Canberra Liberals leader Elizabeth Lee has declined to say whether her party supports the second stage of light rail in the ACT and later said in a parliamentary debate the project was a "Labor-Greens white elephant".
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Labor and the Greens voted to block a motion moved by Ms Lee that would have compelled party leaders to write to the federal government to request $85.9 million in Commonwealth funding redirected to light rail be reverted back to roads projects.
Ms Lee repeatedly side-stepped questions on her party's support for light rail at a press conference on Tuesday.
The Opposition Leader instead promised the Canberra Liberals would have more to say about their position on light rail in the coming weeks.
"I think when you look at all the information that has been available to date ... it's difficult to see how the project stacks up," Ms Lee said.
Transport Minister Chris Steel said Ms Lee's position on light rail was an "extraordinary admission" and an "extraordinary betrayal" which showed she was unable to control the conservative elements of the Canberra Liberals.
Former opposition leader Alistair Coe confirmed before the 2020 ACT election his party was committed to Woden as the destination for light rail's second stage, after the party's then spokeswoman on transport, Candice Burch, suggested the party would commission a study on whether Belconnen would be a better destination if elected.
Mr Steel spent most of the afternoon defending the government's record on transport and light rail, along with the federal government's decision to redirect funding that had been earmarked for roads projects to the public transport project.
Ms Lee criticised Mr Steel for declaring the roads funding, announced under the previous coalition government, amounted to pork-barrelling and was ill-defined while details of light rail project timeline and cost were still unclear.
MORE A.C.T. POLITICS NEWS:
The opposition spokesman on transport, Mark Parton, told the Assembly former Liberal ACT senator Zed Seselja had told him both the Commonwealth and ACT governments had agreed on the nature of the "flexible" roads funding package and it followed a similar process to the start of the Monaro Highway upgrades funding agreements.
Mr Steel earlier told a press conference the territory had sought funding for work on Parkes Way, a major bottleneck, but the former federal government had refused.
Mr Steel also took most of the questions in Legislative Assembly question time on Tuesday, which were focused on light rail construction and transport, including whether the government had considered the impact of construction work on working parents.
Significant road closures to allow for work to raise London Circuit to the level of Commonwealth Avenue will begin on December 2, which the government expects to have the most impact in the morning peak.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
