Page 2548 - Week 09 - Thursday, 16 September 2021

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(4) the bicycle lane between Macnaughton Street and Kingsford Smith Drive is very narrow with faded lane markings and symbols, making cyclists feel unsafe; and

(5) the bicycle lanes along both sides of Southern Cross Drive from Holt to the Belconnen Town Centre occur in discontinuous segments.

Your petitioners, therefore, request the Assembly to call on the ACT Government to:

(1) improve the bicycle routes on both sides of Drake-Brockman Drive;

(2) ensure that designs for the duplication of Drake-Brockman Drive include shifting the bicycle lanes from on-road to exclusively off-road;

(3) ensure the bicycle lanes on both sides of Southern Cross Drive are continuous along its entire length from Holt to the Belconnen Town Centre;

(4) where it is not possible for the bicycle lane on Southern Cross Drive to be on the road, ensure there are smoothed kerb transitions between the road and nearby paths.

COVID-19—disaster payments—petition 36-21

By Mr Braddock, from 588 residents:

To the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory

The following residents of the ACT draw to the attention of the Assembly:

The Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union Canberra writes on behalf of all ACT unemployed workers and residents who rely on social security payments.

It is unconscionable that anyone should live in poverty in an affluent country’s most affluent city. Yet 50,000+ Canberrans are forced to rely on social security payments that are well below the Henderson Poverty Line. Worse still, 90% of low-income Canberrans are locked out of federal COVID disaster payments (Source: Australian Council of Social Service), and 100% are locked out of ACT test-and-isolate payments.

A significant body of new research finds people in poverty are unable, not unwilling, to comply with COVID guidelines. We are forced into making unsafe choices because better options are unavailable. These include having to shop more frequently and in person rather than using delivery and continuing to work in high-risk situations because we cannot afford to lose income. This jeopardises public health and puts everyone at risk.

Your petitioners, therefore, request the Assembly to call upon the Government to support people on social security and protect our whole community by disbursing, from the Territory budget, disaster payments of $200/week - backdated to the beginning of lockdown 12/08/2021 - to all ACT residents surviving on federal Income support until such a time as their payments are raised above the Henderson Poverty Line (currently $83/day).


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