Page 3857 - Week 10 - Thursday, 27 August 2009

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .


Cross-border issues are particularly important to address for the region in which we live. Queanbeyan is a key example of this. Over 60 per cent of Queanbeyan city workers commute to the ACT. Many of these people drive cars. When I met with Deane’s Transit Group not long ago, I was told that they regularly have to retime the Queanbeyan to Canberra trip in peak hour to account for worsening traffic.

To encourage more people to get out of their cars and catch the bus, the Greens have suggested measures like bus priority signals and transit lanes. They are viable options that can be introduced to deliver immediate benefits. We already have a number of these bus priority measures in locations in Canberra and they do have an impact on travel times. We could install bus priority signals along Canberra Avenue at approximately six intersections for around $600,000. This is a very manageable figure and would have a positive impact on bus patronage. This is also a measure which would have a positive impact beyond ACT borders, and that is what we should be looking at here—the bigger picture.

We will not have an improved, sustainable, integrated transport system until we start to shift the balance in capital investment away from roads and services that are used by individual drivers and private vehicles to investing in a mix of facilities such as park and ride, comfortable bus stations, transit lanes and priority measures on our roads. The ratio of investment which goes into roads heavily outweighs that which goes into public transport. This is particularly so when we look at federal infrastructure development projects. It would be good to see a true commitment to environmental and social sustainability from the federal government by increasing investment in public transport.

The Greens are encouraged by the government’s recent consultations on an announcement of the development of a transport plan. We hope that they build on the experience of the consultant engaged to lead this project. This consultant was involved with Brisbane’s integrated transport policy. Brisbane has seen a huge increase in public transport patronage as a result of the changes they have put in place.

We need to see real action on these plans being developed by the ACT government, including the plans for buses and taxis, to make sure that they actually make a difference to the services on the ground and create a better service for the people who use them and encourage more people to use them. Finally, I say to Mr Coe that at least we have a vision for and some ideas about public transport. I do not recall hearing any from him as yet, certainly not in his speech today.

MR STANHOPE (Ginninderra—Chief Minister, Minister for Transport, Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Business and Economic Development, Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Minister for the Arts and Heritage) (4.03): I am pleased to participate in this debate. For a city such as ours, transport must be at the heart of our collective efforts to combat climate change. The places where we can act are in our homes, in our offices and on our roads. Sustainable transport options are utterly vital if we are to play our part in tackling climate change. So how are we playing our part and are we all playing the part that we should be playing?

Since 2006 the ACT government has had a policy that the entire government vehicle fleet be composed of four-cylinder vehicles. Except where there are operational


Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .