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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 11 Hansard (5 November) . . Page.. 3630 ..
MR KAINE (continuing):
The idea behind that is to encourage people to get out of their cars and get into buses - something that some of us have been trying to achieve for a considerable number of years, with changing success from year to year. The emphasis in this campaign is on demonstrating to people that it is actually cheaper for them to take the bus to work than to get into their car, drive to work and then park it somewhere all day. We have statistics from the NRMA, which are contained in a brochure that is part of the campaign, to explain to people just how much they can save in an average week if they take the bus rather than drive their car.
There are several elements to the program. One is a number of advertisements that are on the back of buses, because that is the bit that most drivers look at when they are driving down the road. It is the back of the bus they see. There are some advertisements there encouraging them to get out of their cars and take the bus. We have the brochure which I mentioned, which will be circulated far and wide by ACTION. Finally, involved in this program are a number of local people who actually take the bus frequently and who have been prepared to come forward and say publicly that they do so and outline the advantages for them in doing so. I think that is a great initiative and I commend those people for being willing to participate.
The total objective, of course, is not only for people to save money by taking the bus. Getting people out of their cars and into the bus cuts down the cost to government of creating road infrastructure and maintaining it; cuts down the impact that the private automobile has on our environment and on the ecology; and generally produces a road transport system that is more efficient and meets the needs of the people who use it. At the end of the day, that is to the benefit of everybody in this community. That was the purpose of the launch today, Mr Hird.
MR WHITECROSS: Mr Speaker, my question without notice is to the Chief Minister. Chief Minister, you were reported in the Canberra Times today as saying:
The gas-reform deal must be signed by me on Friday at COAG.
Chief Minister, given that this matter is obviously regarded as a priority by you and your Government, can you inform the Assembly what is in the agreement; can you tell us what impact the agreement will have on the Territory; and, finally, can you explain why, if this agreement is so important, you have not made a ministerial statement in relation to it?
MRS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, I am surprised that Mr Whitecross and those opposite are not aware of the gas reform deal, because the first stage of it was signed by Ms Follett - - -
Mr Whitecross: I want to know what you are signing on Friday, not what Ms Follett signed.
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