Brumby's $40bn plan to get Victoria moving - TheAge

PLANS to buy 52 trains and 50 trams for Melbourne, as well as 20 trains for regional Victoria, will be unveiled today as John Brumby seeks to lay claim to the title of "the public transport Premier".

The $4.2 billion buy-up of rolling stock will be accompanied by a promise to build Melbourne's first metro-style underground suburban rail line — a 17 kilometre cross-city tunnel from Caulfield to Footscray via St Kilda Road and inner Melbourne — as well as a new surface rail line through the rapidly growing western suburbs and a long-awaited extension of the Epping line in the north.

The Age believes the Government's transport blueprint, to be revealed today, will involve nearly $40 billion of purchases and projects.

Mr Brumby will claim the plan will create tens of thousands of jobs and transform Victoria's road network and public transport system into Australia's best.

But the Opposition will claim the timeline for many of the major projects is so long that there can be no guarantee Labor will deliver them.

Commuters on the Eastern Freeway will have to wait years for relief from the daily congestion as they hit Hoddle Street, with cabinet rejecting a recommendation from its transport adviser, Sir Rod Eddington, for a $9 billion road tunnel from the end of the Eastern Freeway under North Carlton to the western suburbs.

Instead, Mr Brumby will announce that the Government will commission an engineering study to consider building underpasses or flyovers south along Hoddle Street at the intersections with Johnston Street, Victoria Street, Bridge Road and Swan Street.

But there will be quicker action to get freight traffic out of residential areas of the inner-west, notably Francis Street in Yarraville.

Mr Brumby will announce plans to build an elevated road from West Gate Freeway to Hyde Street, to carry trucks along Footscray Road to the Port of Melbourne, at a cost of about $380 million.

About $80 million will be allocated to build a 3.5 kilometre Dingley bypass road in the south-eastern suburbs, between Perry and Springvale roads.

The Age has confirmed that, as part of the Government's public transport push, today's statement will include:

• $1 billion to buy 50 low-floor trams. But the first of the trams, which can carry up to 200 passengers, will not start operating until 2012-13.
• $550 million for 20 V/Line trains, to add more than 1500 extra seats to the regional.
• $650 million for a further 20 X'Trapolis trains, to be added to the 18 already on order and due to start operating from late next year.
• $2 billion for 32 "new generation" trains, with 30 per cent more carrying capacity and extra doors. These trains will not start operating until all 38 X'Trapolis trains have been rolled out.

The transport plan is also expected to include:

• An investigation of potential routes to extend the Metropolitan Ring Road from Greensborough to EastLink at Ringwood, possibly through environmentally sensitive areas such as Diamond Creek and Warrandyte.
• Buying up land for a road in an arc from Avalon Airport to the Hume Highway as the start of a new outer ring road.
• A bypass road around Frankston, costing about $750 million.
• Extra bus services for Doncaster and surrounding eastern suburbs.
• About $100 million — but spent over 12 years — for new and improved bike paths across the state.
• More than $30 million to fund extra transit police, especially on train lines with high levels of violence and vandalism.

Mr Brumby would not discuss details of the transport blueprint yesterday, but emphasised it was for the entire state, not just Melbourne.

"It is transformational in terms of its scale," he said.

But the Opposition said the fact that the plan was being unveiled nine years into the life of the Government showed Labor had failed to plan adequately for the state's population boom.

Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said: "We keep getting told this is a plan for the future, but it seems to be a plan to have a heap more plans and studies."

Read the original report at TheAge.com.au

Tunnel vision on track - news.com.au

THE $38 billion transport package will revolutionise the way you move around this city. It will also change the way goods are moved.

Train travel will become quicker and less prone to disruptions with construction of a $9.5 billion tunnel from Footscray to Caulfield.

Stations are expected in the university and hospital precinct in Parkville, at the Domain interchange and possibly in the CBD.

The project is designed to carry about 40,000 passengers an hour.

Metlink chief executive Bernie Carolan said the tunnel was essential in ensuring the delivery of reliable commuter train services into the future.

Inner network problems needed to be fixed before extensions, such as to South Morang, could be fixed, he said.

The $1.5 billion Tarneit link, from Sunshine to Werribee, is designed to improve metropolitan and country services.

V/Line services to and from Geelong will be more reliable because they won't get stuck behind suburban trains.

You might be more likely to get a seat in future thanks to an immediate order for 20 trains and a further order for 35 next-generation trains.

Quicker trips to and from Doncaster can be expected with enhanced bus services.

But don't expect a quick, seamless drive from the Eastern Freeway to CityLink any time soon.

Another of Sir Rod Eddington's major recommendations, an east-west road tunnel, has proven to be more politically difficult than the rail tunnel.

But relief is in sight for motorists with a $240 million upgrade of the West Gate Bridge, revealed by the Herald Sun last week, to provide a medium-term alternative.

A further reason to delay the east-west road tunnel will be a plan to build flyovers along Hoddle St.

Motorists will also get an easier run through the notorious Springvale Rd level crossing at Nunawading, rated the worst in the state for safety, which will be replaced.

