Page 5094 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 26 October 2011
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I cannot really agree with Mr Corbell’s motion that basically everything is fine. I do not disagree with him that there has been a feasibility study which has had community input. This is good. In transport for Canberra, the government has provided some funding to improve public transport facilities and better bus stations.
Mr Coe talks about rapid transport. That is something the Greens are particularly pleased about. The Redex, which is now the 200 from Gungahlin out to Fyshwick—it is actually a bus I catch fairly often—is one of the things which Ms Bresnan in particular has worked very hard to achieve. It was part of the Greens-Labor agreement to have better bus transport and we are very pleased with that.
Another thing that Mr Corbell mentions as an achievement is also the result of the Labor-Greens agreement, and that is the park and ride at EPIC. This should be finished soon and should make life considerably easier for Gungahlin residents who will be able to drive a comparatively short distance to the park and ride and then catch a bus.
The next thing that is needed is for Northbourne Avenue to be fixed so that there is some bus priority. I very much look forward to the government finally releasing the Northbourne Avenue study. I must say that I am very frustrated by this, particularly as the SMEC study in 2005 or 2006 which went through the various options for fixing the problems in Northbourne Avenue does, in fact, have light rail as part of its preferred outcome. Why we could not have done that five or six years ago is beyond me.
On Yerrabi, the last point, I understand that the government, in the guise of Tony Gill, is already working on doing something about fixing that by turning the central median part of Nellie Hamilton into a surface car park. That is, I understand, happening. I have more to say but I will say it, hopefully, when we are speaking to my amendment.
MR COE (Ginninderra) (8.17): It would be no surprise to members of the Assembly that the Canberra Liberals will not be supporting Mr Corbell’s amendment. Mr Corbell’s amendment I think is delusional at best, or really quite disingenuous to the 45,000 people in Gungahlin who get such a raw deal under this government. To that end, the Canberra Liberals will not be supporting the amendment.
MR HANSON (Molonglo) (8.18): I rise tonight in support of my Canberra Liberals colleague Alistair Coe and I commend him for bringing this motion before the Assembly to highlight the poor planning and foresight this Labor government has given to the development of Gungahlin.
Mr Coe has been very active in Gungahlin. It is great to see that parts of the electorate of Molonglo which will be moving to Ginninderra will lose nothing in their representation in this place by virtue of the fact that it is a smaller electorate. I know that concerns are raised from time to time about Gungahlin, that given the size of the electorate sometimes they miss out, but those people in Crace, Palmerston and Nicholls will certainly be well represented by Mr Coe.
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