Page 502 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 19 February 2020
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Canberra; the procurement of a new ticketing system for buses and light rail that will incorporate smart technology; providing better information for customers by replacing the ageing NXTBUS system; extending the am and pm peak services for light rail and increasing frequency from term 2 from six-minute to five-minute headways in am peaks; a new bus depot in Woden to service an expanding bus fleet; investing in 84 new buses to provide better, more comfortable, more efficient bus services for our growing city; replacing all the older buses that are not wheelchair accessible or air-conditioned with new buses by 2022; expanding popular park-and-ride services at Wanniassa, north Weston and other places through the development of a park-and-ride strategy; making dozens of upgrades to local bus stops; and investing in improvements to wayfinding and signage in major interchanges, including the city and Woden, as well as in Lanyon.
The ACT government is continuing to get on with the job of improving our public transport system to better connect Canberrans. More people are using public transport. We are continuing to monitor usage and listening to feedback on how it can be improved. We have made changes and will continue to make improvements to our public transport network, with 136 tweaks last year and a network update in term 2 this year. We will continue to improve our public transport system every year into the future.
While our government is investing in better public transport for Canberrans, it is clear from the content of today’s motion, or the lack thereof, that the Canberra Liberals have no plan for our public transport network. There is no vision for the improvements that they would like to see in this motion. It is an election year and they have given up. Maybe it is because they are too scared to outline core Liberal Party policy: the privatisation of Canberra’s bus services. This is exactly what the Liberals have done in coming to government in South Australia and in New South Wales.
Ms Lawder: You know it is a lie. You know it is a lie.
MR STEEL: If it is a lie, rule it out. Rule out privatisation of Canberra’s bus services.
Ms Lawder: You are making it up. You are making it up as you go along.
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Mr Pettersson): Mr Steel, please resume your seat. Ms Lawder, I think I just heard you say that was a lie.
Ms Lawder: I said, “You know it is a lie.”
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: I would ask you to withdraw that.
Ms Lawder: On what basis, Mr Assistant Speaker?
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: You are implying that the minister is a liar.
Ms Lawder: I think I am, yes.
Ms Berry: It is clearly unparliamentary, Ms Lawder.
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