Page 1171 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 6 April 2016
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Of course, as to the response from the ACT government, it is not surprising that they have been very critical of this network. However, of course, they have got pretty poor form when it comes to ACTION, and particularly over the past three or four years. It is this government which has mishandled ACTION. It is this government which has, in effect, eroded pride and eroded confidence in the service. They have no place criticising the opposition when they themselves have failed.
I imagine that Mr Rattenbury will criticise the proposal that we have on the table. However, it is of course important to note that under his watch as transport minister, patronage for ACTION fell each year despite Canberra’s population growing each year. The Canberra Liberals will not be taking advice from this government when it comes to public transport. They have failed. We will start with a fresh approach and we can deliver it.
I will, however, address some of the criticisms levelled at the opposition by the government. Firstly, they say that our policy is unaffordable. It is well known that buses are considerably cheaper to operate than light rail. The Canberra Liberals will not spend $698 million on construction of a tram of which only three per cent of Canberra’s population will be within walking distance. It is, of course, bizarre that the ACT Government is willing to criticise our plan and the costings when they themselves will not reveal the cost of the tram to operate from Gungahlin to the city, let alone their fanciful network across the ACT.
Before the ACT election in October, I look forward to the government releasing their full costings for their light rail system, which is supposedly going to roll out right across the ACT. Those costings, if they are going to adhere to the same standard to which they are trying to hold us, must include the construction cost and also the operating cost.
We would, of course, expect the construction cost of a north-south line and an east-west line to be many billions of dollars. In addition to that, there would be in the vicinity of seven or eight hundred million dollars per year in financing costs and hundreds of millions of dollars each year to operate such a tram in the event that a $10 billion or $11 billion network is rolled out right across the ACT.
Minister Fitzharris has also stated that the opposition’s public transport policy will increase congestion. It is going to increase congestion, she says. Regarding congestion, I would of course advise members to read chapter 10 and technical paper 5 of the capital metro EIS, which states that building light rail will increase congestion in the morning peak and significantly increase congestion in the afternoon peak.
A further assessment of the building of light rail between the city and Russell found that, “Delays and queues could compromise the performance of the wider road network”. These are the government’s words. I firmly believe that making the ACTION bus network more attractive, by delivering better routes and replacing ageing buses, will increase patronage and reduce the number of cars on our road.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video