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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 1 Hansard (12 December) . . Page.. 133 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

I believe that Gungahlin residents are getting a raw deal by the focus on Gungahlin Drive. This freeway will not eliminate traffic congestion on North Canberra roads-it will just channel it into new locations. What we should be looking at is how to give Gungahlin residents greater transport choice, rather than just having to rely on using their cars all the time and having to face congested roads out of Gungahlin because of all the other Gungahlin residents having to use their cars. And, of course, this has an impact on all the other road users.

I have been trying to get the Assembly to examine these broader transport issues for some time, and I was proud to initiate the Planning and Urban Services Committee inquiry into the John Dedman extension-it was called the John Dedman Drive but is now the Gungahlin Drive extension-over two years ago, which had very broad terms of reference to look at alternative transport options. I was therefore very disappointed with the superficial report from the majority of members of the committee. To his credit, Mr Corbell put in a dissenting report, which acknowledged to a certain extent the need to consider broader transport options.

However, the ALP went into the election with a policy of wanting to build the road on the western alignment. With their election to government they must feel that they now have a mandate to proceed swiftly with the construction of the road. I am greatly worried, however, that the other measures identified in my motion will again be put off in the rush to build the road. I am just asking the government to wait a while and take time to properly implement these other measures to reduce the need for Gungahlin Drive.

Some of the measures in my motion can be done quickly, but some will require a bit of time to have an effect. I know that there is an argument that even if we do these things there will still be a need for this road. Well, let us see if this is true; let us see how big a road we need. If we don't try to reduce travel demand then we will never know, and we could be stuck with spending millions of dollars on a road that could have been avoided or minimised. So I am just asking the government for some time and for a commitment to implement these transport options before they rush ahead with this road.

The other point, of course, which is acknowledged by anyone who is interested in urban planning and transport research is that when you build roads you further facilitate car use. What we are doing by moving ahead at this point in time without actually offering workable, attractive, alternative options for transport is setting in place a greater reliance on cars and on private vehicles.

This is about changing the habits of the population of Canberra. This is about acknowledging that a significant cultural shift is required if we are to become a sustainable city. This is about understanding that we as a community like to drive our cars. Everyone here drives their car most of the time. I catch a bus occasionally-not that often because of the workload, but I could do it more often. I am not saying that I am totally pure on this. Nearly everyone else in this place uses a car all the time; everyone else in our community has the same tendency. As I said, I do catch a bus sometimes and I know that this is a damn difficult mode of transport if you work long days, bearing in mind the big gaps between bus services after 6 pm and the circuitous routes that are taken during the evening hours.

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