What is less obvious is a growing problem around the ports area: more capacity to move freight around is desperately needed.

Resident anger is building around the inner-western suburbs as truck numbers increase.

The solution is the first stage of Sir Rod's road tunnel, underneath Footscray to the ports, and better connections to Hyde St and Footscray Rd, allowing trucks to bypass residential areas.

Read the original article at news.com.au

$6 billion super link - news.com.au

EXCLUSIVE: THE biggest road project in Melbourne's history to connect the northern and eastern suburbs will spearhead today's transport plan.

The 9km North East Link, with tunnels under the Yarra River, will cost at least $6 billion - more than the combined cost of the CityLink and EastLink freeways.

But the Brumby Government won't say whether it will have tolls.

The road will link the Melbourne Ring Rd at Greensborough to the Eastern Freeway at Bulleen.

Tunnels will be bored for 4.5km from Rosanna to Bulleen to protect the environment and homes.

Premier John Brumby today will commit to the project, which will run through and under suburbs including Greensborough, Rosanna, Heidelberg and Bulleen.

The North East Link will be one of dozens of projects in the $38 billion transport plan.

Mr Brumby said the plan would eclipse recommendations by transport expert Sir Rod Eddington.

"This is a bigger plan, this is bigger than Eddington in terms of its scale, its impact, its investment, jobs, the profound changes it will make to our transport system," he told the Herald Sun.

Details of the plan already revealed by the Herald Sun include:

• AN $8.5 BILLION rail link from Footscray to Caulfield.
• THE Frankston bypass, to cost $700 million.
• A ROAD tunnel under Footscray connecting to the port area, to cost several billion dollars.
• THE $240 million plan to convert emergency lanes on the West Gate Bridge to regular traffic lanes.
• A TRUCK route through inner-western suburbs to cost $380 million.

The eastern section of an inner-suburban east-west road tunnel is set to be shelved, with the Government convinced the North East Link would take significant pressure off Hoddle St and other arterial roads.

The Government is also considering a series of flyovers and underpasses to resolve Hoddle St bottlenecks.

At least half the North East Link will be tunnels while the rest of the freeway will use existing roads, which may need to be widened.

Dubbed the "missing link", the Melbourne Ring Rd would be lengthened from Greensborough to Rosanna before tunnels take traffic beneath the Yarra and under heritage areas including picturesque land around the Heide Museum of Modern Art.

The Government's preferred option is to minimise environmental damage at the Banyule Flats - the scene of many landscapes by the Heidelberg School of artists.

Planning for the North East Link will begin immediately but construction may have to wait until 2012.

The transport plan is crucial to the Government's future with road congestion and public transport chaos threatening to seriously undermine Labor's run to the 2010 election.

Some of today's projects will not begin until after 2010 but some smaller projects are likely to begin almost immediately.

Shadow transport spokesman Terry Mulder doubted Labor would deliver on the plan.

The Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry urged the Government to set down time limits for long-term projects.

Read the original article at News.com.au

On your bikes, says Brumby

COMMUTERS will be asked to leave their cars at home, share the drive to work, get on motorcycles and scooters or take to their bikes in a sweeping package of reforms to be unveiled as part of the State Government's transport blueprint this week.

But the Brumby Government's plan to upgrade bike paths — believed to amount to $100 million over 12 years — is likely to disappoint cyclists, adding only $800,000 to existing annual funding statewide.

"They have made the time scale very long," Bicycle Victoria chief executive Harry Barber said. "With this commitment, they are clearly not moving quickly enough to turn car trips into bike trips to relieve congestion."

Premier John Brumby yesterday confirmed that his much-anticipated transport plan will be released this week, possibly as early as tomorrow.

The Sunday Age believes the plan's road-building focus, which reportedly includes the Frankston bypass, a port to CityLink freeway and possibly an outer ring road, will be offset by a large campaign to convince people to stop driving their cars to work.

Part of the campaign will be a push to make motorcycles and scooters safer, increasing their appeal to commuters as low-emission alternatives to cars.

The Sunday Age believes the Government will also aim to set a carbon emission target for its vehicle fleet. This is likely to mean state bureaucrats will in future be driving more hybrid Camrys and locally made small cars, such as the Ford Focus, instead of the traditional six-cylinder Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons that dominate the fleet now.

It is understood the transport plan will closely match the Government's ambitions to create newly designated business centres at Broadmeadows, Box Hill, Dandenong, Frankston, Footscray and Ringwood. Significant transport projects are likely to be focused around these areas in a "decentralisation" of Melbourne's transport strategy.

In his recommendations to the Government, Sir Rod Eddington said $60 million worth of new east-west bike tracks should be built in Melbourne. The transport plan's bike funding will commit $100 million over 12 years across Victoria, replacing the previous commitment of $75 million from 2006 to 2016. Cycling advocates were hoping for a much bigger investment. A new statewide bike strategy is expected next year, with upgrades to existing bike paths, new and extended paths, priority traffic signals for cyclists and better separation of cyclists and cars...

