Page 1942 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 3 June 2015
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transport plan for Canberra. It is the first stage of a prudent and reasonable transport policy which will provide public transport services and quicker travel times for all Canberrans.
My motion today reflects the policies that we announced on Monday. The motion calls on the ACT government to cancel their hugely expensive capital metro light rail project and redirect this funding for the agency to provide better public transport services for all Canberrans. It also calls on the ACT government to duplicate Gundaroo Drive from Mirrabei Drive all the way to the Barton Highway as well as building the much-needed flyover.
Unfortunately, this is a motion that I do not think will succeed in the chamber due to the Greens’ and Labor’s form when it comes to transport decisions. The ACT Labor-Greens government is committed to a big spending light rail project at the expense of 97 or 98 per cent of Canberrans. They do not want to hear about cost-effective transport reform. They just want to talk about their tram, which provides less reach and less frequency than the current 200 series buses.
Sadly, the ACT government is one step closer to light rail with the budget handed down yesterday. The budget further solidifies the ACT government’s commitment to light rail, with $51.8 million to be spent on the Capital Metro Agency over the next four years. Further to this we have heard the government, including Ms Fitzharris this morning, talk about $375 million in capital which I am at a loss to find in the budget papers. In fact, it is simply not in the budget papers. Nowhere in the outyears is there any mention of $375 million for capital. So what the government is talking about remains a mystery to all.
As I have said many times before, capital metro is a poor investment for Canberra. Capital metro will cost at least $783 million to build but will only carry about one per cent of Canberrans to work or school. Critically, most Gungahlin residents, who are the perceived beneficiaries of this project, will actually be worse off as a result of light rail. The capital metro full business case highlights that no buses will run from Gungahlin suburbs to the city as a result of light rail. This will mean the cancellation of numerous routes and many people will be left with worse transport links than before.
The motion I put forward today provides the backbone for a better and quicker public transport network for all Canberrans, including Gungahlin residents, whilst also beginning to upgrade the much-needed territory roads that need improvement.
This budget was an opportune time to see whether we can afford light rail. With a predicted deficit this financial year of $597 million and $408 million in the next financial year, headline figures show that we simply cannot afford light rail. Quite simply, we should not be purchasing an $800 million tram when the ACT government is running up a billion dollars worth of deficits in the next two years alone.
Budget time also gives us an opportunity to see how viable light rail is going to be into the future. And as we all know, the ACT government will purchase their tram through an availability public-private partnership. This arrangement will see the ACT
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