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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 11 Hansard (8 December) . . Page.. 3241 ..

MR HARGREAVES (continuing):

I know, from my own visits down there on a couple of occasions, that we have had to have school kids escorted across the road. These kids are not particularly young ones. These are teenagers. But they will bolt across the road, and I think we are only waiting for an accident to happen. I understand that there have been a couple of kids cleaned up on that road before. So I would urge the Government to do that.

Mr Speaker, again I congratulate the Government for a speedy response to the report. No doubt some of the lobby groups around town will have their say, and I wish the Minister the very best of luck in responding to those. But I also urge the Minister to consider some timetabling for some of the recommendations that he has picked up. We look forward to receiving details of that timetabling in due course.

MR HIRD (4.34): Mr Speaker, as Chairman of the Urban Services Committee, I thank the Minister and the Government for their quick response to the committee's report. As the Minister pointed out, a number of families have to make arrangements for their children for the 1999 period, and it is good that the Government has given us that quick turnaround.

The other aspect I would touch on briefly is that, although I am disappointed with some aspects of the Government's response to my committee's report, they have identified, and I take it that they are going to give urgent consideration to, the very problems that Mr Hargreaves alluded to - in particular, the dangerous situation of pick-up and set-down points. The three that the committee was very concerned with, and evidence was given to this effect, were the St Clare's, St Edmund's and Daramalan hot spots.

Governments over the years should be condemned for not having addressed these problems. How a serious accident or fatality has not occurred is beyond me. I can assure the Minister that, while he has brought a member from Transport and Traffic onto the transport liaison committee - I commend him and the Government for that - my committee also will hold a continual monitoring brief and will be looking at the forward estimates to see the roadworks program.

Mr Speaker, I will close on another issue. I was in Victoria last week, looking at a matter, and I noticed that at school crossings and also at bus set-down points they had a paddle-pop person, who stood out. It may assist the Government to look at a similar system here in the ACT - in particular, at those three hot spots. I thank the Government.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

MR MOORE (Minister for Health and Community Care) (4.37): Mr Speaker, for the information of members, I present the youth suicide prevention strategy, and I move:

That the Assembly takes note of the paper.

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