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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 8 Hansard (9 August) . . Page.. 2664 ..

MR HIRD (continuing):

The jury has sat, the evidence is in, it has been heard, and the verdict has been made. This committee recommends that the construction of Gungahlin Drive extension should proceed, and the committee's recommendations have been endorsed by the government and by members of the community.

Draft variation 138 formalises the process in relation to the GDE section between Ginninderra Drive and Belconnen Way. The committee has moved speedily to bring down its report on this draft variation. In doing so, we are conscious that the issues have already been exhaustively canvassed.

Our report No 67 on Gungahlin Drive, which was two years in the making, was presented to this parliament in March this year and was the end result of many years of study, consultations and planning. The report was over 60,000 words long and carefully and consciously examined all of the terms of reference. The conclusions reached by the committee at the end of the inquiry into the GDE are directly relevant to today's proceedings.

If I may paraphrase part of the conclusions in report No 67, the committee appreciates the need to make a decision in the near future. There have been many inquiries and investigations over the years. In this time, Gungahlin's population has grown to over 20,000. This committee's predecessor commenced an examination of the proposals for the Gungahlin Drive extension in 1997, and our inquiry was an extensive and exhaustive one. Three years is long enough for parliamentary investigations. There should be no further inquiries into whether to provide the Gungahlin Drive extension or into the Gungahlin Drive extension route alignment. It is time to get on with the job of building essential transport infrastructure to benefit the families of Gungahlin, one of the fastest growing areas in Australia. On this basis, the committee considers it essential that the current Legislative Assembly make a final decision on the Gungahlin Drive extension.

Mr Speaker, nothing has changed. There is absolutely no need to continue this argument in this place. The right place now is with the planners, with the engineers and with the construction companies. The time for talk has gone. Members need to do their duty and accept their responsibilities. Any talk of delaying a decision is running away from our collective obligation to the community-not only the community of Gungahlin but the wider community within the ACT.

When Gungahlin was established, there was no road infrastructure, which sadly is the fault of those opposite, if anyone is to blame. Basic road infrastructure should have been put into place before the development of Gungahlin. It was in other areas such as Belconnen and Tuggeranong.

If we do not make a decision today, the whole issue will drag on for at least another 12 months. A decision needs to be made. That would be another 12 months for the long-suffering residents of Gungahlin. We hear people talk about establishing an employment base in Gungahlin. Workers may well live in Gungahlin, but they would have to come from other parts of the territory too. So one flies in the face of the other. It is inappropriate and a cop-out, in my opinion, to walk away from our obligations to the people of Gungahlin.

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