Page 2550 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 31 July 2019
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An extensive retrospective review is in progress that captures all communication and engagement approaches over the past eight years to identify key areas where we can improve. This has included reviewing information from our ongoing program of engagements for light rail city to Woden, where we have already reached nearly 10,000 people face to face. We identified a number of information needs for the community, for businesses and for stakeholders around project awareness when we are in planning and approval, design and construction, and when we enter operations.
The government is soon to commence a program to engage with businesses near the next light rail route to help shape an effective program of support, advice and activation for the construction period. We are already engaging early to build relationships, project awareness and program support for businesses near light rail construction. We will engage with businesses through a range of avenues to seek operational and logistical information, to test awareness of future works and to initiate relationships that can be maintained through the delivery of our major projects.
These learnings are shared across the ACT government to improve the way we engage with businesses and the community when we deliver our infrastructure projects. The government is continuing to listen to the community and learning from all of our interactions and the insights that are provided to continually improve our processes. In February the Assembly called on the government to continue to work with businesses to optimise benefits from light rail stage 1 and the provision of support programs to mitigate construction impacts. And that is what we have done.
The Assembly also called on the government to ensure that lessons learnt inform future infrastructure projects across the territory, and we are doing that. This Assembly called on the government to provide a report back to the Assembly on lessons learned within six months of the start of light rail services and that is what we have done through the comprehensive project delivery report.
As my amendment circulated today states, the government is committed to ensuring a 12-month review of light rail stage 1. This involves proactive consultation with local businesses in Gungahlin and along the light rail corridor and ensuring that both those businesses that operated during construction and those that have opened since are able to contribute. We are also committed to ensuring that other key issues that have been raised since services commenced are reflected on in this review. Anyone who wishes to contribute to the review can do so by contacting Major Projects Canberra.
I am looking forward to seeing the one-year review of light rail stage 1. I think it is going to be a very interesting document. With the benefit having a full year of operations, that will enable us to look at what some of the challenges have been, particularly in that first stage of operations, but also what some of the benefits have been. Potentially, new businesses are starting operations with the commencement of light rail operations. We would also be looking at what businesses may no longer be there during the operations. Overall, I am expecting a very positive report and I hope that those who want to contribute can do so.
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