Page 1704 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 15 May 2019
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the original network. This work was certainly one of the most significant community consultation processes. The government made a significant number of changes as a result.
MS LAWDER: Minister, what do you say to the hundreds of children who have—and I quote from that article—“gone to bed crying at night” and to their parents because of the bus cuts you made?
MS FITZHARRIS: This is something that we have thought about and been engaged in for a long time, and I know—and I understand that there are members in the gallery today—that for a number of people there have been significant changes to their services. But for a greater number of people there has also been a considerable improvement and increase in the number of services. Certainly in the first week we saw a lot of feedback. But I think members opposite will also agree on the range of feedback coming through now, as people are starting to understand the new system. It was a really big change. We have seen changes to the numbering of every route, the addition of a whole new level of services.
We are working very closely with schools right across the territory on ways that we can support them to support their students and their families to access all the information available because it has become apparent to me that not necessarily all schools have been able to access the information or been able to relay that to their parent community in the most effective way. And we are working closely with schools on that and we will continue to do so through the mechanisms that I outlined earlier.
MISS C BURCH: Minister, how many pieces of correspondence have you or your directorate received regarding safety concerns for schoolchildren under the new network?
An incident having occurred in the gallery—
MADAM SPEAKER: Order!
MS FITZHARRIS: I cannot comment on that; I will see if I can get advice on that. I make the point that safety is a very high priority for me, for Transport Canberra and for every bus driver. Two months ago bus drivers were picking up school students on one route and perhaps members of the public, including school students, on other routes.
I reiterate that the vast majority of school students catching public transport in the ACT last month, and this month, travel on our regular route services. I understand changes, but I do not accept that we do not contemplate and treat with the highest priority the safety of passengers right across our network, particularly of school students. Our duty of care is very high; our operational procedures are clear.
I also reiterate that school students right across our city every day—as there always have been—are getting to school in a variety of ways. They will continue to do so.
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