Page 5095 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 26 October 2011
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Gungahlin is one of the fastest growing areas in Canberra. In the last eight years, over half the land in this town centre has been developed or is committed to being developed. In the Gungahlin suburb of Nicholls the population is growing at a rate of 10 per cent a year, an extraordinary growth rate, and this government has failed to plan for it. Forty-five thousand people now live in Gungahlin, a significant proportion of the Canberra population. But the Labor government has given scant regard to the liveability of the area.
Gungahlin is an area of families. The average household has three members and we know that for many young families the area presents the opportunity, as hard as it is in the current climate, to join the property market. However, whilst this may be where they can afford to buy, the ability to carve out a sustainable lifestyle in the area is difficult. It is well documented that there is a lack of government workplaces in the Gungahlin area, a point made by Ms Le Couteur. In a city such as Canberra, where the public service is a large employer, the oversight in not ensuring that there is a sustained public service in that area is yet another example of the Labor government failing to address the real issues for Canberra families.
The ACT government argue that they are doing what they can, that they put money in the last budget for a feasibility study. But the government have already undertaken a study with Ernst & Young on this issue, so why are we having another study? Once again the government would rather talk about it than take any action.
There is a lack of foresight in the majority of actions that this government takes in regard to Gungahlin. You only need to listen to the morning radio shows to know that congestion on Horse Park Drive is an ongoing issue, and the Amaroo group centre will shortly be developed to further add congestion on that road.
Let us go back to the familiar issue for a moment. Let us revisit the Gungahlin Drive extension—a road that took longer to build than the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Mr Coe has given some fine examples of comparisons between the GDE and other major infrastructure programs. It is another example of where the government decided to keep putting pressure on an already congested road but failed to address the expanding capacity.
It was only after a promise made by the Canberra Liberals at the last election—we well remember ACT Labor stealing that project, stealing the election promise in a most deceitful way—and the continued pressure by the Liberals that this road was even duplicated. Countless years have been spent by the Canberra Liberals on trying to get the government to finish the road, but bungle after mistake after mishap have come, and still the commuters from Gungahlin struggle to get out of the slow lane and make it in to work in a timely manner.
The government then had the audacity to advertise that they were opening the road early. Even the most illogical person could not rationalise how a road that was so late could be opened a couple of months early. Even Simon Corbell’s maths cannot imagine that that is correct. It is no wonder that the government cannot balance their budget. It reminds me of the opening of the Alexander Maconochie Centre. That
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