Article: Labor Party members tour suburban stations

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

Labor Party members tour suburban stations

Labor Party members tour suburban stations
Article from: The Courier-Mail

James O'Loan

April 25, 2008 12:00am

UNELECTED Labor Party members secretly commandeered a CityTrain yesterday for a fully catered tour of suburban stations.

The party members set off on their three-hour tour just after the morning peak hour, while commuters crammed into overloaded suburban trains.

And the plan was that taxpayers would foot the $3000 bill.

Already there have been calls for a Crime and Misconduct Commission inquiry into Queensland Rail's links with the Labor Party in the wake of what even the Transport Minister conceded was an extraordinary occurrence.

The incident appears to be the first time a passenger-standard Brisbane CityTrain has been granted to any organisation.

It had been booked by Queensland Transport apparently without the minister's knowledge.

During the tour, party members ? none of whom were MPs ? were briefed by public servants from Queensland Transport and QR officials on upgrades to stations and railway lines under the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan.

When The Courier-Mail inquired about the secret trip yesterday, Transport Minister John Mickel
said he had not been advised about it by public servants from either Queensland Transport or QR.

He was unable to identify how many passengers there were ? or who they were.

"When I learned of this issue late this afternoon I was outraged and disgusted," Mr Mickel said. "It is entirely inappropriate."

Opposition transport spokesman Tim Nicholls said: "QR doesn't run its services for the ALP."
The state ALP office did not answer queries from The Courier-Mail when contacted yesterday afternoon.

After also being told that the plan had been for taxpayers to pick up the tab, Mr Mickel ordered the party to pay.

"Late this afternoon I spoke to the ALP secretary Anthony Chisholm and insisted that the party pick up the full costs of the hiring of the train and staff," Mr Mickel said. "He has agreed to this."

But Mr Nicholls labelled the exercise "a gross abuse of taxpayers money" and said a CMC inquiry should be set up to uncover "who, how and why" the ride was authorised.

"It's a complete disgrace that the ALP have unfettered access and assistance from a government department to ride the rails for three hours," he said.

"There are passengers unable to get on trains and we have a shortage. This is something the CMC ought to investigate if public servants are booking party political tours on the city's rail network.

"Can you imagine the offer being made to anyone else, or any other group of lobbyists?"

The secret ride stopped at Coopers Plains, Kuraby, Indooroopilly, Oxford Park and Grovely before disembarking at Brunswick St station.

Unlike everyday CityTrain commuters, they were served food and refreshments worth a total of $87.20.

If this story account is factual, it adds further concern to the way Queensland Transport operates in a vacuum and disconnect from reality and the community. 

Major planning myopia such as the failure to recognise the need to build the railway stations at Ellen Grove and Springfield Lakes, the failure to build the Petrie to Kippa-Ring railway, the false figures used for public transport growth, the cosy consultancies to mates, the bus-centric road congestion gridlock focus for public transport are plain for all to see.

This further adds to our calls for a dedicated Transport Minister (see http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=796.0 ).  The Minister is being bypassed by an out of control public service hierarchy. 

I note Minister Mickel's comments reported above: "When I learned of this issue late this afternoon I was outraged and disgusted," Mr Mickel said. "It is entirely inappropriate."

It is pleasing to see that the Minister has taken steps for a cost recovery from the parties concerned.  $3000 is only a token amount. RAIL Back On Track members have made enquiries about hiring trains for demonstration runs of new services, eg. Gatton to Ipswich.  The figures quoted for our members were around $20000 or so.

It is time the Premier, the cabinet sacked the the present no-hopers in the staffer/bloated bureaucracy  ranks.

Queenslanders have had enough of mediocrity.

