Page 127 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 13 February 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
important to bring the facts to this debate: currently 60 per cent of students who catch a bus to school use the regular network, and more will. There will be more buses than ever before servicing schools in the new network.
With all this good work underway, why did the opposition decide to bring forward this motion? The ACT government is already deploying school crossing supervisors across Canberra, as a pilot, and evaluating the effectiveness of that program. The ACT government is already ascertaining the safety needs of school communities across the territory and is already expanding existing initiatives that are making it easier for children and families to safely walk and ride to school. To put it another way, the Liberals are preaching to the converted.
I will end by saying that I am very surprised, and I think that the Canberra community should be concerned, that Ms Lee, particularly in her capacity as the shadow education minister, used her speech to defend drivers speeding through school zones because Canberrans are busy people and easily distracted. Excusing dangerous behaviour that risks schoolchildren’s lives because Canberrans are busy is a step beyond the pale. I would ask her to reflect on her comments and address them in her reply. I commend the amendment.
MISS C BURCH (Kurrajong) (11.27): I thank Ms Lee for moving this important motion today. Ms Lee’s motion, calling on the government to install flashing lights in all school zones by 2020 and to fund additional crossing supervisors where needed, is a step in the right direction to ensure that we are prioritising the safety of children across our city. These are both commonsense measures which are critical not only for the safety of children who currently walk and ride to and from school but also to encourage more parents and students to choose active travel. Given that flashing lights and crossing supervisors are prevalent in New South Wales and other jurisdictions, it is disappointing that these measures have not yet been fully implemented in the ACT.
Making matters worse is the government’s recent decision to cut a huge number of dedicated school buses across the ACT. At the start of term 2 this year, 62 school bus services will be cut, with 51 schools being left without any school bus services. In addition, the government recently released its 2019-45 integrated transport strategy, which ranks dedicated school bus services last in its list of priorities. Active travel is ranked number one and yet the government continues to refuse to implement these commonsense measures and enhance active travel infrastructure in our school zones.
The safety concerns of parents are borne out of the statistics. Four hundred fines were issued to drivers speeding in school zones in 2018. That is 400 times that the lives of young children were potentially put at risk.
Ms Lee is not suggesting that these measures are a silver bullet solution, but flashing lights are a simple, yet significant way that we can ensure that drivers are aware that they are entering school zones. And to respond to Mr Rattenbury’s comments, we are suggesting not that drivers do not know that school zones are 40 kilometres an hour, but that we can increase awareness of where school zones are.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video