Page 3372 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 23 September 2015
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Meanwhile Minister Rattenbury says that we need to resist road upgrades—resist them like they are some kind of evil. On both sides of this particular bottleneck on Cotter Road are two lanes west and two lanes east. And in this short section is an unnecessary merge followed by slow traffic, only to return into four lanes again straight after the lights at McCulloch Street. It is silly that we have not actually got to the point of funding this yet.
Minister Rattenbury’s position is also quite anti-family in many ways. I have spoken to him previously about the fact that mums cannot take the bus or put three kids in a dicky seat on the back of a bicycle, get them to school, then cycle 40 minutes to Civic to work and cycle 40 minutes back. If a kid is sick and they have to get them it is just not a possibility. So the Greens’ position is: “If you will not agree with us we will force you. And your other decisions about your life are not your own.”
Mums and dads trying to get their kids to school and earn the double income needed to survive these days should not have to pay the price for this minister’s mung bean, soy latte vision of a utopian society where inner city yuppies can catch a tram to work. That is his view and it punishes those working the hardest to produce another generation of ratepayers. It is a disgrace. The idea of mode shift is anti-mum, anti-family and arrogant. It says, “We know better than you what is good for you.” The Greens minister is out of touch and dictatorial.
I thank Minister Gentleman for agreeing to support the motion as it stands. We will not support the amendment. The noise walls and the limiting to the damage of the Torrey pines are a very important part of this stretch of road and we are committed to that as well. We thank the government for work that has been done up to this point but we commit to funding it after the next election and I hope to see it happen as soon as possible because every morning people who are under pressure are trying to get to work and it is an added, unnecessary burden on them and one that the government should not resist.
Amendment negatived.
Motion agreed to.
National broadband network
MS FITZHARRIS (Molonglo) (10.49): I move:
That this Assembly:
(1) notes that:
(a) the National Broadband Network (NBN), as developed and commenced by the former Federal Labor Government, was designed to increase national productivity, enable new industries, improve health and education services, better connect our regions and cities, strengthen business competitiveness, and provide Australians with new leisure services and entertainment products;
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