Admin

[mufreight]

Minister Mickel the Minister for Duplicity and denial should if he has a concience resign, after this latest example of what can only be viewed as either his incompetence of inogrance of what goes on in his office and the portfolios that he is entrusted with.
A trip such as the ALP gravy train excursion would have been requested if not organised through his office.
At $3000 it was a steal, a pity that we could not get such a deal, a group interested in a demonstration trip from Brisbane to Gatton and return to prove that a commuter service between Gatton and Brisbane was practical were quoted a price in excess of $20000.  This exhorbitant price worked out to be in excess of $80 per seat with every seat in a 6 car train occupied and effectively ruled it out.
Perhaps it might have got in the way of a Coal train.
You or I would get hit woth a $150 fine for eating on a train, apparently the rules change depending on who you are.
It is of note that they did not travel on those lines in need of more track capacity and more frequent services, it would be of interest to find out if they had the privlege of one of the uncontaminated as yet by the regular commuters new SMU sets.
If you want an interesting reaction ring your local Member and ask a few questions of him/her, then follow up with a call to the ALP and to Trades Hall, I would doubt that you will get any credible answers but you may get a laugh or a load of something to grow a crop of mushrooms or strawberries in.
Enjoy.

[stephenk]

It is of note that they did not travel on those lines in need of more track capacity and more frequent services

They did, as they travelled on the Ferny Grove Line to view the half-baked project of only duplicating to Keperra instead of Ferny Grove.

[ozbob]

Hi Stephen,

Queensland Transport has a long history of failing to plan and implement for the future. The Gold Coast railway line is the classic example but as you rightly point out FG is another.

I just heard Minister Mickel on the radio news on 4BH 882, seems this story is getting a lot of attention 

Cheers
Ozbob

[stephenk]

Queensland Transport has a long history of failing to plan and implement for the future. The Gold Coast railway line is the classic example but as you rightly point out FG is another.

.....and sadly the (already delayed) Springfield line may be the next line to be built on the cheap!

[ozbob]

From the Courier Mail click here!

John Mickel claims: I know nothing

John Mickel claims: I know nothing
Article from: The Courier-Mail

April 26, 2008 12:00am

THE office of Transport Minister John Mickel has now been directly linked to the ALP gravy train scandal - but the minister still insists he knows nothing.

Acting very much like the hapless Sergeant Schultz in the 1960's US sitcom Hogan's Heroes, Mr Mickel refused to comment yesterday as his senior policy adviser Robert Hough emerged as the organiser of a CityTrain network tour for unelected Labor members.

The revelations came after The Courier-Mail revealed taxpayers faced a $3000-plus bill for the catered three-hour sojourn on Thursday while commuters battled the daily public transport woes.

ALP headquarters will cover the cost but Premier Anna Bligh branded the tour "inappropriate" as four separate investigations were launched.

Ms Bligh referred the case internally to the Ministerial Services Branch to probe correspondence between staff. The Opposition has asked for involvement from the Crime and Misconduct Commission.

Queensland Rail has handballed the matter to Mr Mickel, who gagged himself ahead of the release of a report from his department on Monday.

A spokesman for Mr Mickel said it was all a mix-up and the tour was organised for the ALP transport committee to view infrastructure on normal paid passenger services.

The spokesman said the policy adviser arrived with the group at Roma Street station to discover about 20 QR and Queensland Transport staff also were joining the tour ? on a privately-hired train.

"It was initiated by us but somewhere along the track someone has got a bit over-zealous," he said.

"They turned up with their Go Card in their hot little hand ready to pay but ended up on this private service."

Paid charter trips can be booked but QR also uses out-of-service rail motors for staff and client tours. Despite $150 fines for eating and drinking on trains, QR staff served the ALP tour group with a party pack including a piece of fruit, a bottle of water, a piece of cheese and a muffin.

Ms Bligh said the use of public facilities was unacceptable and inappropriate.

"If it demonstrates that disciplinary action needs to be taken against any ministerial staff, I won't hesitate to ensure that happens," Ms Bligh said.

Opposition transport spokesman Tim Nicholls said the ALP train trip

  "shows this Government treats the assets of Queensland as its own."

This is my comment on the blog:

In the morning Minister, on the Ipswich line can we have a mix up too please? We desperately need another service to leave Ipswich at about 5.59am for the city, we are suffering from the smart state sardine syndrome.  Can you mix that up for us please?  You can!  Good, thanks so much.  And I prefer chocolate muffins thanks.