Read the entire article at TheAge.com.au

So... what bicycle will you be riding Mr Brumby!? (Don't worry... I'll escort you on the one I ride every single day, if you like. I'll even give you some tips!)

Canberra raps Brumby over funding - The Age

Katharine Murphy, Canberra, and Marc Moncrief

PREMIER John Brumby and Treasurer John Lenders have received a swift rebuke for their lobbying over Canberra's dwindling infrastructure dollars, with the federal minister declaring their comments irrelevant.

Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed as a "speculative bid" recent suggestions from Victoria that the state is expecting $10 billion worth of federal funds for transport upgrades.

"Public comments by state and territory leaders will have absolutely no impact on the outcome," Mr Albanese told The Age in an interview yesterday.

...

Mr Albanese's warning to Victoria follows a three-day meeting in Sydney this week where federal policy advisers and a team of economic consultants, lead by Infrastructure Australia chairman Sir Rod Eddington, have been working to finalise the national priority list. Sources involved in the process say several governments have been asked to supply officials with better quality information about their wish-lists, and revise some of their proposals.

Infrastructure Australia will meet again early next week. Mr Albanese is yet to be briefed on the emerging priorities.

Sir Rod was "taking additional responsibility", Mr Albanese said, for driving the accelerated timetable set by the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
...

"We maintain our commitment to investing in the productive side of the economy," he said. "We will monitor these issues but we maintain our strong commitment to our infrastructure program."

Read the whole article at TheAge.com.au

Get up early to ride free? Forget it - TheAge

Clay Lucas

Illustration: Cathy Wilcox

THE Early Bird ticket, hailed by Premier John Brumby as a solution to overcrowding on morning trains, is failing dismally to attract commuters.

The ticket was aimed to tempt commuters out of bed earlier, offering free travel for trips finishing before 7am.

It was launched by Mr Brumby and Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky in March, after a six-month trial on the Frankston and Sydenham lines.

"I'm very confident it will be very well received," Mr Brumby said then.

But the Department of Transport's annual report — one of more than 200 annual reports released by the Government last Thursday — shows just 2700 travellers a day using the ticket on Melbourne's 15 train lines.

And of those, 700 already caught pre-7am trains before the March launch.

The scheme, costed by Mr Brumby in March at "between $5 million and $10 million" has blown out to $12 million in two years. This includes reimbursing Connex for lost ticket revenue.

Before trials began, the Government said 600 passengers a day needed to use the ticket on the Frankston line for it to be considered a success.

Only 232 used the ticket, their analysis showed.

The ticket fared even worse in the Sydenham line trial: just 168 passengers a day opted to travel before 7am.

Despite this, the Government pressed ahead, to show it was taking "action" to relieve overcrowding.

The Public Transport Users Association said the new figures showed the scheme had achieved little. "Morning peak-hour trains are as crowded as ever. Free rides don't substitute for providing adequate peak-hour services," president Daniel Bowen said.

Connex data released last week showed overcrowding on Melbourne's morning trains at its worst. Scores of morning rush-hour trains carry 1000 passengers — well above the 798-person recommended limit...

Read the rest of this article at TheAge.com.au

Secrecy over $500m in transport money - TheAge.com.au

Clay Lucas

CONTROVERSIAL laws have been used to stop the public finding out how Connex and Yarra Trams plan to spend over half a billion dollars of public money.

The Brumby Government has relied on commercial-in-confidence laws — which it attacked repeatedly while in opposition — to keep secret the two operators' annual planning documents.

Under freedom of information, The Age requested that the Government release Connex's and Yarra Trams' last five franchise business plans.

The business plans must be given to the Government annually to show how the companies plan to run Melbourne's train and tram network.

After speaking with Yarra Trams and Connex, the Department of Transport deemed the documents too sensitive to release.

"Disclosure would be likely to expose Connex and Yarra Trams … unreasonably to disadvantage," the department's legal adviser, Yvonne Han, said.

Access to Connex and Yarra Trams' most recent business plans was also blocked because it would hamper their bid to keep the lucrative contracts to run trains and trams here, she said.

Both companies are bidding to retain the contracts to run Melbourne's trains and trams for another 15 years. The winning tenderers for the contracts will be announced next July.

Connex and Yarra Trams refused to release their franchise business plans to The Age, also citing "commercial-in-confidence" reasons.

The companies will get $537 million in government payments this financial year, while each also earns over $200 million in fares.

Connex is owned by French company Veolia, and Yarra Trams is owned by MetroLink Victoria — a joint venture between France's TransDev and Australia's Transfield Services.

The Public Transport Users Association said the plans should be public because a privately run transport system needed complete transparency.

"A lot of taxpayer money is going to these companies, so we have a right to know how that money is being spent," president Daniel Bowen said.

Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky declined to comment on the issue.

As opposition leader in the 1990s, Premier John Brumby repeatedly attacked the Kennett government's use of the commercial-in-confidence laws.

