Page 3138 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 20 August 2019
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advising him for weeks, if not months, about the problems with the weekend schedule. I would be amazed if that was not the case. Why? Because the people in Transport Canberra are professionals. They are experts when it comes to transport planning. They have been doing this for decades. When they provide advice to the government that something is not possible and it turns out to not be possible, the government seems to be surprised.
This is a gross mislead. Last week in the Assembly the opposition asked numerous questions, and we also had a motion, that gave ample opportunity for the government to clarify their position—clarify, for the commuters of Canberra and all of the people in Canberra that depend on buses, what the future of the network is. And they refused, just as the minister has once again refused to clarify when he got the advice. It does not stack up that on Friday morning, pre-dawn, he received advice, they quickly punched out a media release, and went out at lunchtime to say that all the buses were being cancelled. It does not stack up, and everybody knows that, but they come in here and pretend that their argument actually works. Yes, I am sure it will get you the votes you need with the Greens; that is how you roll. But for the 425,000 Canberrans who depend on buses, on one day or another, the argument just does not work.
As Miss Burch said, it really is those that are most disadvantaged that cop it the most from this government. We see it right across the board with the rates, taxes, fees and charges. We see it with housing affordability and with so many other services that are non-existent or lacking. But the transport disadvantage that this government has created is astounding. It is an extraordinary transport disadvantage. This is coming from a party that is meant to be a social justice party. It has created extraordinary transport disadvantage right across the city, but particularly in the outer suburban areas.
Just imagine someone in a wheelchair, or someone who has other forms of mobility impairments, who is trying to plan their weekend activities, and they are left waiting at a bus stop for two or three hours, all because the vanity of this minister will not allow him to go out and say which buses are being cancelled. They are the victims of this; the victims are the people of Canberra who depend on buses.
The pride of this minister stops him publishing which buses will be cancelled on a Wednesday or a Thursday. He has misled the Assembly, either overtly or by omission, but one way or another it is not a standard that we should accept in this place. It is ordinary. For the rates, taxes, fees and charges that Canberrans pay, it is pretty reasonable, I think, to expect a bus on Saturday. But for some reason a bus on Saturday is in the too-hard basket.
We then had Mr Gentleman’s contribution. What a killer speech that was! He just nailed it, didn’t he? It is no wonder he is on the ropes with his preselection in Brindabella, as you would know all too well, Madam Speaker. There is no shortage of issues with regard to the Labor team, but the first of them has to be just how disconnected they are from their community. They claim to represent people.
Ms Cheyne: It’s good to see you’re an expert. Actually take the bus, at least.
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