Page 3148 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 24 September 2014

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Question put:

That the amendment be agreed to.

The Assembly voted—

Question so resolved in the negative.

Motion agreed to.

Transport—light rail

MR COE (Ginninderra) (4.29): I move:

That this Assembly calls on the ACT Government to disclose the annual ongoing liability taxpayers will take on as a result of the Labor-Greens decision to develop light rail.

I have moved this motion today because I think it is important for this Assembly, and indeed for all taxpayers, to understand the full ramifications of this government’s blind commitment to go ahead with light rail. Before a business case was developed, before they had analysed any other routes, before they had even determined which mode would be best, the government flippantly went ahead with light rail from Gungahlin to the city without any genuine research to back it up.

While much of the debate to date has concerned the capital cost of light rail, the operational costs of the network will arguably be a greater burden for Canberra taxpayers going into the future. These operational costs are the costs incurred each year by the government in maintaining and operating the light rail network and would include salaries for drivers, cleaners, engineers and administrators, electricity costs, the cost of servicing the trams and much, much more.

It is well known that the government recklessly decided to proceed with the development of light rail before understanding the annual budget ramifications of this decision. The Greens minister, Shane Rattenbury, after signing the parliamentary agreement in November 2012, announced:

Light rail will come to this city as a result of this agreement. Canberrans will see works commence during the course of this term of the Assembly.

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