Page 2297 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 1 August 2017
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out and being accessible to my community, by meeting as many people living in Murrumbidgee as possible as a government member. This includes regular mobile offices at shopping centres throughout the electorate—I am doing one on Friday in Lyons and one on Saturday in Kambah—and attending community council meetings as well. People will not always be at the shops and most people do not attend community councils, especially when they go for three or four hours into the night. That is why I am making a concerted effort to directly reach out to people, by knocking on doors across all the suburbs, introducing myself and making sure that I am seeking people’s feedback through surveys as well.
Whether it is improving our planning system, new forms of deliberative democracy like citizens juries or through our existing successful consultation hubs like your say, the government is listening and consulting, and we are working hard to improve our open democracy here in the ACT.
Discussion concluded.
Papers
The Clerk presented the following papers:
ACT Health Infrastructure Asset Condition Report and Minor Works Priorities (2 volumes), prepared by AECOM Australia Pty Ltd.
Road Transport Reform (Light Rail) Legislation Amendment
Bill 2017
Debate resumed.
MS FITZHARRIS (Yerrabi—Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Minister for Transport and City Services and Minister for Higher Education, Training and Research) (4.35): I am pleased to speak to the Road Transport Reform (Light Rail) Legislation Amendment Bill 2017, the first of two bills to support the introduction of light rail as Canberra’s newest form of public transport. To facilitate the introduction of this new form of sustainable public transport, changes to the existing road transport legislation are required to recognise light rail in Canberra. The construction of Canberra’s light rail is well underway with works progressing well along the entire corridor between the city and Gungahlin. Therefore the passing of this bill is very timely.
The first light rail vehicle is expected to arrive in November this year and will be stabled at the new depot located in Mitchell. The light rail vehicles will undertake on-track testing during the first and second quarters of 2018, ahead of light rail operations starting in late 2018.
This bill aims to achieve a consistent approach to the application of transport laws across different forms of public transport in the territory and to provide consistency with laws in other Australian jurisdictions that also operate light rail.
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