Page 1590 - Week 06 - Thursday, 7 June 2007
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when it came to implementing the so-called anti-terror laws. What this time line really indicates is a lack of political will and understanding.
In terms of economic development, Canberra’s greatest constraint continues to be a skilled labour shortage. Without an increase in skilled labour the ACT will continue to be restricted in its economic growth, despite apparent increases in private and business investment. The government’s stated goal for population growth is 500,000 by the year 2030. It is doubtful whether enough potable water can be found to support such a large population. And regardless of whether enough water will be available, with only 23 years to go, this figure seems unrealistic. It is also unclear where this exodus of skilled people will come from. While the government is to be commended on its initiatives of training and education programs for Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse women, it is apparent that if we want the much-needed increase in skilled labour more needs to be done.
The current Live in Canberra plan has already spent $400,000 and resulted in only 100 new people to the region. We are still drastically short of our labour needs. The government’s own figures indicate a population growth of only 21,000 from 1996 to 2006. Perhaps it is time we acknowledged that 500,000 is not a realistic or desirable number to plan for. However, if the commonwealth public service continues to expand and the ACT government is successful in attracting so many more people, it does seem counterintuitive not to be increasing services and implementing a user friendly and energy efficient public transport system.
On the topic of public transport, while I welcome the increase in funding for public transport, I am disappointed that there is no commitment to increasing services. This budget has an unhealthy focus on encouraging private car use. A more frequent, more accessible and more sustainable transport plan is what is needed. I am pleased that more funding has been allocated to making buses accessible to people with disabilities, though I would have liked to have seen more targeted public transport options. A robust transport system that caters to the most vulnerable and is part of a broader sustainability strategy is essential. Those who cannot afford to drive or do not own a car should not be penalised for needing regular services outside of peak hours. I look forward to the detail of the government’s new bus service and hope it will meet the needs of the community, rather than the demands of the minister.
There has been a huge injection into roads and car parking in this budget, but as usual there is very little action on the sustainable transport front. In terms of spending on cycling needs, there is provision within some of the roads being built for cycle paths to be built concurrently. This is intelligent thinking and I applaud it. I do note that the existing cycle path network is desperately in need of maintenance, spending and upgrading. It used to be one of the best cycle routes in Australia but it is fast losing that reputation. One must be thankful for Pedal Power and congratulate it on its persistent lobbying in this area. Again, we see around twice the spending on car parks over public transport infrastructure. Interestingly, it is about the same ratio as climate change to dragway expenditure. And these figures do not even take roads expenditure into account.
I am glad to see that the government has committed to funding a review and design of our woefully inadequate bus service. Unfortunately, I fear that so much damage was
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