Page 4668 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 27 November 2019
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Appallingly, members opposite have remained complicit in their minister’s incompetence, negligence and neglect of the Canberrans they claim to represent. For example, in Ms Cheyne’s electorate of Ginninderra we heard from a constituent named Maria. Maria’s eight-year-old son has been forced to wait around Belconnen interchange unsupervised just to get to and from his school in Florey. He was just as worried and anxious about the changes to his schedule as his mum. The added stop means an extra hour on his journey time every day. Does Ms Cheyne really think this is acceptable?
In Mr Gentleman’s electorate we heard from a concerned constituent named Shannon whose children have been forced to choose between walking 30 minutes with heavy backpacks to Erindale to catch a direct service or take two different buses from their local stop near Gowrie to get to school in the morning. To get home Shannon’s children now have to catch three buses between Isabella Plains and Fadden and then walk.
It is not just schoolkids living with the consequences of this government’s biggest failure; it is our daily commuters too. Anthony from Dunlop wrote to us saying:
I live in Dunlop and, prior to the introduction of the new bus timetables, was happily commuting daily to work.
The new timetable has doubled my trip. Previously it took 45 minutes door to door (ending at Woden). It now takes 1.5 hours.
That is right: it takes Anthony from Dunlop twice as long to get to work in the mornings and twice as long to get home at night.
Ironically, earlier today Minister Steel made a rather pathetic announcement of a few additional car spaces at the Wanniassa park and ride and a few additional bus stops for the south. In the media release announcing these plans Minister Steel said:
We have listened to the Tuggeranong community.
If it was not for the hundreds of bus stops that this government has cut in the south they would not need to be announcing new bus stops now. Dare I suggest that the ALP’s polling shows they have a problem with south side Canberrans. For the voters of Brindabella this response from the government is too little, too late. Why wasn’t the minister listening to the Tuggeranong community three months ago, six months ago or nine months ago when these issues were raised? It is baffling how tone deaf this government continues to be. If the government had truly listened to south side Canberrans this announcement would have been about restoring Xpresso routes and weekend services and reinstating school buses.
Let me be clear here: I take no pleasure in recounting this government’s failures. What matters most to me is that when the government makes a promise to its people that promise is kept and the government is held to account. I call on the minister and this government to finally recognise the huge impact its failed bus network has had on Canberrans; truly listen to the people most affected; fix these issues as a matter of
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