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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 12 Hansard (12 November) . . Page.. 4006 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

There is a range of ways that we can approach flexible public transport. In one of the recent motoring magazines there was a system of linked electric cars which can then be divided and driven by the user. These may even make a major contribution to the reduction of greenhouse. On the other hand, they may be entirely impracticable. What we do have to do is look at them, along with a range of other ideas, and see whether we can manage to find a way to get a more flexible, more practicable and more attractive public transport system where people say, "Why bother using the car? Why not proceed with public transport?".

There is another issue that is very pertinent today. I was in Civic with Ms Horodny and Mr Kaine this morning when Mr Kaine launched Bicycle Week. We must not forget that part of the public transport system ought to include the network of bicycle paths in this city. It was a great joy for me to ride my bike, with a couple of my children, over to the opening of that. I had an even greater joy because I was taught to ride a penny-farthing. I have now mastered that and I have to thank Mr Rod Driver, whom many of you know, for teaching me that skill. I wondered whether I might be known as Mulga Mike on this bike after that little episode this morning. Mr Speaker, we have available to us a whole range of alternatives and we must ensure that we improve our public transport system.

MR WHITECROSS (12.24): Mr Speaker, I rise to speak to Ms Horodny's amendments. Ms Horodny has two amendments. The second one is, of course, a very sensible amendment and deserves support. The first is a very silly amendment and the Labor Party will be opposing it. Maybe I should start by talking about the first amendment, which goes to Ms Horodny's assessment of Labor's record. Ms Horodny has just written down the standard parroting line from the Liberal Party and is now arguing that the Labor Party was also hacking into the public transport system. Only yesterday the Greens were lecturing this place about giving credit where credit is due, about how the Greens call it how they see it and are not ashamed to give credit to the Liberals where they have done something and decline to identify any areas where the Liberals have done badly. Here again today, on a very serious issue like public transport, the Greens cannot bring themselves to say that the Liberals have done a bad job on public transport, without somehow dragging the Labor Party in as if somehow it is our fault that the Liberal Party have done a bad job.

The reality, Mr Speaker, is that the Labor Party have consistently criticised and consistently advocated for a better public transport system over the last three years. I have been the spokesperson on transport for those three years and we have consistently run the argument. In fact, it was the pressure that the Labor Party applied to the Government about their poor performance in public transport which moved Mr Kaine, when he became Minister, to turn around and commission a report to find out what they had done wrong and how they could fix it. So I think it is pretty extraordinary now that the Greens should turn around and somehow say that the state of public transport is our fault as well as the Government's. It is unequivocally the Government's fault, Mr Speaker.

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