And further more:

** They turned up with their Go Card in their hot little hand ready to pay but ended up on this private service. **  said the spokesman in the article above.

Well, I will let you all in on a little known property of the Go card.
Besides the fact I doubt very much if they all had a go card, if you touch on at Roma St, go riding around for three hours and touch off AT Roma St (within 5 hours), the system registers that as a one zone fare. That is the way it works. So that is nonsense from the spokesman is an attempt to further continue  the spin and make attempts to make it all look rosy.

The go card is generally working well on rail, it is still very unreliable on buses and ferries. See http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?board=27.0 for the most comprehensive collection of information, discussion and feedback and so forth on the go card available publicly. Translink and the Transport Minister's office don't give us all the information on the go card, such has how many users have been hit with excess fares and penalties?  They just spin ...

Do you think this explanation for the Gravy train express is correct?  I don't.

[ozbob]

And this further comment on the blog:

The other issue that the gravy train express highlights very well is that Minister Mickel has too many portfolios. Presently he has Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations. It is little wonder that he 'doesn't know'  it is too much for one minister in my opinion.  Transport is in such a mess generally it needs a dedicated minister to take control, be properly informed and start to sort out a failing out of control Queensland Transport department.

This systemic failure has been recently acknowledged by the State Government with the creation of a special unit target growing congestion and commuter anger within the Premier?s Department.

Problems are acute in south-east Queensland.  The go card roll out is not going well either.
Public transport vehicles, buses and trains are regularly carrying heavy passenger loadings often over their design limit.  This is a serious safety concern. Commuters are regularly left behind at bus and ferry stops and railway stations.

The evidence therefore suggests the present portfolios for the Minister, namely Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations are too broad with too many competing issues.
A dedicated Minister for Transport is urgently required in my opinion.

[dwb]

I don't see the big deal, the article seems like another Couriermail beat up.  The service was not run at peak hour and as such I believe many trains are just stabled during this off peak time (ie the train used probably would have just been parked anyway).  If the result of running such a trip is that the people responsible for implementing service improvements have a better understanding of the context they are working in then all the better.  The fact that they were served lunch also doesn't seem like a big deal to me... if it started at 11am that would take it to 2pm... why not serve lunch?

Try running a similar exercise on scheduled services and I think you'd find it extremely impractical and would impact on commuters greater and more negatively. In a perfect world, of course all those involved in the provision of services, planning, funding, etc would actually be users, but in the real world many of them are not. I see no problem with giving them an understanding of the system they are in charge of.

Good relationships between officer level bureaucrats (ie not elected) and their political party counterparts (either elected or advisers to elected) are essential to getting services and infrastructure funded.  I wouldn't be surprised if this were a last ditch effort to ensure that certain SEQIP rail projects were funded in the current budget review - ultimately a good investment for $3000!!

[ozbob]

Monday an explanation will be forthcoming.

The fact is it was going to be at public expense, the ALP transport committee (a group within the ALP, just party members) has no more right to a free train than do we. Why can't the Greens transport committee have the same, or the National/Liberal party too?  Obviously someone has leaked it to the Courier Mail, end result is they (the ALP) will pay a nominal charge for the train. The Ministers initial comments confirm it was serious:

"When I learned of this issue late this afternoon I was outraged and disgusted," Mr Mickel said. "It is entirely inappropriate."

Minister Mickel's comments clarify without any doubt.

And the Premier has said it was inappropriate.

[mufreight]

The Minister for Deception and Duplicity Mr Mickel once again claims he knows nothing, if this is true he is incompetent, if not and he genuinly has no knowledge of what happens in his portfolio then he is incompetent, if the Minister did know then once again he is duplicit.
Mr Mickle is obviously out of his depth and his it's someone else's fault not mine or I didn't know response every time the public becomes aware of another failure has destroyed any credibility that he may have had as a Minister and further damages the public perception of the credibility or the intergity of the Government.
Under these circumstances he should resign as a Minister. 
Should Mr Mickle fails to do so then if the Government wishes to retain any semblance of credibility or integrity then the Premier must immediately remove Mr Mickle from the Ministry, the big question at this time is how much more has Mr Mickle has failed in his ministerial responsibilities either because of ignorance or lack of judgement on his part and badly flawed advice from incompetent advisors.
As a commuter or a taxpayer how do you feel about this and do you think Mr Mickle should go.