Mr Brumby, who promised greater transparency when he became Premier last July, told Parliament in 1994 that the Kennett government had a "propensity to hide behind freedom-of-information legislation and … use expressions like commercial-in-confidence" to keep documents secret.

Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said: "Mr Brumby's hypocrisy in hiding these documents is exceeded only by his inability to deliver the roads, rail lines, trains and trams Victorians need."

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

Labor split over new tollway plans - TheAge.com.au

Jason Dowling and Paul Austin

A NEW tollway proposal in Sir Rod Eddington's transport plan for Melbourne has split the Victorian Labor Party's transport policy committee.

The committee's secretary has resigned in disgust at a decision to endorse all 20 recommendations in Sir Rod's report to the State Government, including a new multibillion-dollar road tunnel linking the city's east and west.

The committee's response to the Eddington proposals will be presented to the ALP state conference today, and Premier John Brumby will release his transport plan for Melbourne next month.

The secretary, Pat Love, has written to his committee colleagues, along with Roads Minister Tim Pallas and Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky saying he would bring forward the end of his term because of the committee's support for more freeways.

"Recent decisions of the committee, most importantly the decisions to support all 20 recommendations from the (Eddington) study, prompted me to bring this forward prior to the state conference. I handed my resignation to Kevin Bracken last Monday," he wrote in an email sent on Thursday night and obtained by The Age.

"As you know, I have argued both internally on the committee and externally in public forums that now is not the time to build another road tunnel."

Mr Love, who has been secretary of the committee for three years, said: "If it is implemented by State Government, I firmly believe that it will lead to more long-term problems than solutions for people in Melbourne, and especially the people living in the west."

It was wrong to argue that the "massive expenditure of an 18-kilometre tunnel, whether funded by government or private or both, will solve our congestion problems in the inner west, north and inner east".

"I don't believe it will improve transport options for many people in the west, but will further entrench them in car dependence," Mr Love wrote.

"Overall, it will lead to more greenhouse gas emissions from transport in Melbourne, not less."

Transport is expected to be the subject of passionate debate at today's conference, with one draft resolution accusing the Government of failing "to establish an effective process for the development of transport policy for Melbourne in the wake of the Eddington review".

It says the Government manipulated its consultations with the community about transport policy to prevent many ALP members being involved. The process had degenerated into an exercise "in which people were asked little more than to pick their favourite problem and project".

Other draft resolutions seen by The Age call on the Government to:

• Urgently implement a manufacturing strategy for Victoria "to ensure the ongoing viability of the industry".
• Immediately ban logging in all water catchments.

The keynote speakers at today's conference will be Mr Brumby and Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Read the original article in TheAge.com.au

Tollway alternative part of new roads plan

Clay Lucas and Jason Dowling

A NEW tollway would traverse either semi-rural Warrandyte, or run through the heart of Heidelberg, under controversial plans being devised for the State Government's transport strategy.

The Department of Premier and Cabinet is working with VicRoads on the project, which would see a new tollway connect the Metropolitan Ring Road — which finishes in Greensborough — to either the Eastern Freeway or EastLink.

Secrecy surrounds the Government's transport statement, due out in November.

But Government sources have told The Age the transport team is working on economic analysis of three route options for a major new tollway.

The routes are:

• From Greensborough to the Eastern Freeway, running through Heidelberg; or
• From Greensborough to EastLink in Ringwood, with the road running via Eltham and Warrandyte; or
• Sir Rod Eddington's $9 billion road tunnel route from Clifton Hill to Footscray.

Roads Minister Tim Pallas met financiers Babcock and Brown last month to discuss funding possibilities for new tollways.

The State Government has recently polled residents in Eltham and Warrandyte on their support for a new road link, which would traverse some of the city's most environmentally sensitive areas.

And Government emails obtained by The Age show VicRoads is determined to retain land in Greensborough set aside for the ring road connection.

Nillumbik Council, which covers much of the area a new tollway would run through, opposes the project. Cr Greg Johnson said locals would fight a new freeway connection through the area.

As opposition leader in the 1990s, Premier John Brumby ruled out building a freeway along the proposed Nillumbik route.

"The ALP opposes this road on environmental grounds, and because of the enormous disruption it would cause to property owners whose homes would be demolished," Mr Brumby wrote in a 1995 letter.

One roads industry source said there was still an appetite to build major toll roads, despite the turmoil on financial markets.

And ConnectEast director Max Lay, a former senior VicRoads bureaucrat, said big toll road projects were "seen as a safe harbour for long-term investments".

News of the road plan comes as the Greens today launch their new $14 billion transport plan — along with a marketing campaign targeting Mr Brumby's support for new road infrastructure.

Under the Greens' People Plan, detailed in an extensive new website at www.thepeopleplan.org.au, Melbourne's public transport system would be expanded dramatically. The plan includes new train lines to Doncaster, Mernda, Rowville and Melbourne Airport.

There would also be a major new CBD metro system, with new train stations built in the CBD at Kings Way and St Kilda Road, in the inner north at Parkville, Carlton and Fitzroy, and elsewhere.

