Page 2747 - Week 09 - Thursday, 27 September 2007
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passengers were delayed for one hour to allow for a clean-up. By the way, there was no bus to replace that bus, which is another issue. Secondly, in September 2007 a bus in the Gilmore region had the driver’s window shattered by a rock. The rock narrowly missed the driver’s head and shattered the division panel behind him. The driver was badly shaken.
In the last two months, there has been an increase in attacks on cars, involving both rock throwing and, alarmingly, dropped concrete blocks from overhead bridges. The following is an excerpt from a Neighbourhood Watch newsletter in the Farrer region, warning residents of the increase in incidence of this heinous activity:
Even more alarming was a recent report of a shopping trolley dropped from an overpass onto the roadway. Fortunately, no-one was injured in this particular incident.
Time constraints mean that I can only give a description of two more of the most recent cases. Firstly, in August 2007, on Adelaide Avenue in the vicinity of Deakin, at 1 o’clock on a Saturday morning, a young lady received a concrete block through her windscreen, missing her by about half a metre. The block was dropped from the overhead bridge crossing Adelaide Avenue. Secondly, in September 2007, again on a Saturday night at about 1.00 am—I think it was the Saturday before last—a young woman had a rock hit the windscreen stanchion of her car. It then ricocheted and shattered the side mirror.
Bus drivers are incensed by the growing trend and the failure of the government to take sufficient action to even slow down this trend. Around the country, this trend is also growing. Regrettably, other jurisdictions have experienced very serious injuries, which, luckily, the ACT has yet to experience. There are well-documented public cases where both young teenagers and, in a quite separate category, younger adult men, usually travelling home from hotels late at night, have engaged in rock throwing and block dropping.
In six or more months, by the government’s reckoning, 57 incidents had occurred. I refer to what was said in question time in the last sitting period. Since then, I am well aware of at least one more case, taking that caseload to 58. However, given this government’s penchant for secrecy, I would not be surprised if there were some more cases that we are not even aware of. This is not a government that will ever admit that it has a problem such as this one. In my experience, unless the opposition asks direct questions, this government will rarely admit and publicise, or even quietly brief this Assembly on, serious matters such as this. Perhaps it could even seek the support of the Assembly when it confronts such issues.
Now, with a significant problem of these proportions—that is, 58 or more incidents in a significant period of time, with currently only two detentions for that entire period that we aware of, and with no let-up in the number of incidents—we cannot see any signs of government action. We cannot see signs of progress on this matter or any ideas expressed by the government as to how it will combat this problem in the future. That is why the opposition is calling for a select committee inquiry.
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