Page 4311 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 25 October 2017
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what we still have not seen is how they are actually going to integrate light rail with the bus system. What are actually going to be the local services that feed into the tram system? What are actually going to be the local buses running in Ngunnawal, Amaroo, Casey, Taylor, Forde, Bonner, Palmerston, Crace, Nicholls et cetera? How are these suburbs actually going to be integrated with light rail?
It is a very important body of work that has not yet been published. That is the integration that is required. What we heard last week was about new rapid routes. I think rapid bus travel is certainly part of Canberra’s future, as it has been part of our past. But that is actually not an integrated transport model. These rapid routes are largely independent routes that do not actually integrate with light rail, with one or two exceptions that go through Dickson. So the real challenge is going to be how the local services in the inner north, in Gungahlin and also in eastern Belconnen actually do integrate with light rail, because that, I think, is going to make or break light rail.
Of course, it is happening now. We all have an interest in it being as good as it possibly can be. But to date we do not know how it is going to work for people in Lyneham, people in Downer, people in Watson, people in Hackett and people in Kaleen and Giralang and all the other Belconnen suburbs. If those transfers are not perfect, if there are not safe transfers from bus to tram, it is going to cause problems. There are real issues. It is all very well for the government to talk about constructing an integrated transport system, but to date we have not seen what the genuine integration of light rail is going to be.
The motion also states that the government is:
… providing essential and affordable local healthcare where people need it and investing in a health system that prepares for the future …
That is what the motion states, anyway. However, unfortunately, so much of our health infrastructure is literally almost crumbling and, if not crumbling, being taken down because it is not safe.
AECOM’s ACT Health infrastructure asset condition report and minor works priorities revealed four extreme risks and 143 infrastructure risks at the Canberra Hospital. One of these identified risks was the main electrical switchboard at the Canberra Hospital that caught fire in April this year, causing a partial shutdown because the government failed to undertake urgent electrical repairs. I am pleased that they are finally on to this, but I think we are all fortunate that the fire did not have catastrophic consequences. In some circumstances I could imagine that such a fire would cause them.
We also see that the government is bragging about improving public recreational spaces, including playgrounds, sporting ovals and dog parks. Unfortunately, given increasing rates, fees, taxes and charges that Canberrans are paying, I do not think we actually are getting comparable increases in local services, especially local urban services. In fact, we saw a story about Higgins residents joining forces to sign a petition urging the government to provide basic improvements to the local playground.
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