And in an attack ad devised by South Melbourne ad agency Cyclone, Mr Brumby is portrayed as a mole, tunnelling to create "a profit plan for political survival".

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

One person's discussion of the Greens' 'The People Plan' is here - http://reubenville.blogspot.com/2008/10/greens-transport-plan.html

The BrumbyMole

Freight plan calls for expansion of B-triple network in Victoria - news.com.au

By Nick Higginbottom

THE Brumby Government plans to run B-triples through some suburban streets as part of a massive overhaul of the transport sector.

A secret Department of Transport document obtained by the Opposition revealed the B-triple truck routes that will force heavier and longer truckes onto Victorians roads without any community consultation.

Opposition Transport spokesman Terry Mulder said the document showed the truck road map stretched from Wodonga to Portland and from Sale to Mildura including many roads, tollways and freeways in metropolitan Melbourne.

"This is John Brumby's fallback plan because of his failure to transfer freight to rail as Labor promised," he said.

"In December 2007 (Roads) Minister Pallas promised full consultation with local communities and councils about B-triples.

"John Brumby should tell Minister Pallas to pick up the phone and start making calls instead of traeating local communities and councils like mushrooms."

Key roads affected by the proposal include the Calder Freeway and Highway from Melbourne to Bendigo and Mildua, the Western Hwy from Ballarat to the South Australian border, the Henty hwy from Horsham to Portalnd, the Geelong road and Princes Fwy West to Colac and from Heywood through to the South Australian borders and the Hume Hwy to Wodonga.

The radical plan will also push the massive truck onto already overcrowded roads including West Gate Bridge, Monash Fwy and most of Citylink. The trucks will also be allowed to drive through the state's four freeway tunnels on the Monash and Eastlink - the Burnley, Domain, Melba and Mullum Mullum tunnels.

Other roads included in the plan are the whole of Eastlink, the Mooroduc, Frankston and Tullamarine freeways, the Western Ring road and Ferntree Gully Rd.

The plan would also see the massive trucks inundate numerous roads around the Port of Melbourne in Footscray and Yarraville, along with Fitzgerald Rd in Laverton and Cooper St in Campbellfield.

Premier John Brumby said the government hadn't made any decisions about the monster trucks, but admitted it was investigating a range of options for increased B-Triple use....

Read the whole article at news.com.au

"Not ruling anything in... not ruling anything out"

Public transport use hits all-time high

by Clay Lucas

Squeeze ... Melbourne's public transport patronage is experiencing 'extraordinary' growth. Photo: Simon O'Dwyer

More than 200 million people travelled on Melbourne's trains between 2007 and 2008, according to Premier John Brumby.

- Rising patronage
- 'Extraordinary' growth
- Overcrowded services

Unveiling new train, tram and bus patronage figures on North Melbourne station this morning, Mr Brumby said the growth of passengers on public transport in the last few years had been "extraordinary''.

There were 201.2 million trips on trains in Melbourne in the 2006-07 financial year, 158.3 million trips on trams, and 91.3 trips million on buses.

The growth in public transport patronage was up 7.7% on the previous year.

Mr Brumby hailed the increase in passenger numbers as a sign of success for Victoria, even if there was pressure on travellers who boarded overcrowded services.

"This is the first time we've ever had more than 200 million Victorians use our rail system (in a year),'' Mr Brumby. "In the last year alone, there have been something like 25 million extra passenger trips.''

The Premier was accompanied by Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky; both arrived by train. Ms Kosky's train arrived on time; the Premier's train was two minutes late.

Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said Mr Brumby and Ms Kosky had chosen to visit North Melbourne because there were fewer passengers coming through it than Richmond station, Melbourne's other main rail hub outside the CBD.

"John Brumby and Minister Kosky would not be game to show up at Richmond station where eight of Melbourne's 15 electrified train lines operate through, compared with five lines through North Melbourne and two through Jolimont,'' Mr Mulder said.

"The Cranbourne, Frankston and Pakenham lines have not once in the past 13 months met Labor's punctuality benchmark of no more than 8% of trains being six minutes or more late,'' he said.

On the Pakenham line, 13.9% of trains were at least six minutes late in July.

On the Frankston line, 13.1% were more than six minutes late, and on the Cranbourne line, 11.9%.

Mr Mulder said trains ran at their latest during weekday peak hours.

"When Melburnians are trying to get to work, or get home to see their families, they are being thwarted by John Brumby's `too little, too late' approach to investment in vital rail infrastructure,'' Mr Mulder said.

In the seven months from January to July this year, there were 4044 suburban trains cancelled, including 361 services in July.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

"...an increase in numbers as a sign of success for Victoria..." Jeez... doesn't he realise that quite a few people who read The Age also watch 'The Hollowmen'?

I'm thinking the spiralling digits on the petrol pump may have had a little bit to do with it, perhaps? It's certainly not the quality of service!

