The Mayor's Column
The oil crisis is hitting home. Petrol prices are rising exponentially. This will impact upon us all. Urban consolidation will increase as people in outlying suburbs move closer to work. Transport costs will drive more people from rural communities to cities.
The car will be replaced by public transport as the primary means of travel in urban areas. State governments will be under enormous pressure to respond urgently to fund a better, more reliable, sustainable and affordable public transport system.
Government must be pressured to provide transport which uses clean energy and let us hope the Federal Government proceeds to include transport in the emissions trading regime by 2010. Other parts of the world have electric buses and vehicles not reliant on fossil fuels. So must we.
Privately, we can drive cleaner cars. The federal government should be encouraging manufacturers to research, develop and market cars which use alternate energy to oil and reducing taxes on such vehicles.
An NRMA Survey recently showed that Mosman had the highest ownership of the Prius in Australia. Cars such as this should not be taxed under the new “luxury” car tax, but should be more affordable with many more brands and models available. Mosman Council car fleet has a number of gas-fuelled cars and all six-cylinder cars are being replaced with four cylinders.
Local government plays an important role in setting policy for local and regional areas and Mosman has held a number of meetings specifically to discuss our transport and traffic issues, including meetings with our SHOROC partners of Manly, Pittwater and Warringah and with North Sydney.
SHOROC has commissioned a Traffic and Transport report by Halcrow Consultants, which is the subject of a further councillor workshop to be held on Tuesday 24 June.
Northern Beaches Transport Form being arranged by “10,000 Friends of Greater Sydney” [FROGS] have planned the seventh in a series across Sydney to be held at Dee Why RSL Club 9.15am to 1.00pm Monday 7 July 2008. It is free to interested people, but registration is essential – Email frogs10k@bigpond.com
Cr Denise Wilton, Mayor of Mosman
