Page 4203 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 21 September 2011
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expected to be completed around mid-2012; so I believe the ACT should present its case early to be fully considered and incorporated into the study.
The second aspect of this motion relates to light rail. Light rail is a topic that seems to have moved in and out of Canberra’s political consciousness. Part of my hope with this motion is that we can put light rail firmly and permanently on the agenda and take concrete, positive actions to advance it. The Greens believe that, with the right efforts and actions, light rail can be a reality in Canberra.
Canberra needs a rapid, high-capacity transport system. This could be delivered by either buses or light rail, but there are a number of factors suggesting some good advantages to using light rail supported by buses, acting as a feeder service.
I will not re-prosecute the case for light rail in detail. One standout issue I would like to mention, though, is that light rail is typically more attractive to commuters, more comfortable and simpler to timetable. It is also well suited to fixed, high-capacity routes and therefore suited to the transport corridors that have been reserved in Canberra. Light rail can also run on renewable electricity and is consistent with a clean energy future.
Members may be interested to hear that the Deutsche Bahn has just decided to raise the percentage of renewable energy used in powering its trains. It will increase to almost 30 per cent in the next three years and become carbon free by 2050. These are the kinds of targets that are consistent with the ACT’s own greenhouse gas reduction target.
The last effort we saw from the government on light rail was a 2008 bid to Infrastructure Australia. This happened just before the 2008 election and, following that, light rail dropped from the agenda. As I have mentioned before, this contrasts with the ongoing efforts the government made to secure Majura parkway funding, including meeting with the Prime Minister, committing budget funds and completing detailed EIS and design studies. It would have been good to see the ACT government put as much effort into lobbying for light rail. The Gold Coast bid on light rail has been successful. Therefore, it is something Infrastructure Australia has seen as a priority.
One of the requests I am making today is that the ACT ministers make specific lobbying efforts with their federal counterparts for ACT rail projects.
The motion also asks that the government immediately start developing detailed plans for a light rail network in all key transport corridors of Canberra. I note that the government has now agreed to look at how light rail could work on Northbourne Avenue. It needs to extend these detailed studies to include Gungahlin, Belconnen, Tuggeranong, Kingston and Barton and also the airport and Fyshwick. I recently asked the government to consider light rail as part of its study of Canberra Avenue and it should also include light rail in its study of busways on Belconnen Way.
We want the result of this to be detailed proposals for routes and stations in each of these areas. It can inform future planning in these areas. It means getting serious about
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