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

John Mickel defends 'gravy train' organiser

John Mickel defends 'gravy train' organiser
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Patrick Lion

April 27, 2008 12:00am

TRANSPORT Minister John Mickel has defended the staffer at the centre of last week's ALP gravy train scandal, saying he was a "wonderful bloke" who was heartbroken at being embroiled in the matter.

Mr Mickel yesterday said he had spoken "very forcibly" to his policy adviser Robert Hough about his organising ? without ministerial approval ? a tour of the Citytrain network for a group of unelected Labor Party members last Thursday.

The Courier-Mail revealed last week that taxpayers were set to foot a $3000 bill for the Labor Party's transport committee's catered tour on a Citytrain of capital works projects.

The committee is organised under the party's organisational wing, with its members unelected Labor members. No MPs were on the tour.

Mr Hough has claimed he expected the tour to be on normal, paid-for and scheduled passenger services. Instead, a private train was offered, with QR staff serving the group a party pack of fruit, muffins, cheese and bottled water.

After the tour became public knowledge, Mr Mickel ordered Labor state headquarters to pay the bill ? insisting taxpayers should not have to cough up for such an obvious party-political trip.

Mr Mickel ? who has repeatedly denied knowing anything about the trip until afterwards ? yesterday refused to comment on Mr Hough's version of events ahead of the expected completion of an internal report today.

However, Mr Mickel said he had been very busy on the morning of the tour, with appointments including a government council meeting and a showdown with bus drivers over the brouhaha sparked when he wrongly blamed them for a Go Card problem.

Mr Mickel said he ran into Mr Hough and a female department staffer ? who he refused to name ? in the lift of his building on Thursday afternoon.

"I said: 'Where have you guys been?'," Mr Mickel said. "They said (they had been) to the inner northern busway. When I got upstairs I found there had been other aspects to this visit I wasn't aware of. That was the first I knew.

"I spoke to him pretty forcibly . . . very forcibly.

"I was angry. Very angry, because the imposition I placed on my staff is this: that whenever they travel with me on the QR network I pay or they pay, so I was angry because I had not been told about it."

Mr Mickel said Mr Hough was "a wonderful guy, a hardworking guy".

"Robert would be heartbroken (to get dragged into this)," he said. "I will tell you an anecdote about Robert: some years ago the Sisters in my electorate . . . were having trouble getting two Sisters out from Vietnam. I asked Robert to chase it up; he did a first-class job," he said.

Asked whether Mr Hough could be sacked over the matter, Mr Mickel said: "Let's see what the report says".

[ozbob]

 

[mufreight]

Mr Mickel is using every thing that he can think of to try to save his bacon on this latest example of his duplicity and incompetence.
Once again the excuse of I did not know, it was someone else's fault,  The adviser that he now seeks to blame but who he claims is heartbroken over this should quite simply be sacked regardless of if he is heartbroken or not for his lack of judgement.
If as Mr Mickel has claimed he did not know what was going on in his ministerial office how then can he be trusted with the responsibilities of a Minister and he should resign or be removed from a position that he on his track record he is incompetent to administer.
If he did know then he should in the tradition of the Westminister Government system resign, if he does not resign then the Premier should at the verry least remove him from the Transport portfiolo.
This is not the first time that the Minister has used or attempted to use the I did not know excuse and then has sought to blame someone else for failings that as the minister he is ultimately responsible for.
If the trip was for the purpose of informing the members of the ALP machine then there is no question that they should foot the bill, the tax payers did not authorise this trip and it seems that their elected representative claims that he did not either.
Had the trip been open to all political parties and the media then it may have been a different matter but for the Minister to claim he did not know, there is more chance of winning lotto tonight without a ticket.

