Andrew Barr and Shane Rattenbury's $3 billion proposed tram to Woden arriving in 2034 will do nothing to improve public transport outcomes.
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It is a self indulgent deal that Rattenbury demanded in return for giving Barr the top job as chief minister and his governing majority.
The Greens have voted the same way as Labor at every count this term.
Barr and Rattenbury's dogged approach to the tram, planning to build it at any cost, one stage per decade, at a time of soaring infrastructure costs have catapulted the ACT government to now being the most reckless government in the country.
Rattenbury and now Barr want Adelaide Avenue to be full of high rise units, just like Northbourne Avenue, that will bolster the profits of developers, who will build and depart the scene.
The planning of the tram to Woden has triggered serious concerns.
Planning to build at any cost will impose a $3 billion cost on top of an approximate $60 million per year payment for 20 years to run the system.
Drastically impacting all Canberrans as we miss out on other desperately needed services with $3 billion plus $1.2 billion being planned to be spent on fewer than 7 per cent of the population who might use public transport.
Planning to build it at any cost will severely impact all travellers by slowing down the journey time from 15 minutes on the rapid bus that will be scrapped, forcing passengers onto the 30 minute tram from Woden to Civic. Cars take 13 minutes.
Across Australia and indeed the world, there are many examples of not going ahead with tram projects, exacerbated by the soaring costs of building infrastructure, expensive technology and better alternatives.
The Sunshine Coast is not too dissimilar to Canberra in terms of size and the council has desperately wanted a light rail system for years.
Both federal and state Labor governments have steered away from any support or any investment, instead directing them to consider more cost effective bus systems.
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In Perth and Brisbane metro areas, light rail never won. Instead those areas and their Labor governments have invested in non-tram solutions called buses.
Andrew Barr's decision not to let the public know what year or even decade they are planning for a Woden arrival, has never had anything to do with negotiations and everything to do with hiding embarrassing hard truths from Canberrans.
A 2034 arrival and no contracts being signed before 2026. Governments around Australia provide timeframe estimates at the start of planning, all the time. Except Andrew Barr.
There is time to fix the situation and there is an easy solution. Currently, the tram is only being built to Commonwealth Park. The pipedream of crossing the lake and going to Woden, is just that.
It is only in the premature planning phase, with the NCA recently saying approvals aren't even in their pipeline.
They won't be occurring for years and years. Contracts for the planned tram to Woden wouldn't be signed for at least four years, well and truly after the next election.
The Canberra Liberals won't support the plan of the tram to Woden.
When the Canberra Liberals announced they will not support the Woden tram complaints arose about the decrease in the value of land that investors have purchased along Adelaide Avenue.
Labor and the Greens are putting politics ahead of what Canberrans need in terms of services for all and financial management that makes sense rather than bleed dollars forever.
There is still time to get off this tram and the Canberra Liberals will give you the opportunity to exit at the next stop.
- Mark Parton is the opposition transport spokesman and Liberal member for Brindabella.
