2023 NSW Election

[tonyp]

The way NSWPOL treated Violet Coco proves nothing much has changed since the heyday of Dodger Rogerson. But I digress.

Violent Coco held up commuters, including buses. We have the police to remove obstructions, among other tasks. I think about 99.99999% of voters would have been on the side of the police and the bipartisan legislation in this case, so probably not a goer in terms of arguing reasons for the election result.

[Aurora]

She should be hung on the guillotine, taking the city hostage for fringe lunacy.

[tonyp]

She should be hung on the guillotine, taking the city hostage for fringe lunacy.

Good mixed metaphor there Aurora!

[Enviro 500]

She should be hung on the guillotine, taking the city hostage for fringe lunacy.

That's what the mainstream (aka lame-stream) media wants us to think. The truth about why she was even protesting was conveniently ignored by them. Basically, her partner was a volunteer fireman and she was there to protest against funding cuts to his department. However, everyone missed the point.

[The Doctor]

Offered without comment.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/uni ... 5cz11.html

[HunterLine5]

And now we wait for Linto

[Campbelltown busboy]

Will it stop at the 4 former STA regions or will RTBU try and push for the rest of the bus contracts

How about reintroducing a derect train service between Campbelltown and Liverpool maybe rerouting the Cumberland line from Leppington to Campbelltown

[Fleet Lists]

Probably at least the 5 STA regions - counting Newcastle but only time will tell.

[boronia]

Will it stop at the 4 former STA regions or will RTBU try and push for the rest of the bus contracts

How about reintroducing a derect train service between Campbelltown and Liverpool maybe rerouting the Cumberland line from Leppington to Campbelltown

Then people on the Leppington line will whinge

[Campbelltown busboy]

Probably at least the 5 STA regions - counting Newcastle but only time will tell.

And don't forget the RTBU trying to unlink the T80 from region 3 so the Liverpool-Parramatta T way can get put back into public hands

[Campbelltown busboy]

Will it stop at the 4 former STA regions or will RTBU try and push for the rest of the bus contracts

How about reintroducing a derect train service between Campbelltown and Liverpool maybe rerouting the Cumberland line from Leppington to Campbelltown

Then people on the Leppington line will whinge

They still have the T2 line

[Linto63]

Will it stop at the 4 former STA regions or will RTBU try and push for the rest of the bus contracts

I know I have said it a number of times before, but it just won't be happening, The difference between what happened in South Australia is that renationalising the train operator was part of that governments manifesto, it wasn't the case in NSW. Minns committed to halting future privatisations, not winding back existing ones. The new transport minister appears to be from the loony left, so the union leadership probably think she is a soft touch. But the government will be run by the more sensible right who are not going to pursue an ideological renationalisation agenda.

The problems with driver shortages would have still happened if State Transit was still in situ. The SMH article is a poor one, it's a union puff piece with little grip on reality. Maybe, and it is very much a maybe, when the first contracts expire from 2026, they could be brought back in house, but history suggests they won't. While services in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth were privatised by Liberal governments in the 1990s with Labor oppositions protesting against, in all three cities when Labor did get into office, it didn't seek to renationalise and have continued to tender out their service provision.

[Campbelltown busboy]

Will it stop at the 4 former STA regions or will RTBU try and push for the rest of the bus contracts

I know I have said it a number of times before, but it just won't be happening, The difference between what happened in South Australia is that renationalising the train operator was part of that governments manifesto, it wasn't the case in NSW. Mimms committed to halting future privatisations, not winding back existing ones. The new transport minister appears to be from the loony left, so the union leadership probably think she is a soft touch. But the government will be run by the more sensible right who are not going to pursue an ideological renationalisation agenda.

The problems with driver shortages would have still happened if State Transit was still in situ. The SMH article is a poor one, it's a union puff piece with little grip on reality. Maybe, and it is very much a maybe, when the first contracts expire from 2026, they could be brought back in house, but history suggests they won't. While services in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth were privatised by Liberal governments in the 1990s with Labor oppositions protesting against, in all three cities when Labor did get into office, it didn't seek to renationalise and have continued to tender out their service provision.

The depots that are mentioned in the story are former STA depots so would that would make the driver shortage in those depots being caused by a threatened RTBU telling members to get out before the TWU convince RTBU members into a union defection

[Fleet Lists]

The depots that are mentioned in the story are former STA depots so would that would make the driver shortage in those depots being caused by a threatened RTBU telling members to get out before the TWU convince RTBU members into a union defection

NO NO NO The driver shortage is everywhere and not just in NSW. The story wants to make it sound as though it is the ex STA depots only but that is NOT so.

[Merc1107]

What isn't being talked about is the difference in the shortage, in turnover and employee satisfaction between ex STA depots (more those that have been private for some years, as the handover process would naturally result in attrition) and always-private operators.

Of course the privates wouldn't want their shareholders (or the public) getting a whiff of any trouble inside their businesses, nor would the raging pro-government types like to be shown that private operation isn't the exclusive cause of the shortage.

There is not one single cause for the present crisis, although I think some of it was reasonably foreseeable, say an elderly workforce (often with comorbidities) not being a good match for a pandemic...

[Campbelltown busboy]

The depots that are mentioned in the story are former STA depots so would that would make the driver shortage in those depots being caused by a threatened RTBU telling members to get out before the TWU convince RTBU members into a union defection

NO NO NO The driver shortage is everywhere and not just in NSW. The story wants to make it sound as though it is the ex STA depots only but that is NOT so.

The employee shortage issue goes deeper into the Australian economy then the public transport sector

[Glen]

Did anybody else notice the irony in that SMH article with the caption of the photo:

"Aerial photo above Parramatta train station as the rail system crashed on March 8, 2023."

Hint: Who operates that?

[Linto63]

No great surprise, but TfNSW secretary Rob Sharp has been moved on.

NSW premier swings the axe as department bosses sacked (Sydney Morning Herald)

[tonyp]

When I worked in the NSW public service, every time Labor attained office, all the professional department heads would go, to be replaced by somebody with Labor Party affiliations. Then the churn would go the other way at the next change of government.

[1whoknows]

In Victoria when Kennett got in many of the Labor appointees suddenly disappeared (most jumped, only a few pushed) and turned up with the Feds in Canberra or in other red states. When Bracks got in the rats returned to their lairs.

[HunterLine5]

I’ve only been out of the system for 4 years, and I can tell you for a fact there are at least a couple of Senior NSW Trainlink managers connected to the dodgy XPT Replacement fiasco and the cost blowout that are very worried bout their jobs right now , doubts?……just stay tuned,

[Enviro 500]

When I worked in the NSW public service, every time Labor attained office, all the professional department heads would go, to be replaced by somebody with Labor Party affiliations. Then the churn would go the other way at the next change of government.

To think the civil service is supposed to be neutral. Tsk tsk.

[1whoknows]

The concept of the neutral public service was first molested by Whitlam and has been going south ever since.

[jpp42]

and I can tell you for a fact there are at least a couple of Senior NSW Trainlink managers connected to the dodgy XPT Replacement fiasco

What exactly is the "dodgy XPT Replacement fiasco" that you describe? It's the NIF's that are a fiasco, the new regional fleet seems generally "fine" so far, at least as reported in the media?

[Enviro 500]

The concept of the neutral public service was first molested by Whitlam and has been going south ever since.

His dismissal by an unelected foreign monarch only made things worse. But that's for another day.