Page 1750 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 15 May 2019
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these changes, 16 students caught a dedicated bus. Each of them has been forced to be dropped at school by their parents, meaning more cars on our roads and more congestion around the school.
I also draw the Assembly’s attention to a Canberra Times article dated 2 May which refers to instances where students were left waiting at bus stops, as already full buses drove past them. We have seen the desperation of students trying to get home, with footage on social media and in the Canberra Times showing a student clinging to the outside of an overcrowded and moving bus after being unable to board a number of already full buses.
Despite all the concerns raised by schools, by parents, by parent bodies and by community groups, the minister still will not recognise the serious safety concerns and the risky situation she is forcing children and parents into. In question time only today we heard the minister claim that primary school children around the country walk to and from school, so why should Canberra be any different. However, the minister seemed entirely unaware of the fact that police services in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia advise against children under the age of 10 or 12 walking to and from school alone, unsupervised. In fact, in South Australia legislation prohibits children under 12 travelling alone, and in Queensland this is a criminal offence.
As our territory grows in both population and density, so too does the demand on our public transport. It also means that over time the challenges faced by the government when delivering integrated public transport also change. The Canberra Liberals understand this. However, what should always remain the highest priority is the safety of children. The minister needs to stop experimenting with our children’s safety.
Many parents have raised concerns that it is only a matter of time before we have a Daniel Morcombe situation here in Canberra. A review 12 months from now is not good enough. For the sake of students who have been left at bus stops and confused at interchanges and for those left without a dedicated school service, this is not good enough. And the minister has still not explained why these cuts have been made.
If the minister is so confident in the safety of children travelling to and from school on her new public network then she would have no problem releasing this information. Children as young as six being stranded at bus stops should not ever be an occurrence on a well-conceived public transport network, nor should children be confused, stressed, anxious and afraid at bus interchanges. Children should definitely not have to make a choice between their education and being able to get home safely.
MS FITZHARRIS (Yerrabi—Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Minister for Higher Education, Minister for Medical and Health Research, Minister for Transport and Minister for Vocational Education and Skills) (5.00): I welcome the opportunity to update the Assembly on the new public transport network Canberra is now enjoying. Indeed, this is a new era for public transport in Canberra. This network is a major redesign of Canberra’s bus network along with the introduction of light rail. This is the first root and branch redesign of our bus network since 1999. As we know, our city has changed dramatically over this time. It has been important to invest in
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