Page 190 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 6 March 2007
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solution by the Transport Workers Union and the drivers themselves. They have been very forthcoming.
Since 4 December, ACTION has been assessing customer feedback and consulting peak bodies such as the Council of the Ageing and resident groups, as well as drivers and transport officers who deliver the services. On 5 February a range of changes to specified ACTION services occurred, including up to 14 additional services on intertown buses—the 300 series—in the shoulder period between 9.00 am and 10.00 am, and up to 23 augments to intertown interpeak services. Amended travel directions on routes 939 and 97 have been implemented to cater for elderly passengers in this area.
ACTION is currently working on a number of measures to alleviate the issues. ACTION proposes to extend selected peak services on routes 12 to 17, west Belconnen and Tuggeranong; to adjust routes 116 and 117; to replace some northside routes with previous and extra services; to implement on-platform ticket validation; to advertise preticket sales and improve signage and timetable information for customers; and to adjust traffic lights on peak direction routes to the city. These measures will be introduced over the next three to four months. Other changes will cost money and take more time. I am awaiting a brief from my department in relation to those matters and can say nothing more until I have received that brief.
Bushfires—declaration of state of emergency
MR SMYTH: My question is to the Chief Minister. Chief Minister, Coroner Doogan, in her report into the bushfires, was critical of the slow timing of the declaration of the state of emergency. Under the then arrangements for a state of emergency, the Chief Police Officer would act as the territory controller in the event of a declaration of a state of emergency.
In his evidence to the coroner in relation to the declaration of the state of emergency, Chief Police Officer Murray stated that he was not invited to the meeting held at 2 pm on 18 January 2003 that ultimately decided to declare a state of emergency. He stated, “I wasn’t expected, as I understood it. I wasn’t invited and I wasn’t expected.”
Chief Minister, what was this meeting called to discuss? Was there any consideration of a declaration of a state of emergency before the Chief Police Officer arrived uninvited to the meeting?
MR STANHOPE: Commissioner Murray was invited to the meeting. In fact, the meeting was delayed because Commissioner Murray was in Sydney. The meeting was delayed while he travelled back from Sydney to Canberra on the morning of the 18th. The meeting was convened later than it might otherwise have been while we waited for the Chief Police Officer to arrive. I do not quite know the context in which the statement that the member just referred to was made or what evidence was provided to the coroner in relation to that.
An issue that perhaps was not aired or flushed out to the extent or degree that it might have been and which is the basis of some of the assumptions that many are making around the level of understanding of certain people, including, of course, the police, is
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