Page 2143 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 28 August 2007
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The committee also recommends that tax exemptions or other incentives be extended to public transport users. A growing chorus has been calling for national policy reform in relation to the provision of fringe benefits tax concessions for private motor vehicle use, to date without success. The sustainable transport plan commits to pursuing incentives for public transport use and to review the concessional tax treatment for private cars. The ACT climate change strategy states that the government will consult with business and employer groups, including the Commonwealth, to encourage and support the adoption of more sustainable transport options by commuters.
The committee’s report affirms these policy commitments and suggests that more should be done to implement change at workplace level in the ACT and by the Australian government nationally. Some recommendations aimed at improving economic efficiency concern ACTION’s fares, which the committee found were currently too low for full-time employees. The committee also recommends that services be reviewed and improved with the feasibility of new routes and services assessed.
The completion of the Gungahlin Drive Extension, for example, needs to be addressed and assessed for future services. The committee suggests that the bus interchanges at Woden and Belconnen should be upgraded at the earliest opportunity, and the feasibility of a loop bus service or city circulator through central Canberra and the parliamentary zone should be assessed.
The committee also makes a range of recommendations encouraging the promotion of physically active modes of travel and better information, marketing and promotion of ACTION’s bus services. On linking physical activity with sustainable transport, the committee recommends that major employers be encouraged to provide bike fleets at their workplaces, and the feasibility of a free bike hire service for Canberra’s town centres and universities be assessed.
The committee also calls for ongoing support for the walking school bus program. The climate change action plan already commits to the provision of free bus travel for passengers using bus bike racks to carry their bikes. The committee appreciated the assistance provided by the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Mr John Hargreaves, MLA, the interstate government officials and many of the community stakeholders who assisted it during this inquiry.
The committee is particularly grateful for the contribution made by peak bodies, community councils and community groups who submitted detailed analyses following participatory consultations. The committee also welcomes the interest taken in the issues driving this inquiry by the media, particularly the Canberra Times, the Chronicle and City News. I would like to thank my Assembly colleagues on the committee, their advisers and committee office staff, particularly Hanna Jaireth and Lydia Chung.
MR SESELJA (Molonglo) (10.38): I would just like to say a few words about the committee report and about some of the additional comments that I have made. The
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