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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 2 Hansard (21 February) . . Page.. 496 ..
MR PRATT (continuing):
I think we would all agree that the AIS is a sporting beacon on the hill that all sports-loving Canberrans warmly look up to, even if they are unlikely even to train there.
I emphasise that I am not aware of any definitive statement from the AIS or the Australian Sports Commission to relocate because of the western route proposal. However, there is unofficial anecdotal information suggesting that deep anger and frustration exist, and that a relocation option could arise if no serious dialogue about the real problems presented by the western route option were considered by the government and raised seriously with the AIS.
That brings me to the next perplexing issue. Given that the AIS has been consistent in its arguments for a no western route option, how can the minister, Mr Corbell, profess to be "surprised", as reported on page 5 of the Canberra Times of 20 February 2002, about the deep concerns expressed by the AIS officials to a Senate estimates committee regarding the western route option?
Let me refresh the minister's memory by referring to report No 67 of the Standing Committee on Planning and Urban Services, produced last year, which I have here. I would be happy to show this report to anybody who is not clear about what I am saying. Indeed, the minister was a member of that committee. I shall quote a key AIS submission to the inquiry. In submission No 112A, the former executive director of the AIS, JA Ferguson, argued:
The western alignment poses significant problems for the AIS and its long term plans. The eastern option does not threaten the operation of the AIS campus and may deliver some improvements to the operation of Bruce Stadium, through more effective traffic and parking arrangements.
The AIS submission by Mr Ferguson goes on to state:
The AIS campus master plan seeks to reinforce the strong links with the other institutions and organisations in the Bruce precinct, by encouraging complementary education/technology/sports linked development along the Braybrooke axis ...
The western alignment also separates the AIS campus and Bruce Stadium from the Bruce precinct and by doing so, reduced the potential for the precinct to grow ... into a world class multi-use precinct, with technology, sport and recreation, research and development and health service industries combining with residential use. With over 10,000 jobs in the precinct now, the future growth of the precinct is important to the ACT.
Surely, those recommendations with respect to the integration of the AIS and adjacent ACT educational and sporting facilities are just what this Assembly should be on about, seeking to develop the ACT as a smart city and one able to attract smarter industries. The western route option certainly would stifle that potential for the Bruce region.
With respect to traffic and related issues, the AIS submission to the standing committee of which the minister was a member went on to say:
Adoption of the western alignment will introduce new traffic problems, particularly in Battye Street, during events. Access to the western car parks will be more difficult. Car parking will be reduced by about 1700 spaces. The cost of replacing
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