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

Anna Bligh warns public servants over political actions

Anna Bligh warns public servants over political actions
Article from: AAP

Jessica Marszalek

April 28, 2008 03:45pm

QUEENSLAND Premier Anna Bligh has issued a warning to state public servants not to engage in political activities.

The warning comes after a group of unelected ALP members and public servants embarked on a three-hour train tour of Brisbane suburban stations just after last Thursday's morning peak hour, in an exercise that cost $3000.

The tour by members of the ALP's transport committee was organised by state Transport Minister John Mickel's senior policy adviser Robert Hough to brief the committee on rail upgrades.

The Courier-Mail newspaper reported Mr Hough originally planned to use normal paid passenger services for the tour, with individuals buying their own tickets.

But when the policy adviser arrived with the group at Roma Street station, they were joined by about 20 QR (Queensland Rail) and Queensland Transport staff, who had arranged to hire a train.

The party also consumed food and drink during the train journey - an offence which usually attracts a fine of $150.

The opposition has labelled the trip a "magical mystery tour" and a blatant misuse of public resources for party purposes.

The tour is now being investigated by the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC).

"All employees of the Queensland public sector including GOCs (government-owned corporations) have an obligation to behave in accordance with the code of conduct," Ms Bligh told reporters.

"The CMC does have full jurisdiction over the Department of Transport (Queensland Transport) and, as I understand it, that will give them sufficient powers to look into this matter."

Mr Mickel last week said he was "outraged and disgusted" when he learned of the secret trip, and ordered the ALP to foot the bill, which the party has agreed to do.

Two internal government inquiries into the matter are underway

What happened to the 'Go cards in their hot little hands?'   LOL

Just goes from silly to sillier ...

[ozbob]

Now that this incident is a CMC investigation, best to lock this thread.

Now unlocked, Premier has tabled a couple of reports see --> http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=804.msg3614#msg3614

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

Mickel adviser, 3 others knew of train trip: report

Mickel adviser, 3 others knew of train trip: report
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Patrick Lion

May 01, 2008 01:56pm

FOUR of Transport Minister John Mickel's staff were aware of the trip at the centre of the ALP gravy train scandal that he says he knew nothing about, a report says.

Premier Anna Bligh today tabled two reports in State Parliament after Crime and Misconduct Commission released them before its inquiries were completed.

The Courier-Mail revealed last week taxpayers were set to be hit with a $3000 bill for a group of unelected Labor Party officials to enjoy a catered tour of the CityTrain network in a private passenger train.

The documents show tour organiser and Mr Mickel's policy adviser Robert Hough had much more prior knowledge of the extras to be received on the trip than Mr Mickel's office has previously indicated.

The minister's senior policy adviser Anne Syvret, policy adviser Catherine Savage and an administration officer were also aware of a trip but were not involved in the planning.

Mr Mickel has denied he knew anything about the trip until after it occurred.

Ms Bligh said Mr Hough's conduct was inappropriate but he would not be sacked.

She said he would be formally reprimanded with a permanent black mark on his employee record, unless the CMC found more information.

[ozbob]

From Brisbanetimes click here!

Transport minister cleared over 'gravy train'

Transport minister cleared over 'gravy train'
Gabrielle Dunlevy | May 1, 2008 - 4:27PM

Two government investigations have cleared Queensland Transport Minister John Mickel of any impropriety in the so-called "gravy train" affair, but recommended disciplinary action against a staffer.

The investigations were ordered after a group of unelected ALP members and public servants took a $3,000 three-hour train tour of Brisbane after last Thursday's morning peak hour.

Taxpayers were originally in line to cover the cost, but the state ALP has since promised to pay for the tour, which was organised by Mr Mickel's senior policy adviser Robert Hough to brief the party's transport committee on rail upgrades.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh today released the findings of the investigations, which uncovered no impropriety and instead blamed a "miscommunication".

The transport department's director-general found the department had organised the rail tour believing it was for "elected representatives", when it was in fact for "elected representatives of the ALP transport policy committee".

The ministerial services branch found Mr Hough had acted alone, and that Mr Mickel had no prior knowledge of the event.

