Page 200 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 28 November 2012
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core responsibility of an ACT government. Both local roads and major arterials are critical to the liveability of Canberra.
One of the wonderful things about Canberra has been its road network. I think there is no doubt that we inherited a very good road network upon self-government. In 1989, I think you would argue that we had, for a city in Australia, about the best road network in the country. I think that we have come back to the field significantly, unfortunately, over the last 20-odd years. We have seen that particularly in the last decade or so where there really has been very little in the way of improvement and, where it has occurred, it has been painstakingly slow, as we know with places like Gungahlin Drive—a decade to build 10 kilometres or so of road.
The Canberra Liberals do believe that there should be greater investment in roads. We should not be waiting. The people of Tuggeranong, whom I represent, along with the people of south Woden, have not seen many upgrades to their roads in recent years. They have been neglected.
We know that Gungahlin has suffered, and that was one of the reasons the Canberra Liberals had a plan to duplicate Horse Park Drive. That is critical, I think, along with places like William Slim Drive. To duplicate Horse Park Drive is a critical component as Gungahlin grows.
But likewise, even though Tuggeranong has not been growing in recent years, we have still seen pressures on its road network. We have still seen some big gaps. In fact, even though Tuggeranong has not been growing, we know that the eastern corridor over the border has been growing, and that is putting pressure on the Monaro Highway. Anyone who regularly uses the Monaro Highway knows that that is a road that is starting to suffer from a reasonable amount of congestion.
So it is up to the government now to be planning, not to be waiting until the congestion becomes unbearable. Places like Athllon Drive do need to be duplicated. Athllon Drive is not just important for car users, it is important for public transport users. It is a very important link between two town centres. So Athllon Drive does need to be upgraded. Yes, Ashley Drive indeed does, and the government should get on with that. Anyone who experiences delays around there of a morning knows the importance of that. But we do need to be planning for the future.
I think that as we look to the future it will be, certainly for the people of Tuggeranong, the Monaro Highway. It is going to be one of the critical ones; likewise the Tuggeranong Parkway. As we see the Molonglo valley come online, there is going to be more and more stress on the western side and the western road network and the south-western road network for the people of Tuggeranong, for the people of Weston Creek, for the people of the Molonglo valley.
The Canberra Liberals fundamentally believe in proper planning when it comes to these issues. Infrastructure reforms are important. Something like infrastructure Canberra is a really important policy, and if it was not for the fact that the Canberra Liberals had proposed this policy I suspect the Labor Party would have adopted it by now, because it is compelling policy. It is good policy. It is the sort of policy that
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