Page 3725 - Week 12 - Thursday, 25 November 2021
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Our policy platform highlights our commitment to this cause. We emphasise the transport modal hierarchy which prioritises sustainable modes of transport and discourages less sustainable modes of transport such as private car travel. We need to make some big changes, but we also need to identify small changes that make a real difference. I would like to highlight one ACT Greens commitment from the 2020 election, which should be included as a way to make bus commuting more comfortable. The Greens committed to allowing flexible bus stopping at night so that people concerned about their safety on their walk home can be dropped off closer to home. Drivers would be able to stop the bus between stops when a passenger rings the bell, wherever it is safe for the bus to stop. It is a simple but excellent idea, and it mirrors the feedback Dr Paterson received.
Dr Paterson recommended we explore opportunities for increased safety on buses at night-time, more female drivers and more personalised services which take people closer to their home. I welcome this. In previous budget estimates, I have also advocated for increased representation of women in our Transport Canberra staff. I am also really glad that Dr Paterson and Minister Steel have highlighted that the light rail stage 2 disruption taskforce is a key opportunity to increase public and active travel. Over the next few years we can increase the uptake of these, specifically for southside residents as part of the construction of light rail stage 2. It is hard to form habits but easy to lose them, and we have a key chance here that we must not waste.
There are 43 recommendations from this report, and I am glad to see this body of work put together. I have been working in this space, too. Earlier this year, I introduced legislation to make our roads safer for those who walk and ride. I am also working on a suite of measures to encourage active and public travel. We definitely need to improve our public and active travel, but we are not aiming to eliminate the car. That is not realistic in Canberra. And no one mode of transport will suit everyone. Many households will continue to have a car, but we will be doing a good job if we can reduce driving, help some people to stop driving altogether, and remove the need for some of those second and third household cars.
This is not about making women feel bad for not doing more. It is about bringing in better options that suit everyone, including women. And it is about shifting the load. I want to finish with a comment on culture. Government can do a lot to help our active and public travel with infrastructure, programs and education. But we also need a culture that supports these changes, and that means we need a culture of equality. Even here, in progressive Canberra, women do more of the housework, childcare, elder care and errands. They often do this as well as paid work, not instead of it. Survey after survey confirms this, and it needs to change.
My partner and I are an unusual example. We bucked the gender norms. I always used to ride, and he drove and ran the errands. When I was pregnant, my belly got so large I could not pedal. The day that happened, I took the car. I claimed it for the unborn foetus, and my partner started riding. He has actually never stopped. It was a really good habit-forming shift for him. Now I ride to work most of the time, and he works from home and some days he rides. He looks after our house and our daughter every day. Our daughter rides to school and he rides alongside her, and we are looking forward to the day she is old enough to do it alone.
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