Three of his staff were aware of the trip, but were not involved in the planning.

"It appears that Mr Hough did not consider the appropriateness of requesting the department to provide services for political party purposes and was unaware if political party costs would have been met by the department," the report stated.

It concluded that billing for the tour was not discussed, and there was no deliberate attempt to avoid the ALP paying.

It recommendations that Mr Hough be reprimanded, and that codes of conduct be updated.

Ms Bligh said she would wait for the recommendations of the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) inquiry before dealing with Mr Hough.

As it stands, a "formal reprimand" would come from the department's director-general and be recorded permanently on personnel files, she said.

"This officer has acted inappropriately," Ms Bligh told reporters.

"There is no doubt about that.

"I'm very disappointed by it. I would expect officers to know better, and I will just hold the final position on action against this officer until I see the CMC recommendation."

Mr Mickel said he remained angry about the incident.

"When I have undertaken work on the network I pay my way, and I expect my staff to do the same," he said.

Opposition transport spokesman Tim Nicholls pointed out discrepancies in the reports, with one referring to 28 people on the train journey and the other 26.

"We have a report that contradicts press statements made by the minister previously," Mr Nicholls told reporters.

"He said there was no prior knowledge and he thought people were going to go on with the GoCard, and we've had a report that shows it was a well planned, well organised trip known about 10 days beforehand."

Mr Nicholls said Mr Hough had shown "a complete arrogance and a disregard for the assets of the people of South-East Queensland".

AAP

[ozbob]

Further update to the CM article click here!

Mickel adviser, 3 others knew of train trip: report
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Patrick Lion

May 01, 2008 01:56pm

JOHN Mickel's office has been further implicated in the ALP gravy train scandal, with four of the Transport Minister's staff aware of the trip he still says he knew nothing about.

Two reports released yesterday contradicted claims from Mr Mickel's office last week that policy adviser Robert Hough was unaware the ALP transport committee's tour of train stations would be on a private Citytrain complete with catering.

Mr Mickel's office had claimed Mr Hough turned up with his GoCard expecting to board regular services but the reports show he knew the itinerary days in advance and authorised 16 public servants as tour guides.

The Transport Minister's chief-of-staff Anne Syvret, policy adviser Catherine Savage and administration officer Helen Gibson also knew of the tour.

The Bligh Government forced the Labor Party to pick up the $3000 tab for the train after The Courier-Mail revealed the controversial trip last week.

It comes as a crackdown was unveiled on unruly behaviour by public transport users, including new powers for transit officers to detain offenders.

Premier Anna Bligh yesterday said she would not recommend any reprimand for Mr Hough until after the Crime and Misconduct Commission had investigated.

"While he might have originally believed it to be a normal passenger service, he did become aware later in the process and before the event happened that it was to be a dedicated train," Ms Bligh said.

Opposition transport spokesman Tim Nicholls said there still remained many unanswered questions and contradictions that the CMC needed to resolve.

"It was a well-planned, well-organised trip known 10 days beforehand," Mr Nicholls said. "It shows a complete arrogance and disregard for the assets of the people of Queensland."

One report by Queensland Transport director-general Bruce Wilson blamed a miscommunication between Mr Hough and QR after he asked for a rail tour to be organised for "elected representatives" of the transport committee. It prompted QR to think the event was similar to a tour by MPs last year and organise a private train. All of those on the gravy train tour were unelected Labor Party members.

A briefing note contained in the report showed QR executive director Helen Stahbens offered Mr Hough 16 public servants from Queensland Rail, Queensland Transport and Treasury to brief the ALP group. "Mr Hough gave his okay," the note shows.

On the day before the tour, Mr Hough was also provided with an itinerary showing a safety briefing would be held onboard the train before a morning tea was served.

It has emerged the "party pack" ? originally thought to include cheese, muffins, fruit and water ? also consisted of fruitcake and biscuits.

