Page 2936 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 14 August 2019

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(b) work with businesses along Anketell Street to ensure the benefits of the upgrades to Anketell Street are fully realised;

(d) continue to investigate what capital upgrades may be required for buses to safely move along Cowlishaw Street as an alternative route on a permanent basis; and

(e) report back to the Assembly by July 2020.”.

MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (4.47): The Greens will be supporting the ALP amendment.

With some heaviness of heart, I start by saying that am very well aware of the issues raised by the Tuggeranong Community Council. As Ms Lawder says, while I am not nearly as regular an attender as she is, I do try to attend when I can, as Kambah, which is part of Tuggeranong, is also part of the electorate of Murrumbidgee. I was there at the last meeting. Again, the situation of the buses on Anketell Street was talked about, and it was clear that the feeling of the meeting was that they did not appreciate the buses there.

If it were not for the feelings of the Tuggeranong Community Council, I would basically be saying that I just cannot get this. Why are we removing the buses? Removing the buses is, unfortunately, going to mean that they will have a longer route and, as Minister Steel said, they are going to be going through a narrower route which was never designed as a major transport route. I am really concerned that if this is going to be done, it needs to be done in a way that preserves our public transport. Tuggeranong has enough problems with public transport, as has been talked about by some of the other members of the Assembly. We do not want to do things which are going to add a minute or two to the time to get from Tuggeranong to Woden or the city.

If I was one of the people of Tuggeranong, living there, I would be looking at this. It is yet another example of poor planning in Tuggeranong. The idea that the main eating street would also be the street where the buses go just does not make sense. I know we did that in Gungahlin, but we have reduced that problem considerably by converting the buses to an electric tram, which is considerably quieter. But it has also been an issue there. Minister Steel was talking about removing the cars. I was not absolutely sure if he is in favour of that or not.

Mr Steel: I am not.

MS LE COUTEUR: It looks as though possibly he was not, but he was suggesting that Ms Lawder might be in favour of it. I am not quite sure if anyone is actually in favour of it but, given that somebody somewhere must be to have brought it up, I think it would be great if, as part of the consultation the government is looking at, it looked at removing the cars so that it really was a space which was great for people to have a cuppa at, have their breakfast at and have the kids play there. That would seem to me to be possibly a better solution.

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