Page 980 - Week 04 - Thursday, 7 May 2020
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This report is just a repeat of previous documents put out by this government. There was no consultation with local businesses. There was no review of the economic impact beyond land values. There was no honest reflection of the impact the two years of roadworks, boarded-up pavements and lack of patronage have had on many businesses. This is simply not good enough.
The Canberra Liberals will continue to advocate for local, small and family run businesses. We know that in the current climate this is even more important than ever before. We will ensure that businesses in the community of Yerrabi know that if they want to see their role in society valued and the contribution they make to our economy recognised they will need to vote Liberal in October.
MR STEEL (Murrumbidgee—Minister for City Services, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Recycling and Waste Reduction, Minister for Roads and Active Travel, Minister for Tertiary Education and Minister for Transport) (2.41): My response to Mr Milligan is that he should read the report tabled today and look at the methodology. That methodology was tabled last year, in response to a motion in the Assembly, and we have gone out and engaged with businesses. It has not been an ideal time to engage, after one year of operation, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we have, and that is outlined in the report, if Mr Milligan would like to read it.
We have surveyed businesses and have listened to the feedback they provided. The lessons learned are spelt out very clearly in the report, and we will take on board those lessons for future stages of light rail down to Woden and beyond. We will also look around Australia at what we can learn from similar projects elsewhere.
We saw an increase in the number of businesses in Gungahlin over the period of construction and after, and that is a very good thing. We have seen an increase in the footfall in the Gungahlin area in particular. We are committed to building the Mitchell light rail stop and we have committed to provide better integration of our bus system with the light rail route. That is one of the learnings from the review we have done. That will be implemented as part of the update to network 19 in the future, at an appropriate time.
We have taken on board a range of learnings as a result of engagement with business. One is to engage early, and we are doing that in relation to stage 2 of light rail. We have already started to engage with businesses and stakeholders along the stage 2A route. We will be taking many of the learnings from businesses in Gungahlin and Mitchell on board.
I know Mr Milligan has a lot of interest in this, but I ask him to digest the report. We will continue to engage with businesses along the stage 1 alignment as we go forward because we know there are still more learnings to come. We want to know what the benefits are, because this is a long-term infrastructure project. Many of the benefits are yet to be realised and will be realised over the many years and decades to come.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
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