“With the election not scheduled until late October, this is an unusually early release of a major policy. However, it is an Exocet missile aimed directly at the most vulnerable point of the government,” writes political columnist MICHAEL MOORE. 

The launch of the Canberra Liberals transport policy directly targets the Labor-Greens greatest area of electoral weakness. 

The policy is extensive and provides a serious alternative to the governments’ costly light rail to Woden. 

With the election not scheduled until late October, this is an unusually early release of a major policy. However, it is an Exocet missile aimed directly at the most vulnerable point of the government. The policy is comprehensive and politically astute, especially regarding timing, cost issues, and touching all areas of Canberra.

The Canberra Liberals claim that the People Focused Public Transport policy “will get Canberrans where they want to go, when they want to get there”. In launching the policy the Canberra Liberals Leader Elizabeth Lee claimed: “The policy will focus on a faster, greener, and better-connected public transport system that will be delivered cheaper and sooner.” 

The Labor-Greens government has relentlessly pursued the Melbourne-like nostalgic dream of a tram for Canberra. Those parties certainly cannot be accused of just making decisions in the light of the next election.

The Barr government has borrowed to the hilt and spent extravagantly. All this to provide the possibility of the tram reaching Woden from Civic at some time in the next decade! The next stage of light rail is promised towards the end of this year. Stage 2A will take the tram from Civic to Commonwealth Park – just short of Lake Burley Griffin.

In marked contrast, the “People Focused Public Transport” policy of the Liberals is extensive with more than 30 pages of detail. It is designed to appeal to many across all the suburbs in Canberra. It seeks to demonstrate a major differentiation from the government’s narrow Civic to Woden light rail project.

Stage 2B is the next step in the long-term vision for light rail: “Stage 2B will deliver at least nine new stops between Commonwealth Park and Woden. Light rail vehicles will cross Lake Burley Griffin via a new bridge constructed between the existing Commonwealth Avenue bridges, travel through the National Triangle, and along Adelaide Avenue and Yarra Glen”.

The timing of construction for Stage 2B was revealed due to compliance with Federal Environmental Protection Laws. This following stage is predicted by Chief Minister Andrew Barr to commence in 2028 with completion to Woden by 2033. 

The Liberals know that the length of time taken to build the light rail is seen as a serious weakness in governmental management. This builds on their regular emphasis of a “tired government” after two decades in power. 

Liberals’ transport spokesman Mark Parton said at the beginning of March: “We’ve all been taken for a ride by Andrew Barr… an exhaustively long, obscenely expensive ride. The Canberra Liberals stand by our cost estimate of $4 billion for the entirety of Stage 2, but all indications are that this may well be a conservative approximation.” 

For Canberrans, the costs of the project are driven home by the failure of the government to maintain our Standard & Poor’s AAA+ credit rating and the increasing level of taxation.

Instead of putting all their eggs in the one light rail basket serving just those moving from Gungahlin to Civic to Woden, Mr Parton argued for a comprehensive approach to “get Canberrans where they need to go as quickly and comfortably as possible without having to change transport modes constantly”. 

He argued: “The fastest way to do this is to remove stop-start sections along rapid corridors, introduce more intersection jump-starts, more slip lanes and priority phasing for buses at traffic lights through the installation of transponders in the bus fleet.”

Slicker, modern electric buses that are built in Canberra, more buses on each service, slip lanes and appropriate traffic controls are the way the Liberals see the next stage of public transport. 

This policy will not be cheap to implement. However, it will be nowhere near as expensive as constructing the tramway to Woden. More importantly, perhaps, it will assist many, many more people who wish to use public transport from close to their homes.

This policy is a substantial first volley for the election. And there is time for the community to react. According to Ms Lee: “The policy will deliver a transport system that ranks with the best in the world for a city of Canberra’s size”.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.