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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 8 Hansard (26 June) . . Page.. 2247 ..

MR HARGREAVES (continuing):

time I was on a bus Mr Smyth hadn't been heard of . In fact, I was thinking about sending him a bus timetable because I am sure one goes somewhere near his house.

The government has listened to the people of Canberra and has now delivered a flat fare system for all of Canberra to commence 1 July 2002. ACTION's One Fare-Anywhere delivers travel that is equitable, sustainable and affordable for all ACT residents. Multi-zone customers, who make up the majority of ACTION patrons in Brindabella, will benefit considerably with savings of between 35 and 46 per cent. For example, Tuggeranong to city commuters will save $55.50 a month. That is, a monthly ticket will now cost only $80.50 instead of the old price of $136. Brindabella residents will now be able to travel anywhere in Canberra within the hour for only $2.40 or less for concession tickets.

Mr Speaker, the Stanhope government is supporting appropriate funding to ACTION to allow the continuation of current service levels. This range of initiatives demonstrates the ACT government's commitment to public transport and our goal of attracting more Canberrans to use ACTION.

The government has announced additional police positions in line with our election commitment. These positions will be targeted to specific needs and designed to deliver a maximum impact in the fight against crime in our community, and this something that is very dear to the heart of many people in Brindabella.

Putting additional field staff into our parks and reserves is a feature of the government's A Sustainable Bush Capital in the New Millennium-a New Focus for Nature Conservation in the ACT. This is going to be done through: recruitment of additional personnel to meet seasonal work demands; rearrangement of administrative responsibilities to release qualified staff for field duties; new roster arrangements to allow greater field presence during peak use periods; and provision of additional equipment. The government's nature conservation plans focuses on four key challenges, including obviously putting more field staff into the ACT parks and reserves.

The ACT government has committed $1.1 million over three years to the solar hot water scheme and expects 1,500 households to benefit. That should be up and running-and if my memory serves me correctly, the minister spoke about this earlier on in the day.

Mr Speaker, the people of Brindabella put their trust in the Stanhope government to deliver on its election promises. I am pleased to be able to report to the Assembly that we have kept our word. Ms MacDonald, Mr Wood and I are proud to represent the people of Brindabella in the government. We have demonstrated our commitment to the electorate in the first eight months of this fifth Assembly, and we will keep on working for Brindabella long into the future.

MS DUNDAS (12.25): I rise to speak only very briefly on this motion, and I will be speaking briefly because I believe private members business should be used for more productive matters than a motion from a government backbencher congratulating the government.

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