Page 746 - Week 02 - Thursday, 23 February 2012
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evidence-based approach to these decisions—not like Mr Coe, who decides that he wants to get to work eight seconds faster, so he would like to open up 2.2 kilometres of a bus lane to suit himself. That is not the way things are done on this side of the chamber, Mr Coe.
Mr Seselja: What happened on Adelaide Avenue?
MS GALLAGHER: We actually take an evidence-based approach to these matters. There are a whole range of demands within roads. What happened with Adelaide Avenue, Mr Seselja, is that politicians in this place decided that they were smarter than the advice to government from the road engineers, which was to keep it as a bus lane. We opposed that. We did not agree with it.
Mr Smyth: But it worked for three years. So was it wrong for three years?
MS GALLAGHER: Mr Smyth, I do believe you have had your opportunity to ask a question. But I do not shy away from questions, so I am happy to continue to respond to the interjections, Mr Speaker. As the member knows, it was allowed to be a transit lane. I thought that Mr Coe’s question was about Belconnen roads, but we have moved to Adelaide Avenue. The Adelaide Avenue road was a transit lane whilst Gungahlin Drive was being built. At the conclusion of the Gungahlin Drive project, the decision was to return it to a bus lane, which indeed I believe it will be in future, particularly when there are bus stops along Adelaide Avenue. And it was based on evidence and advice to the government. Are we going to get to the situation where Alistair Coe, moonlighting as a road engineer, actually starts making decisions? What are you saying, Mr Coe—that all of a sudden all the roads around your house over in Ginninderra are going to be looking pretty spick and span but don’t worry about anywhere else?
What we have here is an approach which triages roads according to a level of urgency, based on evidence from road engineers. That is the responsible way to manage these things, not to have your own little neck of the woods looking well so that you can drive your big jeep with one person in it along a bus lane into town—not at all.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Coe, a supplementary.
MR COE: Minister, do you think there is any role for local members to lobby for road upgrades?
MS GALLAGHER: Yes, I do, Mr Coe. I do think there is, but I do not think it is up to local members to determine the priority. I think it is up to local members to actually receive the advice—which I give in my correspondence with you, Mr Coe, from time to time when you write to me about matters and we undertake an investigation. I think in recent times there was one about a road sign that you wrote to me about, and the experts went out and they had a look at the issue you raised and they decided that, yes, the road sign needed better publicity.
Opposition members interjecting—
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