Page 4267 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 27 November 2013
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The younger Canberrans I have spoken to—obviously, I include my own age group in that category—are generally excited about this project. They can see the long-term benefits that building a light rail network in Canberra will have in the years to come. For them light rail is a sign of modernity, of Canberra becoming a grown-up city. This instils confidence in them about the future of Canberra.
The older Canberrans I have spoken to have some concerns. They are legitimate concerns but ones that I think we can alleviate. With all large projects such as this one there are fears. I know that I have fears myself from time to time. But when you look at the facts, when you look at what is being built here and the opportunities that will come from this project, those fears turn into optimism.
This project will create jobs. Specifically, it will ensure a steady stream of employment in construction and engineering throughout the entire construction phase of this network, let alone during the construction of phase 1 from Gungahlin to the city. The network will also need to be serviced, tickets will need to be sold, the trains will need to be driven and maintained and the stops will need to be looked after. All of these tasks require people to do them. That amounts to significant job creation for our city.
We also expect jobs to be created to coincide with the redevelopment of Northbourne Avenue and other corridors as they are built. When the federal government is expected to cut investment in Canberra, we have a responsibility to do what we can, using the limited resources at our disposal to encourage job creation and economic diversity in Canberra. It might not fill all the gaps left by the federal government, but it is the right thing to do.
Building on this discussion of the benefits versus the negatives of light rail, too often when governments embark on large projects such as this one, we fail to see the forest of benefits for the trees of negativity and complications. Because we spend so much of our time looking at the rail network itself, looking at the trains, looking at the line that the trains will travel down, looking at the experts who will manage the project and looking at everything that could possibly go wrong with these parts, we fail to take a step back and look upon the broad benefits that light rail will have for Canberra.
As Mr Gentleman alluded to in his speech earlier today, and as Mr Rattenbury outlined in his op-ed in today’s Canberra Times, which I read—it was a very good read; I recommend that everybody else in this place take the time to read it as well—investing in light rail now and getting people into public transport will help us to get ahead of our increasing congestion and ahead of traffic jams that are experienced in other cities in this country.
The Gungahlin to Civic drive is one of the most congested in Canberra. With the population in Gungahlin set to increase greatly in the coming years, it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that we build the public transport system that best meets this projected demand. Based on all the expert advice, the solution is light rail.
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