Victorians' patience is being tested | theage.com.au

by Paul Austin

DID you notice John Brumby change gear? No sooner had the Premier celebrated the first anniversary of his ascension to the top job than he signalled that the pace of change might be a bit slower from here on.

The self-styled Action Man Premier is taking a bit of a breather. Just for the moment, it's not so much hold-on-to-your-hats as steady-as-she-goes.

First it was population. Brumby used his first-anniversary interviews to send the message that our present growth rate of more than 1500 extra people a week is as strong as we want, thank you very much, and he's now going to push gently on the brake pedal.

Then it was transport. Brumby is signalling that, no matter how keen we are for less-clogged roads and trains, there won't be any big new tunnels for years to come. In other words, there is no "magic bullet" solution to Melbourne's transport woes — certainly not in time for Brumby's date with the voters at the 2010 election.

Population and transport are related issues, of course. Brumby argues that the growing pains so evident on the railway stations and arterial roads of the city are at least in part the result of a population boom of unexpected magnitude...

Read the whole article at TheAge.com.au

Transport solutions no walk in the park - The Melbourne Times July 30

The Premier braved a frosty reception at a threatened park. Bianca Hall reports

Dogwalkers were out in force despite the frosty morning air when Premier John Brumby visited Kensington's JJ Holland Park last week.

Fringed by native trees, the park provides a sanctuary for thousands of people living in highrise towers, young families, local sporting clubs and the always present dogwalkers.

Residents' groups have accused Melbourne MLA Bronwyn Pike of ignoring their concerns about the park's future if the Government goes ahead with a $10 billion freeway and road tunnel linking the Eastern Freeway with the Western Ring Road.

Sir Rod Eddington's report identifies JJ Holland Park and Royal Park as staging areas for the tunnel, so on Thursday Ms Pike brought her boss to Kensington to see just what was at stake.

As they walked, the pair was constantly reminded of the community's outrage at the tunnel proposal.

The Greens have distributed thousands of "No Road Tunnel" signs to residents. The green triangles line the windows of the Kensington Community Centre [That would be the childcare centre actually- ED], located in the park, and dominate the windows of nearby homes.

"So as you can see, there's a few protest signs around the place," Ms Pike said.

Mr Brumby gave a short nod.

"I saw a few driving past... Anyone who lives near a park would want to keep their park I understand that," he said.

Mr Brumby said it was impossible to guarantee that parkland would be retained if the runnel was constructed.

"I can never make guarantees that no public space will ever be affected, and in a sense it's a hypothetical question," he said.

"You know, we haven't made a decision about the tunnel or any of the projects in (the) Eddington (report), and we may proceed or we may not.

"If we don't (proceed), well the issue wouldn't arise, so I'm not in a position to answer hypothetical questions, but I am in a position to get all the information so that we make a balanced decision."

Mr Brumby acknowledged his Government had a tough policy problem on its hands.

"We've had record growth in public transport, and to be fair, no one could have foreseen that petrol prices would be $1.70 a litre," he said.

"The world price of oil four years ago was $25 a barrel, and now it's $130 a barrel, so we've seen just huge an rapid growth."

However, the Government appears set to disappoint innercity campaigners who want an embargo on new roads and billions channelled into public transport.

"Is it true to say that we're never going to need another road?" Mr Brumby asked.

"I mean, it's not. You've got to kee investing in public transport as the ci continues to grow, but we've also got use our infrastructure more efficiently."

"And if you look out in the eastern suburbs at the moment ... you can't find a soul there who doesn't think EastLink not fantastic, because all of the suburban roads now are carrying 30-40 per cent less traffic."

"Properly designed major road projects can take a lot of pressure off suburban streets and improve quality of life."

You know, I'm not sure the people in the Eastern suburbs who don't have access to good public transport, and are forced to use their cars, would think that EastLink is so fantastic. (see yesterday's article from TheAge.)

Also, not too sure if noone forsaw the $1.70 a litre petrol - perhaps it just came a little faster than some expected?

I've emailed Bronwyn Pike, regarding her EWLNA submission. I've yet to have a response. I might post my email to her up here in a few days... If she brought Brumby to the park to try and let him see the possible repurcussions, good on her. Alternatively, if she brought him here to make it look like that was what she was doing... well... I don't think that needs a comment. (I don't know... she hasn't replied to my email).

Premier John Brumby warns of dangers in growing too fast

John Ferguson

July 28, 2008 12:00am

JOHN Brumby has conceded Victoria's population growth is pushing its limits, thanks to the baby boom and immigration.

The Premier said pressures on the transport and health systems showed the need for caution.

In his strongest comments yet on the state's booming population, he said: "I think we are probably at the limits of growth."

In an interview marking his first year as premier, Mr Brumby told the Herald Sun that Victoria needed to keep an eye on its ageing population and plan for the future.

And he questioned the sustainability of high growth.

While stressing the strength of the state's multiculturalism and its value, he said immigration had doubled over five years and Victoria had attracted a quarter to a third of that intake.

"Plus, fertility rates are high. More women are having babies - that's a good thing. I think it's a sign that people are more comfortable about the future," he said.

