Page 982 - Week 03 - Thursday, 10 March 2016
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I cannot imagine that a resident of Holder or of Duffy would be particularly excited about catching a bus to Cooleman Court only then to transfer on to a tram, then to stop 15 times to get into the city and doing all that in probably an hour and a half. There is no way in the world that that is an appealing option for someone in Holder or Duffy. In the same way, I cannot imagine how many residents of other suburbs in districts across Canberra would like the idea of having their bus terminated in order to have to shuttle on to a slower tram service.
Madam Assistant Speaker, local services are an essential part of any local government’s responsibility. Unfortunately, the ACT government has been neglecting these local services because all their attention, all their effort, seems to be on light rail. This term the government has spent close to $50 million already pursuing light rail. That is $50 million that was not allocated to other services. Once operational, we expect—who knows?—$50 million a year to operate and maintain the trams as well as paying huge finance costs along the way. The Canberra Liberals understand that Canberrans want the ACT government to focus on getting local services right rather than pursuing grandiose projects that simply do not do what they are meant to.
That is why we continue to hold the government to account for the way it has neglected its fundamental responsibility to serve Canberrans. Canberrans pay high rates. In return, it is a reasonable expectation that the government will provide good local services. Instead, the government is neglecting these services and letting Canberrans down. The Canberra Liberals will ensure that a future Liberal government returns the focus of government back to the things that matter most to Canberrans.
Unlike this government, the Canberra Liberals will focus on providing good local services that people expect when they pay the rates, fees, charges and taxes that all Canberrans pay.
MS FITZHARRIS (Molonglo—Minister for Higher Education, Training and Research, Minister for Transport and Municipal Services and Assistant Minister for Health) (4.02): It gives me great pleasure to be able to speak today on this matter of public importance. Ensuring that we have good local services in the ACT is at the very heart of everything that this ACT Labor government does, although you would not know it from listening to Mr Coe or the Canberra Liberals. In fact, if you listened to them, you would think this city is a ruin. They love to talk down our city. This is despite having some of the best outcomes of any jurisdiction in the country. Mr Coe talked about what matters to Canberrans most. What matters to Canberrans most is the wellbeing of them and their families.
Our population is growing. We have an education system that puts us in the top 10 internationally, we have some of the best economic and employment outcomes in Australia, and we are some of the healthiest people in the country. Then there is the recent attention Canberra has been getting as one of the best places to live and visit, not just in Australia, as the Property Council recently declared, but in the world, according to the OECD. We have been named the most livable city in the world, and not by accident, because this government over many years has ensured that our city’s services are top rate. Imagine how much better it will be once our integrated transport system is up and running and light rail stage 1 is running down Flemington Road and Northbourne Avenue.
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