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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 5 Hansard (9 May) . . Page.. 1423 ..

MR CORBELL: A decision on the future of the building has not yet been made. The O'Connell Centre, as I understand it, probably will not relocate until late this year, at which time the building would be returned to Land and Property in the Department of Urban Services for an assessment of alternative uses. But it is a little bit early to pre-empt exactly what will occur as a result of that.

Public transport study

MRS CROSS: My question is to Mr Corbell as the transport minister. It relates to the draft study brief for the government's proposed public transport study. Minister, last night I attended a Gungahlin Community Council meeting to discuss this proposed study and its implications for Gungahlin. The council passed a resolution at the meeting calling on the government to prioritise assessment of a light rail system for Gungahlin in its study. They further asked for an extension of time for the community to respond to the draft study brief, as many at the meeting only saw the document for the first time last night and submissions are due tomorrow. Will you agree to these requests?

MR CORBELL: The government is of the view that future public transport provision needs to be considered in a holistic way. For that reason we are not prepared to support a proposition that divides off a particular element of public transport provision from other parts of public transport provision. We are committed to an assessment of light rail in the context of public transport provision in the city overall. That means looking at light rail as compared to dedicated busways and other priority public transport measures. That is a sensible approach, and it is the approach we will continue to adopt.

In relation to Mrs Cross' second point, I have complied fully with the request of the Assembly to allow Assembly members to comment on the draft terms of reference. I am fairly sure that members have now received a letter from me with the proposed draft terms of reference, inviting-

Mr Humphries: Some of the terms of reference.

MR CORBELL: All the terms of reference. The letter invites comment. I may stand corrected, but I have not had drawn to my attention comment from any members who have expressed interest in commenting on the terms of reference. If members would like to raise issues, I would certainly welcome them and will seek to take them into account.

In relation to the comments from the Gungahlin Community Council, it was not proposed that the terms of reference be made available for public consultation. In response to the Assembly resolution, the government agreed to make them available to members of the Assembly for their comment. But it is important to get on with delivering this study, which is very important in the context of assessing the future sustainability of public transport in this city and how we can best deliver more effective transport in the city, whether by light rail or one of a number of other modes.

MRS CROSS: Minister, the draft study brief lists 13 sections in its table of contents, yet sections 6 to 12 are missing from the document. They address matters such as critical dates, the consultation and tender process and performance measures. Why is this, and will you table the missing sections in the Assembly today?

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