Page 352 - Week 01 - Thursday, 11 February 2010
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that the interim bus interchange has been set up, in short, makes the Belconnen town centre less walkable than it has ever been before.
A number of constituents have complained to me about the placement, especially in Chan Street near the tax office, of bus stops and their lack of proximity to places where people, especially elderly people, want to go. It is not just elderly or disabled people. My son drew this to my attention. He was temporarily disabled when he broke his leg. He told me how difficult it was to get around Belconnen. It seemed that the bus authorities went to particular pains to ensure that the most used buses and the most used bus stops were as far away from places that people needed to go. This was, of course, despite lots of representations on behalf of constituents. The changes that have been asked for have not been implemented. There are still no seats in that area outside the tax office. This means that the people of the ACT are not getting the infrastructure that they need. I will conclude there so as to allow other speakers to comment on this subject.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Planning, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation and Minister for Gaming and Racing) (4.08): I thank Mr Hanson for bringing this matter forward today. The management and oversight of the capital works program is important in the delivery of capital projects within scope, time and cost. This includes the management of the government’s entire program of works, from our annual capital upgrades program right through to our major capital works projects.
Whilst the opposition speakers this afternoon have chosen to focus their attention on just a handful of projects, the government is maintaining its focus on delivering a record program worth over $1.5 billion over the next four years. We have in excess of 450 projects underway. The government refuses to be sidetracked by the opposition’s sustained and blinkered approach to the debate, which sees it consistently rehash the same old arguments time and time again, as Ms Hunter pointed out only four months ago. We look forward to the day when the opposition moves beyond its sustained policy mantra of opposition for opposition’s sake.
We have a rigorous and established process in place for the management of all capital works in the territory. For major capital works projects and significant programs of work we have in place specific arrangements to facilitate successful delivery of these projects. The government’s achievements in the area of infrastructure delivery are unparalleled in the territory’s history. As has been outlined in the Assembly several times over the last few years, we have a proven track record of delivery of capital works, record expenditure, record commitments and quality infrastructure to support our community and the local economy.
The government is in the business of creating a city where people want to work, where they want to live and where they want to play, with quality infrastructure to support all of these activities. Our continued commitment to significant and targeted capital programs has played an important role in the government’s response to the challenges the global financial crisis has presented us.
The government has worked with and listened to industry. Through the combination of our local initiatives package of works, the 2009-10 capital works program and the
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