deliver positive benefits to the environment, take pressure off the road system and conserve resources for future generations of Canberrans. Mr Speaker, ACTION has come a long way over the years, and we have a strong foundation on which to reshape bus services in Canberra. The Graham report sets the scene for the further substantial improvements required to meet the needs of Canberra today and into the future. I believe the measures that I have outlined today will provide Canberra with the best and most responsive bus service in Australia at a cost Canberrans can afford. The Government is committed to the implementation of the recommendations of the review because of their eminent logic. I am confident that all members will support the Government in this view and support the implementation of the reforms necessary to make ACTION a better bus service for Canberra.

Mr Speaker, I would also like to take the opportunity, while speaking on this issue, to inform the Assembly of the appointment of a new executive director of ACTION. The appointee, selected through a rigorous process of interview, is Mr Guy Thurston. He is a highly qualified and professional person and is currently the general manager of Sydney Buses. I am confident that Mr Thurston will contribute enormously to the future success of ACTION, beginning with the implementation of the recommendations from the Graham report. He will take up his position on 14 July. Mr Speaker, I commend the Graham report to the Assembly.

MR WHITECROSS (Leader of the Opposition) (3.51): Well, well, well! Mr Speaker, here we have the Graham report coming out with a list of criticisms of the way the current Government have been administering the buses over the last three years. It reads like a summary of press releases from the Labor Party. It is an absolutely amazing indictment of the performance of this Government over the last three years and their stubborn refusal to listen to the voice of the community and the voice of members in this place about the mess that this Government has been making of the public transport system in Canberra. Mr Speaker, the recommendations of this report say a lot about the poor performance of this Government. They say a lot about the validity of the criticisms that we have been levelling against this Government consistently since they first embarked on their policy. These are the people who have cut $12.7m out of ACTION over three years. These are the people who have made repeated changes to routes and reduced the frequency of services. They cut over 10 per cent of services from the ACTION bus network in one revision of the timetable in 1996. In their revision in 1996 they drove 13 per cent of ACTION users off the buses. As early as the beginning of this year, they were implementing further cuts to the network, this time the school buses. These people, after they cut back on school buses, have the gall to say, "The number of concessional passengers on ordinary route buses has increased". What a class act! Into the bargain,

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