Page 3454 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 22 October 2014
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MR DOSZPOT: Minister, what alternative avenues for funding can you suggest to residents in established suburbs like Watson who are seeking basic amenities at their local shopping centre?
MR RATTENBURY: I must confess that I do not actually quite understand where Mr Doszpot is going with his question, so I am unable to provide an answer to it.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Coe.
MR COE: Minister, what benefits will the residents and small businesses owners in Hackett receive from light rail?
Dr Bourke: On a point of order, relevance. This started out with a question about toilets.
MADAM SPEAKER: No, it was a question about improved facilities of various sorts at the Hackett and Watson shops. Mr Coe’s question was—
Mr Doszpot interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: It is all right, Mr Doszpot. Mr Coe’s question was?
Mr Coe: What benefits will the residents and small business owners in Hackett receive from light rail? It is also important to note that Mr Doszpot did mention alternative priorities for the government, including light rail, in his original question.
MADAM SPEAKER: The question is entirely in order.
MR RATTENBURY: I think there will be a range of benefits for the people of Hackett arising from light rail. One of the objectives in building light rail is to reduce the necessity for people to drive to the city. At the moment residents of Hackett experience a level of rat-running through their suburb by residents travelling out of Gungahlin, seeking to find alternative routes to the city to the most congested road in Canberra, Northbourne Avenue, the one that the Canberra Liberals want us to do nothing about. That is the situation. That is the first benefit.
The second benefit is that it will provide a high-speed, regular, high-frequency service down Northbourne Avenue, and the bus network will be realigned to feed into that high-speed, high-frequency spine down Northbourne Avenue. So Hackett residents—
Mr Coe interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: Order, Mr Coe!
MR RATTENBURY: Given that Mr Coe is so busy shouting out over the top of me and is not interested in listening to the answer, I am not sure there is anything else I can further add to this question.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Berry.
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