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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 12 Hansard (12 November) . . Page.. 4002 ..

MS HORODNY (continuing):

The Conservation Council of the South East Region and Canberra has developed a paper. It was written by Paul Mees and is called "Canberra at the Crossroads". It is an excellent document and I hope that the Minister takes the time to read it, because I think there are a lot of excellent ideas and thoughts in it. The document begins to devise a strategy for improving transport in the ACT. The transport issue in Canberra has reached a point where some hard decisions must be made. It is no good having people talking about developing greenhouse targets without a strategy for dealing with a reduction in greenhouse. Getting more people to use public transport and not just talk about greenhouse is about making our city safer, cleaner, less noisy and more pedestrian and bike friendly. There is every reason to improve our public transport and reduce car use. In this way we can reap the benefits.

MR SPEAKER: Ms Horodny, would you mind moving the amendments. You will need leave because you are moving two amendments.

Leave granted.

MS HORODNY: I move the amendments circulated in my name, which read:

(1) After proposed paragraph (1) insert the following paragraph:

"condemns the degrading of Canberra's public transport system by the previous Labor Government which cut ACTION's budget by $10m over 3 years"; and

(2) After proposed paragraph (3) add the following paragraph:

"calls on the Government to develop a transport strategy to increase the proportion of travel in Canberra undertaken by public transport.".

MR STEFANIAK (Minister for Education and Training) (12.11): Mr Speaker, I note that Mr Whitecross included a 10 per cent reduction in the school bus services in his motion. Really, Mr Speaker, I wonder whether Mr Whitecross has nothing better to do than waste the time and effort of this Assembly by dragging out this hoary old chestnut. Much time is already expended on the logistics of running a school bus service, but I will spend a little bit more time to explain the facts for Mr Whitecross's edification.

The Department of Education and Training takes very seriously its membership of the school bus liaison committee and it has an important role in school bus planning and advising on appropriate service delivery standards. The non-government school sector is also represented on the committee, as are the respective parent bodies of the government and non-government school sectors. It is, Mr Speaker, a committee that works very well. ACTION reviews school bus services every year, and adjustments are made on the basis of patronage levels, the opening of new schools, changes to school opening and closing times, alterations to the road network, and similar things that affect the delivery of that service.

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