Page 3629 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 22 November 2022
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
There is lots of really important work that has been outlined. I think we have a way to go. I am grateful that the ACT government is supporting this motion. I look forward to World Bee Day next year, when we will hear the outcomes of that work.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Roads—federal funding
MS LEE (Kurrajong—Leader of the Opposition) (3.38): I move:
That this Assembly:
(1) notes the ACT government:
(a) welcomed road funding commitments made by the previous Federal Coalition Government for $85.9 million;
(b) cancelled an agreement with the Federal Labor Government for $85.9 million of federal funding for road projects; and
(c) in conjunction with the Federal Labor Government, allocated $85.9 million of federal funding to Stage 2A of the light rail;
(2) recognises:
(a) road safety and quality is an important responsibility of the ACT Government; and
(b) the death toll on ACT roads this calendar year to date is at a 12 year high, with the busiest period of the year yet to come and has been climbing year on year over the last four years; and
(3) calls on the leaders of all three parties represented in the ACT Legislative Assembly to:
(a) write to the Federal Labor Government requesting the reinstatement of $85.9 million in federal funding for road projects in the ACT, particularly the three main projects in the South West Corridor, on Boboyan Road and on Pialligo Avenue; and
(b) table that letter in the ACT Legislative Assembly by the last sitting day in 2022.
We know that this Labor-Greens government has diverted millions of dollars of taxpayer funds from health, community safety and public housing to fund the tram, and last month it was confirmed that federal funding that had been allocated to important road upgrades has now also been diverted to pay for stage 2A. To shelve these much-needed road upgrades and divert funds into light rail is simply unacceptable. Where will it end?
Since 2015, this Labor-Greens government has taken money out of health, education, police and housing, and now road upgrades, to help pay for the tram. As a direct result of the ongoing diversion of funds, vital government services have declined to breaking point. Canberrans are paying record taxes. What we see and what we get is the longest emergency department wait times in the country, declining education standards and crumbling school infrastructure, the lowest number of police per capita, and less public housing dwellings now than we had a decade ago.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video