Light rail to Woden has a lot of hurdles to clear. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
The ACT Government wants the Albanese Government to not only help pay for light rail to Woden but also clear the tracks of the multiple approval hurdles the project faces.
In a submission to the parliamentary committee inquiry into the National Capital, the ACT says light rail Stage 2B across the lake and through the Parliamentary Zone requires a larger number of planning approvals, which are also more complex than any other equivalent projects around Australia.
Calling the project critical for the National Capital, the submission says the ACT would welcome working with the Australian Government to develop a streamlined approval process that can respond to design development as the project progresses and any changes due to technical challenges.
It says that as well as the various ACT Government planning approvals, the project is also subject to numerous Commonwealth approvals with multiple stages of community consultation.
These include a referral to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water under the EPBC Act, undertaking an environmental impact statement (EIS), a works approval from the National Capital Authority, a National Capital Plan Amendment and approval from both Houses of Parliament, with the last three possibly triggering Joint Standing Committee inquiries.
The submission says the ACT will also need a land access licence from the Australian Government.
It says smoothing this process would “ensure a timely delivery of this critical project for the Nation’s Capital City”.
The submission does not suggest how it could be achieved or which hurdles could be removed, but the ACT Government is clearly concerned by the arduous and time-consuming path to getting the project approved.
It says light rail Stage 2B will bring significant benefits to the Parliamentary Zone, including for the national institutions within it.
“Completion of light rail Stage 2B will greatly improve access to these institutions for both the local and visitor communities,” the submission says.
It says it will also improve connectivity with large employment centres in Canberra’s south.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr has also argued that with the expansion of the public service in Barton, particularly the proposed national security precinct, the Federal Government should help fund public transport to move workers in and out of the Parliamentary Zone.
The submission says light rail is one of several key infrastructure projects for which the ACT Government will continue to seek Federal Government support, both in the planning and delivery stages.
The Federal Government has backed the 1.7 km first leg of Stage 2 from the city to Commonwealth Park, and Federal Labor has made all the right noises about supporting the longer and much more challenging stage to Woden.
The two-year Raising London Circuit project underway is a prerequisite to building Stage 2A to Commonwealth Park in 2025.
The ACT Government refuses to confirm a timeline for Stage 2B or put a figure on how much it will cost.
Stage 2B will not only have the many approvals hurdles to clear but the 2024 ACT election as well, with the Canberra Liberals pledging to can the project and linking most of the ACT’s budget and service issues problems to the cost of the “tram”.
They say Stage 2B will cost $3 billion.
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