Page 1625 - Week 05 - Thursday, 8 May 2008
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This government is failing miserably on waste management. A cursory look at the accountability indicators in this budget shows that we are simply not meeting targets such as reducing waste to landfill and that our recycling levels that the minister is so proud of are decreasing. The goalposts have been moved and now it seems we have reduced the targets to reduce the embarrassment rather than improve the outcome. More waste by 2010 seems to be the new strategy. The government can probably be confident of delivering that.
The ACT desperately needs a coherent plan for an integrated rapid transit system. If we take the notion of creating a city for the inevitable future then we need vision on the transport front. The large budget for infrastructure favours road building and car parking. I see no climate change analysis there.
This government pays lip-service to a sustainable transport plan but, without an integrated mass transit system which can deliver seamless, convenient and affordable transport, the ACT will remain locked into high energy, high cost and inequitable transport solutions for people across the city. We need a well-planned and designed system cleverly connected through a mix of diverse modes to provide the resilience for a carbon-burdened world—heavy and light rail, buses of various sizes, and taxis or a reasonably priced equivalent—all working together with cycling and walking, to make the single-person use of the car the last, rather than the first, option.
Undoing the vandalism inflicted on ACTION buses by the ACT government in 2006, which essentially happened last year, was an obvious step, but it is a fundamentally inadequate response to the growing traffic and parking problems, fuel costs and global warming pressures we face in Canberra. Now the money returned from the slashing is being used to patch up the timetables in order to get back a few of the customers and gain some of the trust lost at the time.
But that sequence of events also demonstrates the depth of the challenge we face. In announcing the new bus timetable to come into effect next month, the minister proudly advised the media that this time he had consulted with drivers and passengers. The obvious question is: why didn’t they consult with drivers and passengers before?
There is a significant expenditure on buses over the next few years, largely in the purchase of new stock and the rebuilding of an interchange. No-one could argue these are not desirable products. But new buses do not really make a sustainable transport system, nor does one extra kilometre of bus priority lane. We need more dedicated bus lanes, not just one or two in the whole of Canberra. We need bus priority at all lights.
This government ought to have developed options which truly offer Canberra people a viable alternative to driving to work. A mix of buses and light rail would provide the spine of an efficient and attractive transport system. As ACTION buses acknowledged in my office, Canberra is designed well to link up in that way. I note that the Light Rail Coalition is asking for a proper feasibility study on light rail in the ACT with transparent terms of reference.
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