"But I think we're at the limits; we've got pressures on our public transport system, we've got pressures, obviously, on our health system."

...

But the growth has driven unprecedented demand for services, and roads have become more clogged.

Mr Brumby stressed there would be no quick fix to the transport crisis.

Tolls are still high on the agenda for big-ticket road projects.

And Mr Brumby said it had been impossible to predict the problems facing public transport, particularly as a result of increased demand.

"No one could have (predicted it)," Mr Brumby said, "and nor could have anyone predicted the petrol prices.

"Four years ago, oil was $25 a barrel. It's $127 today, and was $150 last week. So you had growth in patronage of close to 13 per cent per annum for the last three years.

"In the 1990s, under the Kennett government, patronage fell. People wouldn't use the system. The two things coming together - the explosion in our population, the biggest population boom in our state's history, and a doubling of petrol prices - has seen enormous pressure.

"So I'm very conscious of the pressure on families, of the congestion."

Mr Brumby said the fallout from the increased population - which was a central plank of Labor's bid to make Victoria more prosperous after being elected in 1999 - was being addressed.

He also made it clear that roads would form a centrepiece of any transport package later this year, because of the extraordinary reliance on cars in the outer suburbs.

There would be short-, medium- and long-term responses to the Eddington report on easing east-west congestion in Melbourne and to broader transport issues.

Of big projects such as road or rail tunnels, he said: "You can still look at a number of years before you actually get a shovel in the ground."

...

Read the entire article at HeraldSun.com.au

It's Jeff all over again

The first few letters to the editor here respond to the 'Brumby Superhero' article of last week.

Click here to read them in The Age.

A sample :

Melissa Fyfe's profile of John Brumby could be boiled down to one sentence: "John Brumby is a grimmer, more humourless version of Jeff Kennett."

Melissa Fyfe's profile of John Brumby ("It's Action Man to the rescue?" 20/7) could be boiled down to one sentence: "John Brumby is a grimmer, more humourless version of Jeff Kennett." Brumby has the same disdain for due process that Kennett had, using the "commercial-in-confidence" tag to hide questionable deals with the big end of town.

Brumby has the same blind faith in privatisation that has led to massive degradation of the public transport system. Like Kennett's environmental record, Brumby's is poor (as evidenced by the hugely expensive and debatable desalination plant and the north-south water pipeline). And Brumby possibly out-Kennetts Kennett in the nastiness of his political campaigning, as shown by the blatant lies told recently in Kororoit.

It is appropriate to conclude that nowhere is Brumby more disliked than by the people closest to him - the ALP rank and file in Brumby's own seat of Broadmeadows.

MIKE PULESTON, Brunswick

Your editorial (20/7) accurately describes the state Victoria is experiencing with Premier Brumby at the helm. It's difficult to assess who profits from the $850 million myki ticketing debacle, or the bay dredging, the desalination plant, the extensive freeway construction, the PPP development projects (such as the St Kilda Triangle) and so on - certainly not us, the electorate. I think that the "man of steel" reference is prophetic. If Mr Brumby wants to avoid a political demise like the previous "man of steel", John Howard, it is not too late for him to preside over a more transparent government and listen carefully to the rising murmur of discontent from his constituents.

ALEX NJOO, St Kilda

Melissa Fyfe refers to John Brumby as "Action Man, can-do leader, superhero" etc (20/7). Like many Victorians, my perception of the man is of bumbling buffoon, environmental assassin or whatever complements Tory Ted's "Inaction Man". Fyfe's piece fails to thoroughly examine the Colt's credentials and, when put under the microscope, they come up short in a big way.

As the downturn in the state's main economic drivers, manufacturing and agriculture, declines, so does the economic outlook for Victoria. Brumby's reaction to that is to bet our money on fool's gold - projects that will be of no lasting value to the state or the country. I refer, of course, to the desalination plant, the north-south pipeline and Rod Eddington's transport plan. And, of course, now the Colt wants to build another coal-fired power generator.

Under the Premier's definition (as an opposer of the north-south pipeline), I am a liar. Leaders lead, they make the hard decisions. When they make these decisions, however, they consult with those whom the decisions affect, they show compassion and understanding. Leaders are not given to fits of petulance, they don't bully people, they don't name-call people who may disagree with them and they don't demean those people by undermining their civil liberties.

JOHN BENTLEY, Tongala

They've come and had a gander

I learned first-hand from a very reliable source that J.J. Holland Park had a couple of non-regular visitors today.

A few non-regular cars were seen in the carparks near the Childcare Centre/Soccer oval. And lo and behold, the Hon. John Brumby, MP and the Hon. Bronwyn Pike, MP were seen wandering around the park.

I wonder what they were discussing.

I wonder what they were thinking about.

I hope they are worried....

(we are, and we'll vote accordingly!)

Public transport favoured over roads for federal funding

This article mentions that

Victorian MPs, including Education Minister Bronwyn Pike and member for Richmond Richard Wynne, have been outspoken in their opposition to a road tunnel.

