Page 2136 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 8 May 2012
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in getting this work done and putting in an interim arrangement. They will then be looking to use the old red bridge from the Belconnen mall and installing that as a permanent solution. These are ideas that come from within Roads ACT. I think this is a very creative solution—reusing a previous bridge and applying it to assist a current budgetary pressure, plus providing a new way through the Molonglo River around Duntroon.
I take offence at Mr Seselja’s allegation that TAMS are busier this year because it is an election year. If that is the way you intend to run government if you are ever Chief Minister I would recommend that you think again. There is absolutely no truth to that allegation at all. TAMS have their work program. Their program is established through the budget. That budget is clear for everybody to see and it is open to scrutiny through the estimates committee. TAMS’s work program is not anything out of the ordinary to what it has been in previous years. The mowing program is not determined by politicians, nor is the pothole replacement program determined by politicians. My expectation of TAMS is that they deliver the services the community wants and needs.
When I have a complaint or a concern or I get any sort of approach from a constituent, I refer the matter. My expectation is very clear to the directorate—that it should be handled as appropriate. If the advice from TAMS back to me is “yes, we will do this, but it’s not as urgent as some of the other work we are doing” then, unfortunately, I have to accept that. There are realistic parameters to what a directorate the size of TAMS can deliver within their competing priorities. The most frequent contact to TAMS is not about roads or street lighting, although they would feature highly; it is actually about trees and tree management. In terms of calls that come through Canberra Connect’s Fix My Street, those would be related to trees, around removal of dangerous trees, dying trees and management of the urban forest.
This year and in the last 12 months TAMS have responded to over 3,000 pothole repair requests and 2,000 requests associated with stormwater runoff and flooding. I accept that all of these are less visible to people across the community but they are very important in terms of maintaining our asset and making sure the job is done.
I would also note that in the Property Council’s report on the liveability of all Australian cities, where Canberra came, I think, second to Adelaide, the good road network with minimal congestion was one of the top six features of feedback around the ACT—not that you would ever stand by a Property Council survey and say it is the be-all and end-all, but I would say that, to a large part, we are lucky. We have a very high standard of living in the ACT. Our public service do an incredible job in managing what is a very extensive asset base, probably bigger and more expensive than any other jurisdiction, within the parameters that they have set as a budget.
I think there is a lot to be thankful for for living the ACT. I am not saying that there is not extra work that needs to be done. I point to the work that the government has put into securing the Majura parkway. I am not sure of anything the opposition did around supporting that call or advocating for it or going with industry to talk to the federal government around that, or being part of the solution. That is the next major road that we have to build in this city. We secured the funding for that. It will make an incredible difference for the people of Tuggeranong moving north and for the people
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