Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on one of the biggest burdens to Australia's productivity, economic growth and community wellbeing: road congestion. It's a wicked problem with no easy solution and, despite record investment, shows no sign of lessening.

Congestion is well known in Warringah. The northern beaches community satisfaction survey, 2019, shows that traffic management is an issue in the region. In fact, satisfaction in Warringah is 10 per cent below the New South Wales metro average. People from back home, who will be watching this speech, know the dread of crawling up Spit Hill, edging along Warringah Road on the way to work in Chatswood, or being stuck behind a noisy truck on the weekends, battling your way through the Saturday morning traffic. This is not just a work commute problem; it is a problem seven days a week.

These roads are some of the most congested in Australia. According to the recent Infrastructure Australia audit, Narraweena to Chatswood via Warringa Road is the third most congested road in Australia. The congestion on this road between 7 am and 9 am causes 26 minutes of delay per vehicle and is projected to grow to 30 minutes by 2031. This time and money could be better spent being productive with family, writing proposals or going for a surf on the weekends. The cost to the greater economy is enormous. Just one corridor, the northern beaches to north Sydney corridor, which is 60 per cent based in Warringah and 40 per cent in Mackellar, costs the Australian economy up to $160,000 per day in lost productivity. This is expected to rise to $200,000 by 2031. That would be $73 million of lost productivity per year.

There have been some efforts to improve congestion along these roads. The state government has shown great initiative, responding to the call of the residents by implementing a B-Line from the beaches to the city. This line has been a victim of its own success though. This line has quickly reached capacity and will require further investment.

The state government has also responded to over two decades of calls and committed to building a new tunnel connecting the Northern Beaches to the city, which will reduce pressure on Spit Road and Military Road. I look forward to the release of the project's environmental impact statement and working with the state government to get the best outcome for Warringah. The tunnel must be futureproofed and done right, minimising health impacts on surrounding residents, especially schoolchildren. But the tunnel is at least six to eight years away. We do need investment and solutions today.

That leaves the dreaded Dee Why to Chatswood corridor. A solution is on the table but it should be fast-tracked. I urge the New South Wales government to build on the success of the B-Line and implement a similar bus rapid transit service as soon as possible from Dee Why, Frenchs Forest and Chatswood. The 136 that services that route is insufficient. It is simply too slow and has too many stops. The estimated cost of the Dee Why to Chatswood service would be about $7 million less, plus fares revenue per year.

I call on the federal government to play an active role and help fund this initiative from the Urban Congestion Fund. The bus line would service Warringah, Mackellar, Bradfield and Bennelong and be a huge boon to thousands of constituents in those areas, so I also call on the members for Mackellar, Bradfield and Bennelong, as government members, to make this happen.

Finally, we cannot talk about solutions to transport and congestion without addressing the consequences to our environment and air quality that come from our road congestion. Transport represents 18.8 per cent of our carbon emissions, and this is growing. We need a plan to move to clean transport options, with investment in electric vehicles and raising our fuel quality standards and vehicle emissions standards.

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