Page 3534 - Week 08 - Thursday, 18 August 2011
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made in the history of the ACT was that decision to build one lane rather than two lanes for the GDE. This idea that one lane was ever—
Mr Barr interjecting—
MR SESELJA: The difference is that Bruce stadium was delivered in full. That is the difference, isn’t it?
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Order, Mr Barr!
MR SESELJA: That is the difference. People point to it and say, “We have got ourselves a stadium.” They look at the GDE and they are still stuck in traffic. If you look at the worst policy failures in the history of the ACT government, there have been many in the last decade but this one stands out. The decision to build one lane instead of two—
Mr Barr interjecting—
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Order, Mr Barr!
MR SESELJA: One lane instead of two. What an outrageous decision. Everyone knew. This is the thing. Mr Corbell would prefer to focus on green grass. It is more important that the people of Gungahlin have been, for years, stuck in traffic. For years they have been stuck in traffic. And it is because of poor decision making. Let us be clear on this. You can point to all of the other excuses you like. It is because of poor decision making.
Simon Corbell, in this excellent WIN news story, was the man sent out to respond. He could not bring himself to do it on the GDE; he did not like the backdrop of cars parked on the GDE. He decided he would do it at the Assembly rather than on site. He did not want to show off his road, perhaps because it has caused so much grief for so many people. Mr Corbell’s response was: “Oh, well; it is not really our fault. It is the Libs or Save the Ridge.”
Save the Ridge do have to take some responsibility, without a doubt. But the government of the day made the critical decisions, firstly to pursue the wrong route and secondly to build a one-lane road. No-one else is responsible for that. No-one other than ACT Labor, and Simon Corbell and Katy Gallagher, is responsible for that decision. It was a very poor decision and one we are still paying for.
And it is one they were dishonest about. Let us be clear about this. Let us be clear about what this government said about it. We all knew that one lane was not going to be enough. We were told in committees that it would be a good road for 22 hours a day. I think anyone who drives there now would suggest that that was not very accurate. There is a lot more than two hours a day when people are stuck in traffic now on the GDE. At the moment I would argue that it is a good road for not many hours of the day. It is not a good road for many hours of the day at the moment.
But let us be clear on the dishonesty. Not only did they make the bad decision, but then John Hargreaves, once the one-lane extension was finished, said, “Duplication is
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