Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As we heard from the member for Brisbane, what did the Labor state government do? They hiked up the prices. They took all the fares. Don't believe for a second the propaganda out there. Who gets the fares? The state government get the fares. Yet the Brisbane City Council put new buses on the road and put in new community services.

I note with fascination the point in the motion that says:

… changes are geared towards cutting ‘community’ bus services …

It was the Brisbane City Council that introduced the Spring Hill Loop, in the member for Brisbane's area—a free service for the community, because they knew that elderly people had trouble getting up the hill to Wickham Terrace and the hospitals. We went to the Labor state government and said, 'Will you please contribute,' and their answer was a resounding no. In fact, to support the community, they even went one better! They used to have a government bus that supported their public servants travelling from Boundary Road down to the government precinct. When the council put on this free community bus service, not only did they not help us; they cancelled their own government bus and told the public servants to use the free community bus. That is the sort of support that we get from Labor when it comes to public transport.

For the record, when we talk about the increase in buses, we mean the Brisbane City Council built two new depots, with a third on its way, and they built a new bus-building factory that is churning out one new bus every three days. We compare that record of over 800 buses in eight years with that of the Labor council. How many would you think they delivered in 13 years—maybe a couple of hundred at least? They averaged just 30 a year. They promised loads, just like this Federal Labor government. They promised the world. They delivered a yearly average of 30 buses in 13 years of government in the Brisbane City Council. That is the track record of Labor when it comes to public transport. They might try and talk about it—never let it be said that you would ever see a member on a bus—but the bottom line is that they never deliver.

Indeed, if we are talking about patronage, despite a 24 per cent increase in population in those 13 years, patronage on the buses only increased by 10 per cent. Yet, under the LNP council, patronage increased by 66 per cent to a record 80 million patrons in 2011-12. That is because the Brisbane City Council pensioned off the old Labor buses. Every single bus is now air conditioned. Buses have disability access.

Mr Perrett interjecting—

Mr Deputy Speaker, I tell you that all the Labor state government did was take the fares and increase them. It is a disgrace. That is the sort of interest. They helped finance it—

Honourable members interjecting—

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