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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 06 Hansard (Wednesday, 23 June 2004) . . Page.. 2543 ..

includes a target of increasing non-private vehicle use for journeys to work from 13.1 per cent in 2001 to 20 per cent by 2011.

The spatial plan supports the initiatives of the ACT greenhouse strategy by proposing an urban form and structure that minimises car use by reducing total travel distances; encourages alternative travel modes, such as walking, cycling and public transport; encourages more efficient commercial building stock by providing opportunities for new commercial development to replace older and less energy efficient buildings; and encourages decreased residential energy use through higher density housing and more efficient lower density housing.

The sustainable transport plan forms the overarching framework for the implementation of the transport measures which will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions: for example, upgrading the ACTION bus network, including the bus interchanges, to increase the attractiveness of public transport; expansion of pay parking areas to all town centres; upgrading the bicycle network, including on-road cycle lanes; and implementation of a travel smart travel behaviour change program.

There is clearly a lot that the ACT can and should do to meet its greenhouse obligations and the ACT is well on the way to acting on many of those programs. However, there can be no doubt, particularly on the basis of the information now available to us—the fact that the scientific work that should have been done last time and was not done but is now being done and the fact that there has been a significant underestimation of the level of emissions in the ACT and the nature of the target as set—that we need to look seriously at what the community believes is achievable.

We need, as a government, to look at our expenditure on greenhouse gas emissions in the context of the overall budget and our other priorities. Simply to bung on the table a statement of what you will do, particularly in an environment where you know that the government has been working for a considerable period on an assessment of the real situation in the ACT, and not want to wait to see the report and not want to see what the emissions are and what the possibilities are indicates that you are not interested in the cost of addressing greenhouse gas emissions in the ACT. I think that really is a matter of concern. That is why I have moved the amendment to acknowledge that we should be reviewing the territory’s commitment to meeting the greenhouse gas reduction targets. We do need to look at them and we have done that. The report is complete. It is being printed and it will be released in a few weeks.

In addition to that, let’s give consideration to all the ideas that are stipulated in the paper, but why commit to them when you do not know what you are committing to and you have no idea of the cost of what you are committing to? It is just reckless in the extreme to commit to these proposals when you do not have a clue as to the cost of that commitment. That is being reckless in the extreme. My amendment should be accepted. We should review, as we are, the strategy. We should look seriously at the implications of implementing the strategy and the costs associated with each of the steps that we can take. We need to do that in the context of a full understanding of all of the situations, including our budget position. I commend my amendment to the Assembly.

MR SMYTH (Leader of the Opposition) (5.42): Mr Deputy Speaker, I am not sure whether there is a medical condition called fear of targets, but there is something over

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