Page 41 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 11 February 2020
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respite and evacuation centres to give Canberrans and interstate travellers a safe and welcoming place to rest. At the end of this fire season we will review what has worked and what we can do better, make any necessary changes, and prepare for the future. We are in a strong position but we can, of course, never be complacent.
Canberrans have also very clearly indicated to me that they appreciate that the ACT government is not in the business of disputing the science of manmade climate change. The effect is real, and we are beginning to see the consequences through longer droughts and greater extreme weather events. These affect every Canberran.
It is worth noting that through this period the ACT is now the first major city outside Europe to transition to 100 per cent renewable electricity. The impact of these disasters will be felt for a long time to come, but it is important that we reassure Canberrans that the ACT government will be there every step of the way, supporting Canberra and the region in our recovery.
Transport Canberra—network 19
MS LEE: My question is to the Minister for Transport. I refer to an article in the Canberra Times titled “Safety concern: School buses cut in transport overhaul”. Minister, why did you ignore the concerns of the territory’s peak parent body, the ACT Council of Parents and Citizens Associations, when you decided to cut over 50 dedicated school bus services?
MR STEEL: I thank the member for her question. We continue to work closely, both Transport Canberra and I, with school communities. Around mid-March, at the time that I release the timetable for the whole network, I will be announcing some changes to the school bus services being delivered. We deliberately did not want to start changes to the bus network on day 1 of term 1. We want to provide information later in the term, at a point where students have gone to school and their families are settled. We will be clearly communicating with families and students as well as schools and their communities about what those changes are. Many of them relate to timing and capacity issues and also connections. I will have further to say about that.
We continue to work very closely with school communities. We have seen students adapt quite well to the new network, and we have not seen a dramatic decrease in the number of school students using public transport. In fact, we have seen quite the opposite, and that is a very good thing. We are seeing students become lifelong public transport users, taking more bus services on the weekend in particular, because they know how to use the regular route bus system. There are, of course, 220 school bus services remaining.
But I will reiterate this: the plan from those opposite is to cut buses on the regular network. That is their policy. Over 20 buses would be cut from the regular network because of their plans.
Mrs Dunne: On a point of order, the standing orders clearly state that the minister has to be directly relevant. The standing orders go on to say that the minister cannot
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