Page 5451 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 16 November 2011
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interspersed with stops for other purposes such as to collect a child from school or sport, visit the supermarket or the library, catch up with a friend, and so on.
Clearly motor vehicles lend themselves more readily to trip chaining than does public transport in Canberra. Typically a family in Canberra has one or both parents who work. It also has children who attend school in one suburb and play sport or undertake after-school activities in another suburb, and people who want to buy groceries on their way home at some other location. Added to that we have a bus service that does not meet the needs of everyone and, despite the endless direction of funds to build cycle paths, not everyone can or wants to ride a bike, either for pleasure or for transport. It is common sense to encourage the best use of our roads. It is common sense to encourage people to car pool. It is nonsense to suggest that the T2 lane be scrapped.
I thank Mr Coe for his motion that this Assembly call on the government to reinstate the T2 lane on Adelaide Avenue and acknowledge that car pooling is an effective means of reducing the number of cars on our roads and alleviating road congestion, and I commend his motion to the Assembly.
Amendments agreed to.
MR COE (Ginninderra) (5.51): I am pleased to see that this motion appears to be going to pass this place today. I think it is a win for motorists, especially motorists in the south of Canberra that regularly get caught up on Adelaide Avenue in traffic jams.
With regard to the amendments moved by the Greens and which have just been passed by this place, I am confident that the request in the motion can be fulfilled within existing resources; it should not require any additional funds. But what we do want to see as a matter of urgency is the T2 lane reinstated. The will of this place will be known and if this Assembly does indeed call for the immediate reinstatement of the T2 lane we expect this government to do that. I am sure there are going to be a few twists and turns before it actually happens, but it is up to this chamber to make sure that this government is held accountable to this place and that it actually does what I believe the vast majority of Canberrans would want and that is the reinstatement of the T2 lane. I am glad that it looks like it is going to be passed and I look forward to seeing the signs re-erected saying that it is a T2 lane once again.
Motion, as amended, agreed to.
At 5.54 pm, in accordance with standing order 34, the motion for the adjournment of the Assembly was put and negatived.
Sitting suspended from 5.54 to 7.30 pm.
Marriage—equality
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (7.31): I move:
That this Assembly:
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