Page 3602 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 26 August 2008
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dollars for the greenhouse strategy, a strategy that pretended that greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced to 1990 levels by 2008. That was pie in the sky—absolute absurd nonsense, wishful thinking backed by no scientific data or any will by the then government to seek to implement that strategy. It was just a false hope.
One of the great initiatives is this, and this goes to the heart of the question. I will conclude on this point. Wishful thinking, pie in the sky and dreaming will not allow us to achieve the reductions which we—each of us as individuals or governments—need to achieve in order to meet any target. The previous strategy, with its fake targets, lack of rigour, scientific evidence or basis, and lack of understanding of the realities of life or community life—of growing community and increasing emissions—was nothing but pie in the sky.
In the context of an issue as serious, as demanding and as challenging as climate change is, false prophets and false hopes are some of the greatest dangers or challenges that governments and communities face in trying to achieve the targets and deal with the reality of the challenges which climate change presents. It is important for governments to be open and honest about the challenge we face and not to have this fly-by-night nonsense which the Greens peddle.
MR SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Dr Foskey?
DR FOSKEY: Chief Minister, why did your government decide not to adopt an interim target for 2020 which would have given us a benchmark which would have assisted us to reach the 2050 target, especially when scientific evidence makes it clear that our 2050 target will have to be substantially deepened?
MR STANHOPE: The government has announced the interim position.
Gungahlin Drive extension
MR PRATT: My question is to the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services. Minister, last week on WIN News, in relation to the GDE, you said, “We didn’t realise that there would be 29,000 cars a day along the Caswell Drive section quite as early.”
I refer to the Gungahlin Drive extension study prepared by the Department of Urban Services in June 2002 which showed that traffic volumes south of Belconnen Way were expected to be 29,700 in 2006. Interesting!
Minister, why did you claim that the government did not realise that there would be 29,000 cars a day along Caswell Drive when your own traffic studies published publicly in June 2002 predicted that the traffic volume would be 29,700?
MR HARGREAVES: Mr Pratt is quite right. The study was done in 2002. It predicted that there would be 29,000 cars going down the GDE in 2006. Well, I hate to tell you, but the GDE was not finished in 2006. There were not 29,000 cars going down there in 2006.
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