Page 1354 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 5 April 2011
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The work in relation to transport and infrastructure of course is now being progressed through the Eastern Regional Transport Taskforce which we established last year, with the then New South Wales minister for primary industries, Steve Whan, the Mayor of Queanbeyan, Tim Overall, and I agreeing to establish that task force, which is looking quite rigorously at transport links between our two cities and seeking to determine what we can do to improve or enhance them. The task force has considered, and continues to consider, issues like the need for public transport priority on Canberra Avenue to help increase the Queanbeyan to Canberra public transport share, which currently is less than two per cent of all trips, and the ACT government as a direct response to the task force has committed an initial $8.2 million for enhancing those contacts, most particularly in the context of Canberra Avenue.
There is a need for better public transport service options between the two jurisdictions, including a rapid service into Queanbeyan via Canberra Avenue—subject to our being able to deal with cross-border issues, most particularly with the two bus networks, ACTION and Deane’s. There is a need for park and ride options to support consumer choice to use public transport, and we have indeed committed $4 million over the next four years to investigate, design and construct an extensive park and ride network to take advantage of the existing Red Rapid service. The task force is an important forum where major cross-border transport issues can be discussed and resolved, and the ACT government strongly supports its continued work. It is an issue of course that I will be taking up early with the New South Wales Premier.
Strong cross-border relationships of course extend beyond our immediate region from the necessarily close relationships with New South Wales to our ongoing engagement with other jurisdictions and the Council of Australian Governments, COAG. Through COAG the ACT continues to work closely with the commonwealth and other states and territories on issues of national significance, and it is a valued contributor in that field, playing an active and constructive role. ACT government officials are committed to striving to both protect and enhance the ACT position while contributing to the cause of national reform. It is the strength of the personal and institutional relationships developed as part of this work, primarily through ministerial councils, that allows the ACT to influence the course of intergovernmental relations on a multilateral as well as a bilateral basis. It reflects our commitment to the national good, as well as to advancing the interests of the ACT.
In conclusion, I will touch just briefly on the commonwealth government’s Regional Development Australia initiative, the RDA initiative. Members would of course be aware that the chair of the Canberra RDA is Craig Sloan. As part of this program the commonwealth government has established committees across Australia, supported by the relevant state and territory governments, in order to form a cohesive national network and to eliminate duplication in regional development. These committees form a vital connection between all three levels of government. The federal minister for regional Australia, Simon Crean, views the committees as an effective way to join the dots across governments, across complex and diverse regional issues, and across regions, and indeed between the public and the private sectors. I support and endorse Simon Crean’s approach to regional development.
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