Page 4385 - Week 12 - Thursday, 24 October 2019
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We do not have to look far to see what real leadership and innovative transport solutions look like. In western Sydney the New South Wales Liberal government is looking into new and more efficient public transport options to link the new airport at Badgerys Creek and the growing Paramatta CBD by trialling trackless trams. In Queensland innovation in public transport has been pioneered by the Liberal Brisbane City Council, which is rolling out Brisbane metro across the city.
Transport more generally is an area currently subject to significant technological advancement, which any sensible government would be keeping an open mind about. We have seen remarkable strides in the field of autonomous vehicles and laser-guided technology, and these technologies will only become cheaper and more accessible as they become more mainstream. Instead, this government has approached public transport with its characteristic pig-headedness and chosen to condemn the territory to 1950s technology at a massive cost and lengthy construction disruption for the next decade and beyond.
If Mr Gupta had listened to the tomfoolery of Ms Cody’s motion yesterday perhaps he would have amended his MPI to read, “The importance of planning and committing to a city-wide public transport network instead of one that reflects the tunnel-visioned approach of this transport minister and government”. By bringing this MPI before us today Mr Gupta and his Labor colleagues are effectively saying to schoolkids, working mums and dads and weekend employees, “You don’t matter.” And to the people of Tuggeranong they are saying, “You don’t matter now, but just maybe ACT Labor will finally start to care about you in 2040.”
Keep in mind that even this time frame is contingent on the government actually delivering each stage of this project on time, something they could not do with light rail stage 1. If—and this is a big if—the government delivers each stage on time, Canberrans in the west and south will still be waiting another decade, if not two, before they reap the benefits of light rail.
The minister still has not explained to Canberrans across the territory who have had Xpresso services cut, dedicated school services cut, weekend services cut and 750 bus stops cut how these cuts are justified. He says today that he is trying to reduce the car dependency of our city, and yet the government has increased car dependency for thousands of Canberrans over the last six months.
I thank Mr Gupta for bringing this MPI before the Assembly today, as it allows me to again highlight this government’s dismal track record on planning, consultation and delivering a public transport network for all Canberrans. Ensuring that Canberrans can rely on a well-planned public transport network is a fundamental tenet for good government and one this minister is yet to grasp after three months in the job.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong) (4.16): I thank Mr Gupta for bringing this matter of public importance to the Assembly. The Greens completely agree that it is important to plan and commit to a city-wide light rail network, as the MPI suggests. In fact, that is essentially the wording of ACT Greens policy, which we have been advocating at every opportunity for many years, including at the previous two elections.
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