Page 3414 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 17 August 2011
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in territory-owned car parks have increased each July over the past two years, and they were raised again in July this year. This has been with a view to both encouraging drivers to consider alternative means to the private car and to encourage the private sector to invest in parking infrastructure.
A key purpose of increasing the price of parking is to encourage the entry of private sector parking providers and operators into the market. The current price of ACT government-owned parking is well below the level at which private sector parking providers would be attracted into the market. Parking fees in Civic, at $12 for all-day parking, are also significantly lower than parking fees in other major Australian cities. For example, council-run parking in Newcastle and Wollongong starts from $15 all day. In Melbourne it is from $30 all day; in Hobart, $21 all day; and in Sydney, $30 all day.
As I have said earlier, the government is committed to facilitating the economic development and vitality of our city and town centres. We will manage parking to meet the economic needs associated with Canberra’s growth and maximise the efficiency and usage of existing car parking. An increase in parking fees will help encourage greater use of sustainable transport modes and improve the health of the community through the use of these modes.
The government’s new parking policy, which is part of the upcoming transport for Canberra policy, will include the annual release and implementation of parking plans for the city in each town centre to manage parking demand in conjunction with the land release program. It will include implementation of a parking pricing and management regime to encourage greater use of sustainable transport modes. It will include consideration of the parking off-set fund for the city area, and it will continue to maintain a level of territory ownership and management of public parking. The government will also over time slowly be able to provide parking in major work destinations like Canberra city, as government policies and actions in transport for Canberra provide viable alternatives.
Mr Speaker, the government’s demand management approach to parking and its sensible measured approach to parking pricing will help us to manage parking demand over time and create a more sustainable Canberra. We will not respond in a knee-jerk manner, and we will not examine the issue of parking in isolation of the broader issues associated with planning for sustainable transport. I commend my amendment to the Assembly.
MS LE COUTEUR (Molonglo) (5.01): I thank Mr Coe very much for bringing forward this motion. We have previously debated in this house the issues of cars, peak oil and transport, and I enjoy our continuing discussion, particularly because every time we go through it, it gets clearer and clearer that this is in fact an ideological discussion.
As Mr Coe repeated today—I was not sure whether I was going to quote from his speech of 29 March but I do not have to because he repeated it today—what the car represents is a family. I actually think that is an incredibly sad statement. When I think of my family, I do not think of a car. I think maybe of the house. I think of the
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