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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 3 Hansard (26 March) . . Page.. 643 ..

MR WHITECROSS (Leader of the Opposition) (3.30): Mr Speaker, we in the Labor Party also support an active role for the Government in the provision of facilities for cycling. We will not claim credit for inventing the bicycle, but we do believe that one of the pleasures of Canberra is that outdoor activities can be so readily enjoyed. You can cycle within the city of Canberra and enjoy the beautiful mixture of natural and urban environment that we have. The measures that the Minister has outlined will assist people in continuing to enjoy those facilities. I feel proud that in Canberra you can go to a bus interchange and find places to park your bike. You can park your bike at the Tuggeranong interchange and then get on a bus and commute the rest of your way to work. I think that these sorts of things mark Canberra as a city where people understand what makes up the quality of life of people who live in the city. We ought to be proud that we are a city that has those kinds of facilities.

We all know, Mr Speaker, that the debate goes on about facilities for cyclists, as it does about facilities for others and about the merits of cycleways by roads compared with cycleways off roads. It seems to me that that is a healthy debate. We can continue to work constructively to get the right balance of recreational and commuter cycling facilities. I think the NRMA is to be commended for its role in encouraging road safety in relation to cyclists. All cyclists feel vulnerable. All drivers also feel vulnerable and concerned because you have two vehicles with very unequal power sharing the road. Consciousness of each other's needs and existence is an important part of building a cooperative and considerate society. The NRMA is to be commended for its role in promoting that through the "Share the Road" initiative. I commend it for its involvement and I applaud the initiatives set out in the Minister's statement.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

MR SPEAKER: I have received a letter from Mr Whitecross proposing that a matter of public importance be submitted to the Assembly for discussion, namely:

The cost to the ACT community of the Carnell Government's mismanagement of industrial relations.

MR WHITECROSS (Leader of the Opposition) (3.34): Mr Speaker, the subject of the matter of public importance this afternoon is, as you said, the Carnell Government's handling of industrial relations in the ACT, and, by any reckoning, it is a shameful record. The cost to the Territory, both in financial terms and in terms of social upheaval, of the Government's approach to industrial relations should be a matter of considerable concern to all in the community, and is certainly a matter of concern to us in the Labor Party.

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