Page 1363 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 9 April 2013
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
The city plan therefore provides us with the opportunity to understand how the capital metro project will mesh with development in the city centre. We need to look, for example, at how we treat some important roads like London Circuit and Vernon Circle. The National Capital Authority, in its Griffin legacy amendments to the national capital plan, has set out what it believes is necessary for the future use of those two important streets. The government will now have to consider how the extension of the capital metro project in future stages engages with London Circuit or Vernon Circle. These are the types of issues that the government will be paying very close attention to.
We also need to appreciate, of course, that if certain uses are ultimately decided as appropriate for parts of the city centre, such as a new convention centre or a new city stadium, there will need to be adequate provision of effective and efficient public transport to move large numbers of people quickly to and from those locations. Once again, the capital metro project and the work that is currently underway in relation to it will help inform how the city plan and the city to the lake project work together to achieve something that I think we should all be supportive of, and that is a more active, a more vibrant, city centre that takes best advantage of its best address, which is Lake Burley Griffin.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Dr Bourke.
DR BOURKE: Minister, how will a light rail system contribute to the development of our city in its second century?
MR CORBELL: I thank Dr Bourke for his supplementary. What is important about this project is to understand that it is not just a project around transport provision, as critical and as important as it is. It is also an important project in the context of the development of our city—where development takes place, where people choose to live. If we are able to leverage the potential of a light rail project in the way many other cities have around the world, we will see many more people choosing to live close to this corridor.
That changes the pattern of settlement for the city. It potentially has implications as to how rapidly and how quickly greenfields development occurs over the coming period compared to a business-as-usual situation. It means that potentially more people are choosing to live in apartments, townhouses, row housing and so on close to a highly efficient, permanent and rapid public transport spine.
These are the types of issues that we need to have regard to when we look at the overall cost-effectiveness of a business plan around the capital metro project. It is not just about moving people; it is also about leveraging development opportunity, changing and potentially more efficiently delivering forms of development that meet people’s need and that are more efficient for the territory to deliver.
These are the types of issues at stake. That is why I am proud to be part of a government that is prepared to take this step, to make the shift, towards a more sustainable future and towards a future that focuses on transit through light rail as a
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video