Page 2075 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 6 June 2018
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business. I think this is a really important point to make. Some landlords have reduced rents along the light rail corridor for the duration of construction. I would strongly encourage all landlords to show the same flexibility. The landlords will be beneficiaries of the light rail and bus interchange construction, with property prices along the route soaring as this valuable piece of government infrastructure is built. Indeed it is unconscionable behaviour to continue to hike rents in the middle of the construction phase when business is subdued.
The ACT government has also listened to the community and announced just yesterday in the budget that it will be building a light rail stop at Mitchell. The Mitchell Traders Association has been a vocal and persuasive advocate for a light rail stop in Mitchell, and we have committed to building one by 2020. Oddly enough, the Liberal Party have been strong advocates for a light rail stop in Mitchell. They opposed light rail stage 1 at the last election. Indeed they are still opposing light rail stage 2. It seems to me that the Liberal Party only supports one part of light rail, and that is one stop next to Mitchell and nothing for the rest of the city.
In summary, we are working hard to deliver for the people of Gungahlin. In a few short months these businesses will be in the prime location to service the tens of thousands of residents of Gungahlin. We have worked with the business chamber to mitigate some of the consequences of the construction while acknowledging that the main beneficiaries of this will be the businesses themselves. I would encourage landlords to show some restraint and for small businesses to engage with the light rail business link program and with the ACT government. Happily, most of the construction is complete and we will see a pick-up in trade over the coming weeks and months.
MR MILLIGAN (Yerrabi) (12.23): I would like to thank everyone who has spoken on this very important issue. I would particularly like to thank my colleague Miss Burch for what she said. It is quite interesting that everyone that spoke today on this particular matter admitted that businesses are suffering and that they are really hurting due to the construction that is occurring along the light rail corridor. However, I am also glad that an assessment will be done on the effects of the construction on local businesses along the corridor.
In closing, I would like to review where we stand now. We have businesses throughout the light rail corridor that are reporting a 30 to 50 per cent drop in trade. We have business owners that are taking on extra debt. We have business owners that are laying off staff. We have business owners that have not even taken a wage for several months. We have a community in Gungahlin surrounded by roadworks and construction either directly or indirectly associated with light rail.
What does this all mean? It means that businesses are hurting. Families are hurting. People cannot pay their mortgages or plan for their future. This is all a direct result of this government’s poor planning and lack of consultation with the community. This is clearly not good enough and it is time this government took responsibility. What this motion seeks is a recognition of the impact light rail has had. It asks that we ramp up marketing efforts and that we really try to bring life and people back to these areas.
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