Page 3546 - Week 08 - Thursday, 18 August 2011
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infrastructure, has stuffed up this project so majorly. It is extremely disappointing for my constituents in Ginninderra.
The litany of infrastructure failures is long for this government but it is worth noting, of course, the issues with the Well Station Road, with Horse Park Drive, with Tharwa Bridge. I have already spoken about the GDE. I wait to see what kind of errors we are going to see with the Majura parkway. We can only hope that the National Capital Authority has some role to play in the management of that project, because whilst the NCA is not perfect, I think by and large it does a better job at managing roads projects than does Mr Corbell, his predecessor Mr Stanhope or, indeed, Mr Hargreaves for that matter.
I do thank and congratulate Mr Seselja for bringing on this matter of public importance. I think the people of Canberra do expect more from this government. They expect a return to core business.
MS PORTER (Ginninderra) (4.08): I am happy to be able to speak to this matter of public importance today. As Mr Corbell said, the ACT Labor government agrees that the timely delivery of road infrastructure is vitally important for the Canberra community.
As a community, whether we drive cars, catch buses or ride bikes, getting to and from where we want to be is dependent on there being suitable road infrastructure. Whether we are going to work, shopping or delivering children to school, how safely and quickly we move around our city has a lot to do with how we as a government manage and deliver that road infrastructure.
Road infrastructure in today’s world also has an impact on the environment. Good road planning and design can maximise our ability to reduce carbon emissions from vehicles on the road. If we plan and deliver infrastructure which can minimise the total amount of travel time through well-planned routes and minimised congestion, there is of course a win for the environment.
Given all the reasons why new roads are built and old roads redesigned and re-engineered, the most important, I believe, is that roads can be made safer—safer for drivers and passengers, safer for those on bikes and safer for pedestrians. Not only is it important today; it is vital for the future development and prosperity of this city.
This government has delivered its roadworks programs on time and it is proud of its achievements. This government has an outstanding record of achievement in providing road infrastructure in the best way possible. Road construction is planned and developed over a number of years. Construction is undertaken against that plan and with predetermined goals, project costings, contingency arrangements and a realistic time frame to ensure timely delivery of works.
Planning and development of road infrastructure is fraught with the difficulty of balancing the needs of current road users with those users of the future who will benefit from the improvements that are made to the road infrastructure.
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