The Tram to Woden – Derailing Canberra’s Next Generation

Written by Brodie Taylor

The ACT has the worst health system in the country. A system that has emergency wait times double the national average, paramedics working night shifts of up to 14 hours and fatally inadequate paediatric emergency care.

The ACT has a failing education system. A system that is rife with staff shortages and schools sending students back home due to violence and dangerous neglect of maintenance.

The ACT too has the least amount of police officers per capita in Australia. We have 11 fewer sworn police officers than a decade ago while our population has continued to grow by almost 70,000.

We are in the midst of a housing crisis. Our government debt is reaching unprecedented levels. Our roads and our communities can no longer be considered as safe as they once were.

Yet, this ACT Labor-Greens government has neglected these problems and instead will pour over 3 billion dollars into Stage 2B of the tram. This occurs while they rip out funding for the supposed solutions to keep their pork barrel alive. They’ve stopped over $400 million going to Canberra hospitals, slashed just under $86 million out of roads, deprived funding from police and schooling, raised funds by selling public housing land and have already run up debt to $3.4 billion.

It should be a welcome announcement for the young people of Canberra that the Canberra Liberals will oppose the extension of the tram to Woden and will commit that funding to develop Canberra the right way. This will be through health, education, community safety, housing and local services. These are the pillars of securing a strong future for Canberra. However, from every angle, it cannot be said that building Stage 2B of the tram will benefit a new generation of Canberrans.

It fails as a public transport option. It has too great an opportunity cost. It doesn’t stack up.

Currently, a bus from Woden Interchange to Civic Interchange takes approximately 15 minutes.

We know trams run significantly slower than buses. So why spend another 3 billion dollars to extend the south of Canberra’s commute time?  How can this possibly benefit Canberrans who rely on public transport?

Will the tram deliver on capacity? We all saw the Spilt Milk debacle. Imagine being told to get out and walk from Woden to EPIC! We haven’t even been shown the business case that says 2B should go ahead. The government seems to avoid providing a basis for this project yet still goes after anyone that opposes it.

It is also expected that current bus routes used by residents of Canberra’s south will be slashed. We saw direct bus lines cut in Gungahlin and its surrounds when they were the first to be blessed with the tram. Even in 2023, we are seeing our bus timetable silently met with a hacksaw. At least 16 bus routes experienced cuts, with services ending sooner and running less frequently. This will hit those who work late and rely on buses to get to the workplace the hardest. This includes many young and aspirational Canberrans who work night shifts to save for their future. Canberrans depend on frequent and direct bus services.

The Canberra Liberals have the right priorities for young Canberrans who are beginning to build their lives here in the national capital.

Despite the words of critics, I feel my party is the party for young Australians. We believe in supporting the individual by creating an environment that provides opportunity, rewards hard work and fosters aspiration. This means a smaller government that gets the fundamentals right. A government that believes in home ownership, strengthening families and ensuring that Australians get back what they put in.

The automatic instinct for young people to vote for Labor or The Greens only seeks to undermine our future. The typical tax-and-spend approach the Labor-Greens adopt ultimately kills the incentive to hard work, creates sloppy government spending and government intrusion only grows. The Labor-Greens will complain about a housing crisis but when they have their hands on the levers of power (as they do now), they only worsen the situation.

We’ve seen them gag housing supply, and oppose solutions we’ve advocated for from opposition. The safety of our communities is also at risk, as they’ve shown their obsession with the out-of-touch far-left ideology that sees bail laws become broken, drugs decriminalised and police numbers weakened. We’ve seen the devastating effect this has had and how bad it will become.

While elements of our party have made misjudgements on development in the ACT in the past, we’ve certainly cleared the way now to set an agenda on a Canberra for the future. Opposition to building the light rail becomes an opportunity to build Canberra the right way. We need to back better housing, roads, hospitals, schools, public transport and fit-for-purpose infrastructure that will generate economic growth and productivity. We know the tram is not the right option to do this, so we need to propose a real alternative.

It’s early days for the upcoming 2024 election campaign, more firm announcements are set to be made. But make no mistake, the Canberra Liberals opposing Stage 2B of the tram provides an opportunity to get the next generation of Canberrans back on track.