On the contrary, we have noticed that Brownyn Pike has been very, very careful not to oppose the tunnel, instead to oppose lasting impact on the park(s) and that Richard Wynne's EWNLA submission supported a tunnel from the docks to Sunshine. The journalist Geraldine Mitchell said the article was changed by the subeditors and that Bronwyn has not in fact changed her position. The journalist acknowledged that Bronwyn was at pains not to take a position on her 20 minute doorstop.

Oh well, on with the article...

PUBLIC transport looks set to win federal funding ahead of any road projects.

Premier John Brumby yesterday said talks with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd showed promising signs the Victorian Government would get assistance for public transport projects.

"I've discussed this with the Prime Minister and I would be very confident that some of the $20 billion in the Building Australia fund will come Victoria's way for public transport projects," he said.

But it appears less likely that contentious road projects such as the $9 billion road tunnel to link the Eastern and Tullamarine freeways, proposed by international road expert Sir Rod Eddington, will get any federal funding.

It comes after Mr Brumby this month said he hoped to get at least $5 billion of the Building Australia fund for major transport projects.

He said any funding from the Federal Government would make a "huge difference" to what projects would be given the green light.

The biggest public transport project on the agenda is an $8.5 billion rail tunnel between Caulfield and Footscray, also proposed by Sir Rod.

Victorian MPs, including Education Minister Bronwyn Pike and member for Richmond Richard Wynne,have been outspoken in their opposition to a road tunnel.

COMMUTERS can look forward to shiny new seat covers on more than half the Connex fleet seats from today.

But the chances of getting a seat on the sardine services aren't going to improve until November, when 200 extra services a week will be scheduled.

Connex chief Bruce Hughes said the seat upgrades were a multi-million-dollar facelift after commuters were asked to suggest service improvements.

But Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen said most peak hour commuters wouldn't see the new covers, "because other people will be sitting on them".

Read the original article at HeraldSun.com.au

Brumby's million-dollar promotion

A MILLION dollars of taxpayer money that could be spent boosting Melbourne's struggling transport network will instead be spent spruiking the Government's credentials on transport in a new television campaign.

The four-week television blitz started on Sunday night with the entire media campaign to last up to a year.

The ad, which says the Government is "delivering on our plans to meet the state's growing transport needs and with many initiatives now under way the signs of an improving transport system can now be seen", has been attacked by the Opposition as a waste of valuable transport dollars.

"Motorists and public transport users alike who are paying more, getting less and travelling more slowly under John Brumby will not be deceived by this expensive, meaningless drivel," Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said.

"Minister for Public Transport Lynne Kosky had to stop her expensive myki smartcard TV ads from going to air because myki is at least three years late," he said.

The Age reported in June that a $400,000 taxpayer-funded advertisement campaign for the troubled myki smartcard had been sitting on the shelf for almost a year because of delays introducing the new technology.

Mr Mulder said the advertising money should be spent "on further car parking spaces at a railway station in Melbourne's outer suburbs - not on self-promotion".

Department of Transport spokesman Chris Veraa said the new advertising campaign was to "inform the public of transport projects currently under way".

He said that while the "full budget for the campaign has not yet been determined", public information about transport projects "will be distributed as required, based on the timing and schedule of works".

"Based on current projections, about $1 million could be spent on this campaign over the next 12 months," Mr Veraa said.

A spokesman for the State Government said it was important for it "to communicate to the people of Victoria about the infrastructure projects currently under way to meet the growing demands of our transport network"...

Read the rest of the article at TheAge.com.au

It's Action Man to the rescue?

I can't leap tall buildings in a single bound, but look how good I am at opening freeways!

It was commissioned long before John Brumby came to power, but the new EastLink tollway could be a mascot for his Government. It was far-reaching in its economic benefits, delivered with the private sector, finished five months before deadline and on budget. On Brumby's watch, dredging of the bay's shipping channels finally began. He drew a line under years of delay and environmental checking and backed the $1 billion project, holding his nerve against critics and protesters. Other decisive moves include speeding up the rezoning of land to cope with Melbourne's booming population, a forthcoming rewrite of the city's transport plan, free public transport for early morning commuters and a boosted train timetable.

Me, Action Man. You, thirsty voter.

It was Premier Steve Bracks who announced the $4.9 billion water plan, but the key supporter was Brumby. The two main projects - a $3.1 billion desalination plant and the $750 million north-south pipeline - will form his legacy as Premier. It's certainly an action-man response to the water crisis. It was sealed in a flash, probably too quickly for the Auditor-General, who said it lacked rigour, based on big engineering solutions instead of a more complex approach that could have included the widespread use of rain tanks, stormwater harvesting and recycled drinking water. With Water Minister sidekick Tim Holding, Brumby must now sell the projects, which are opposed by two loud protest movements. The dynamic duo are keeping their eyes on the prize: an extra 225 billion litres of water flowing into dwindling storages by 2011 and nullifying water scarcity as a 2010 election issue.

Read the rest of this article at TheAge.com.au