Page 3503 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 18 September 2019
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point has a quarter-hour service to the city and it is becoming very popular. It is being held back by lack of ways to get there and lack of space to park your car.
Given how Canberra has developed, park and rides are an important part of our public transport strategy. If Canberra had been designed with public transport as the number one priority there might not be the same need for it, but we all know that is not the case. Park and rides are really important because people can catch buses into town or to Woden or Tuggeranong—wherever they need to go—without having to walk long distances or without having to wait for an infrequent local bus. They are a way for people to access the rapid routes and they are particularly important for older and disabled people or people who have to push prams, who may not be up to walking a very long distance.
I am sure everyone in the Assembly knows that the Greens have been banging on about the need for better footpaths and better shared paths since there was a Green to bang on about it. Active transport is part of our DNA and we would like to see a lot more of it in Canberra, for health benefits for both human beings and our planet. The climate change strategy released on Monday has clearly been misinterpreted by some people in this Assembly. It is not trying to ban cars; it is trying to—and hopefully will succeed—encourage more sustainable forms of transport such as catching the bus. Some ways to do this include appropriately placed park-and-ride facilities, footpaths, shared paths and an adequate bus service. A lot of things need to be done. We are not putting enough money into footpaths and shared paths. We are putting too much money, comparatively speaking into our road system. The Greens have been saying this forever.
I support Mr Lawder’s motion and the fairly minor amendments made to it by Minister Steel. I am very glad to see the tripartisan support for our public transport system which this motion is pointing out.
MR PARTON (Brindabella) (10.20): My Greens colleague Ms Le Couteur touched on some pretty interesting points. She mentioned the drought. We are not officially in drought in the ACT, but we are. In Tuggeranong, where we have backyards bigger than postage stamps, everyone has been praying for rain. Everyone in Tuggeranong has been praying for rain except the people who have to walk to the Wanniassa park and ride, because if it rains they are in diabolical strife.
I note in the amendment that Mr Steel is trumpeting loudly that “Floodway—Take Care” warning signs have been installed. That is good. Active travel can include wading, but I do not know that it includes swimming. In all seriousness, the problem has been identified and I thank Ms Lawder for bringing this really specific matter to the Assembly. We do not often see these extremely specific matters come before us in the form of motions and maybe we should more often. What is in place at the moment is clearly not acceptable.
When I was elected as a member for Brindabella I made a commitment to the people of Tuggeranong that I would continue to doorknock throughout the term of this Assembly and continue to seek their views. Over the last year and a half I have doorknocked a vast number of doors in a number of suburbs, but I have spent a lot of
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