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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 05 Hansard (Tuesday, 25 May 2004) . . Page.. 2158 ..

a greater risk through further prevarication in impeding this project. Good governance, management, sound leadership and decision-making inherently involve some sort of risk. This is a principle that the government has finally got around to exercising, for the first time in the two years that I have seen this government governing. This government has risked the territory through many of its initiatives, but it has never before managed risk properly. At last we see them managing risk. In this case, with the legislation the government is proposing, I believe that they have managed the risk properly.

There is a great risk in not serving the fundamental rights of the greater majority. I would ask the Greens and the Democrats to reflect on this. The Democrats and the Greens have failed yet again to see or support the bigger picture. The is forced to act here today to encourage the government to expedite this project, to expedite this matter in the essential interests of the Gungahlin community and in the best interests of the territory. That is the role the opposition is performing here today—to serve the essential interests of the Gungahlin community and the best interests of the territory. I would implore the Greens and the Democrats to take note of that principle and to support the government’s legislation, as we will, to expedite this matter on behalf of Gungahlin residents.

MR SMYTH (Leader of the Opposition) (11.47): We are here today because of pride. We are here today because of Mr Corbell’s pride. Mr Corbell made a promise in the lead-up to the last election that he would build the Gungahlin Drive extension on time and on budget on the western route, knowing that it could never happen. At that time the previous government had removed the western option and the federal government was also working to remove the federal option.

We are here because of that promise. Because of that promise we are at least two years late; we are at least two lanes short; and, on the figures presented before us, it will take at least $17 million more to build this road. It is not actually $17 million. The government’s budget this year says that the Gungahlin Drive extension, including Caswell Drive and the Glenloch Interchange upgrade, will cost $70 million. The Liberals’ budget for 2000-01 costed that work at $53 million, but of course it was going to build a four-lane road. So the people of Canberra, and in particular the people of Gungahlin, have been short-changed two lanes because of Mr Corbell’s pride.

It has been said this morning that we are rushing this legislation through. The first firm announcement that Gungahlin Drive should go ahead was made in December 1997. That was that the eastern route was the appropriate route after an appropriate process, and work could commence at that time. That was 6½ years ago. This is not a rush. Today we legislate for commonsense. You must reach a point where, the decisions having been made and supported by the majority of members of this place who are elected by the public of Canberra, the will must be exerted to make something occur.

I think we all respect those who are against the road. They put many cases; they changed their case; and they hold dear to their case. That is their right, but it is also the obligation of members in this place to ensure that the will of the majority is carried out and that promises made are kept. What we do today is legislate to let something occur, something that I think the majority of Canberrans would simply say is commonsense. The history of this is that a Liberal government took to the 1998 election the eastern route and was elected and, having done the work and having agreed to the route, they continued to take that position to the 2001 election.

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