Page 1571 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 10 May 2017

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These face-to-face consultations on stage 2 of light rail are taking place not only on the route but right across our city. Market stalls were held on 4 of May in Gungahlin, 5 May in Civic, 6 May at Westfield Woden, 8 May at the Canberra Hospital, 9 May at Belconnen and today at Tuggeranong.

A community drop-in session was held yesterday at the Novotel on Northbourne Avenue; tonight people can have their say at the Hotel Kurrajong; next Tuesday, 16 May, Transport Canberra will be at the Gungahlin Library to hear locals’ views on stage 2 of light rail; and on the 17th a drop-in session will be held at the Hellenic Club in Woden.

Transport Canberra representatives attended the Woden Valley Community Council meeting on Wednesday, 3 May and the inner south community council meeting yesterday evening. They will also be attending the Molonglo Valley community mingle event tomorrow night at Charles Weston School and will present to the Weston Creek Community Council at the Raiders Club, Weston on 31 May.

This extensive round of consultation is seeking input on the route and the stop locations as well as any items of community, cultural or environmental importance to assist us with the design of the light rail route. This is the first stage of a consultation journey with the ACT community for light rail stage 2. There will be plenty of other opportunities, as there were on light rail stage 1. We are committed to engaging with and seeking the input of the community.

MS CHEYNE: Minister, what routes are being considered by government?

MS FITZHARRIS: It is terrific to hear the feedback and the level of community engagement and debate on the routes that the government is considering. Stage 2 of the light rail network from the city to Woden will extend this very important light rail transport spine for Canberra, connecting employment hubs, community services and commuters from the south to the north of our city.

The proposed routes demonstrate a commitment to serving future populations and employment centres in the south of Canberra. We really do want to hear from Canberrans during all stages of the project, with this initial consultation focused on options for the route and selection of alignment and stop locations. We also want to identify any items of interest along the route to assist us with our design and development of the business case.

I can see that the opposition remain deeply interested in the development of and the consultation on stage 2 of light rail. They have chosen not to oppose it but just to tune out. I guess that is fine for us. We are more than happy with that approach from the opposition.

There are, of course, two primary route options being considered, both with potential end points at the Woden town centre or at the Canberra Hospital. One potential route goes around Capital Circle while the other goes through Barton and the parliamentary


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