Page 420 - Week 01 - Thursday, 11 December 2008
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With respect to cycling infrastructure, I was also at that meeting, as well as the Speaker. The Greens are strongly in favour of cycling infrastructure. Cycling is a winner for the environment, producing less greenhouse gases. It is a winner for people’s health. They say people should exercise for 30 minutes a day; we can do the 30 minutes by riding to work or riding wherever. And it saves people money in terms of what they would otherwise spend on their cars. It even saves the ACT government money in terms of providing roads and providing hospital facilities for road accidents. So we think it is an important part of the ACT strategy to deal with climate change. It is something we can do, it is simple, it is easy and we very much support its inclusion in this bill.
MR COE (Ginninderra) (8.56): I rise to speak in particular about the cycling infrastructure component of this part of the appropriation bill. The opposition largely supports the cycling infrastructure. In fact, during the campaign we released a policy called “A more cycle-friendly Canberra”. That policy was all about fixing up the Canberra network. Canberra once had a very good network. The actual paths were well maintained, they were built and planned properly, but that has gone by the wayside over the last five, six or seven years.
What I would like to see, especially being a cyclist myself—and I am sure that Ms Le Couteur would like to see this as well—is that we make sure that all people in Canberra can contribute to the debate on where the cycle paths are most needed. I am afraid that bills like this, rushed through at the last minute, at the eleventh hour, do not give people the opportunity to contribute to this debate. In particular, as a Ginninderra resident, going from Belconnen to north Canberra is one of the key cycle links which is not very well served at the moment. I hope that some of this money does go to improving that link—the feeders from Belconnen to north Canberra.
I am sure that the members representing Molonglo in this chamber would be concerned about the cycle links between north Canberra and the city. If you are going from Lyneham into the city, or going from Dickson into the city—and I have regularly ridden down that route—it is a very tricky one. You are constantly going across from one path to another, you are going on footpaths for part of it, and on-road cycle paths for parts of it. That does not suit everyone. Some people are not comfortable going on on-road cycle paths, so the off-road cycle network is extremely important. Another important part of the network which is neglected at the moment is the part from Deakin into Barton, and also through to the city from there. I hope that some of this money is spent on that.
As I said at the start of this brief speech, the Liberals broadly support the money that is being spent on cycling infrastructure. We just hope that there will be greater interaction in the future when money is being contributed to such a worthy cause.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Children and Young People, Minister for Planning and Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation) (8.59): I thank members for their contributions on these particular elements. We will be able to discuss and respond to some of the matters that have been raised. Mr Smyth, in his earlier comments, made mention of the additional funding for national league teams. I am sure Mr Smyth and the new shadow minister
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