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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 10 Hansard (25 September) . . Page.. 3313 ..

MR KAINE (continuing):

A feasibility study of the upgrade of that road was done in 1996. While the study identified a strong need to upgrade the road, it put $11.5m as the estimated cost of doing so over the next three years. I do not think that that is $11.5m that the ACT ratepayers should be asked to pay. The Federal Government does have priorities for its major road building undertakings. For the time being, it is concentrating on the duplication of the Federal Highway. That is costing about $30m - a not inconsiderable sum of money - and to ask the Federal Government to change their priorities is, I think, a bit rich.

Notwithstanding that, on the basis of Mr Corbell's position, I have written to Mr Sharp and asked whether or not some change in priorities is possible. I have no objection to tabling that letter, but I do not have it with me now. I have received no answer to that letter yet. It was only a matter of days ago that I wrote - - -

Mrs Carnell: It might be a bit slow coming now.

MR KAINE: Mr Sharp might not answer it, but perhaps his successor will. This constant carping from the Opposition about upgrading this particular bit of road, and seemingly on the basis that we should ask the ACT ratepayers or taxpayers to fund it, makes me wonder what Mr Corbell will do if perchance he is in government after next February. Is he going to go ahead and spend $11.5m to upgrade the Barton Highway? If he is, I wonder where he is going to get the money from.

I have done the sums on this. There are a number of ways that he could get it. He could add $60 a year to the cost of the licence of every driver in the ACT. That would raise the money over a three-year period. Or he could increase car registrations by $75 for each vehicle. Or he could ask every ratepayer to contribute $115. These are three options. Would Mr Corbell like to tell me which one he finds attractive, so that the taxpayers out there can know which of them are going to have to carry the burden of Mr Corbell's decision to upgrade the road at their expense?

MR CORBELL: I have a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. I do have something that could assist. Minister, can you confirm that the ACT Government chose not to accept $11m made available by the Federal Government for the upgrade of the remaining stretch of the Barton Highway in the ACT to dual carriageway, because your Government believed the traffic demand from Gungahlin did not warrant the upgrade? How do you, Minister, explain your Government's decision to reject the Federal funding for this upgrade, in light of your own department's admission earlier this year, in evidence given to the Planning and Environment Committee, that this road was reaching its capacity and warranted an upgrade to dual carriageway? Minister, did you change your mind on the need to upgrade the Barton Highway only following my raising this issue earlier this month? Does this explain your sudden change of mind to write to the now sacked Federal Minister for Transport, Mr Sharp, asking him to consider the upgrade as a matter of urgency?

MR KAINE: Mr Speaker, that is a very long question based on totally incorrect information. I not only will not confirm it; I totally reject it. The money has never been in any Commonwealth budget. It has never been available to us, and that is why it is not available to us now - because they do not have $11.5m to put into their budget.

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