Page 3903 - Week 12 - Thursday, 30 October 2014
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MR COE (Ginninderra) (4.37): To wrap up the debate, Mr Rattenbury and Mr Corbell pretty much tell us we should be grateful for the way they are handling this light rail project. They pretty much tell us that doing a business case and publishing a business case is as good as it can get and, therefore, we should be content with the way the government is managing this $783 million project. Well, we are not content, and I argue that neither are the majority of Canberrans—in fact, I will go as far as saying neither are the vast majority—with regard to the process in which a deal to build light rail was done, the process by which the route was chosen and the lack of mandate this government has to pursue this as an issue.
It is all very well for Mr Corbell to come into this place and say it was a Labor election promise, but that was just for $15 million or $30 million. That was their policy. The genesis of this is a political decision; a political, partisan alliance between Mr Rattenbury and the Labor Party. That is the genesis of capital metro.
The government can talk about the transformational nature of it, they can talk about all the intangibles, they can talk about the way it is going to renew the city, but the fact is that all the numbers describe a different story. That is why we have seen numerous arguments in the paper and other media outlets about the case for and against light rail. I am yet to see a strong case put in favour of light rail that includes numbers because the government’s case is all about the intangibles. It is all about a gateway. It is all about rejuvenation. It is all about opening up the corridor et cetera, et cetera. Well, if that is the case, why is it that the government’s own Infrastructure Australia submission said otherwise? Why is it that only 3,500 commuters are predicted to use the service? There are 370,000 people in Canberra, and only 3,500 commuters are going to use this service. That is transformational? Less than one per cent of Canberrans are going to ride a tram in the morning to get to work, and somehow that is transformational.
In part we agree that this project has transformational qualities because this is going to transform the budget of the ACT. We are going to have transformational rates bills across Canberra. At at least $783 million paid over 20 years at a discount rate of seven, nine, 11, 13 per cent, you are looking at perhaps $100 million or $150 million a year. That is an increase of $500 every year for every single rates bill.
Mr Corbell: Garbage.
MR COE: Five hundred dollars every year.
Mr Corbell: Garbage.
MR COE: The only way—
Mr Corbell: Garbage.
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ms Lawder): Order!
MR COE: The only way it will not be $500 for every single household in Canberra—
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