My blog comment:

The ongoing problems with transport do suggest a portfolio without proper direction.  This is possibly a result of Ministers have too many areas of responsibility.  Many state governments consider transport  of sufficient importance to warrant a single portfolio minister and hence the effective development of the portfolio's mission for the best outcome in terms of policy, leadership and outcomes.

The constant issues with not only public transport which reflect Translinks failures which in turn is a failure at the Ministerial level to grasp the issues, and in the general congestion and chaos of transport  need urgent redress.

The fact that the ministerial staff are acting as a filter (a good news filter?) is not so much a reflection on them it is just a consequence of the total overload with the numerous portfolios Minister Mickel has.

With the looming TransLink Transit Authority (TTA) clear ministerial direction is going to be even more critical, in view of the new responsibilities (and powers) that the TTA will have.
Lets hope the past 6 months is not a harbinger for the transport future.

As far as the go card goes. We have a crisis looming on the buses/ferries because the system is unreliable.  On rail, fare issues to one side it is working fine.  If the ten trip tickets are phased out mid year on BT as scheduled, crisis time. People are already waiting up to 20 days or longer for the ever increasing number of excessive/wrong fares and penalty charges. 

[mufreight]

Transport Minister Mickle obviously is asleep at the wheel, it now seems that four staffers at his office were involved in arranging the ALP gravy train.
As a Minister Mr Mickle has a responsibility to the electors of this state to be aware of what is happening in his portfolio but he is not even aware of what transpires in his ministerial office much less in broarder terms in respect of the Transport portfolio, a responsibility that he conspicuiously fails to meet and is therefore incompetent to hold a ministerial position and should be removed.
His much publicised recent failings include claiming not to know about the time factor problem with the Go Card which he sought to ignore for over a week after his office was notified by email of the fault and it's technical nature on the 10th April blame (if he was not informed then perhaps the staffer who received it should be sacked on the spot for failing to ensure the Minister was informed) then on the 21st April following all members of parliament having bee advised, he then sought to blame the bus drivers foy the problem and did not realy acknowledge the extent of the problem until the 21st.
Claiming not no knowledge of the ALP gravy train trip which was organised in his Ministerial office by his senior advisor and three other staffers.
Claming in Parliament to have no knowledge of why the four SMU sets that have been delivered to this date are not in service.  It would seem because they are being cannibalized for parts (believed to be electrical equipment) that are not avaliable to keep the newly delivered IMU sets in operation.
You might like to raise these points which have much to do with the Ministers and Government credibility overall with your local member.
Cheers.

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

Gravy nearly added to lunch

Gravy nearly added to lunch
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Patrick Lion

May 03, 2008 12:00am

THE ALP gravy train scandal embroiling Transport Minister John Mickel did not just include a train tour ? taxpayers were also going to foot the bill for a 14-person lunch.
The group of unelected Labor Party members enjoyed the meal at the Melange Cafe in the Roma Street Parklands last month after a private Citytrain tour of stations, complete with a catered morning tea.

Mr Mickel went to ground again yesterday, refusing to answer questions about why his party would not be billed for the time of 16 public servants acting as tour guides. An estimated wage cost for their three-hour presence could be between $2000 and $3000.

The Courier-Mail reported yesterday contradictions surrounding claims from Mr Mickel's office last week involving the organisation of the tour by policy adviser Robert Hough.

The office had claimed Mr Hough arrived with his go card expecting a normal service but internal reports showed he had prior knowledge of the extras, including the dedicated train.

He also authorised the public servants until lunch was served.

Melange Cafe owner John Miu said the group "enjoyed it very, very much and it was a great lunch".

"One of the guys just had coffee and biscuits ? I make them myself. The rest got into the light meals ? BLTs, steak sandwiches, pasta, fish and chips and pizza," he said. "There was also two jugs of orange juice and softdrinks."

The ALP will now pay the $200 lunch bill and $2849 for the train costs.

The State Opposition yesterday asked the Crime and Misconduct Commission to widen any possible investigation, including questions over different versions of events.

Liberal transport spokesman Tim Nicholls last night said the matter of public servants taking time out for the trip should be explained. "There is still a lot of gravy unaccounted for," he sai

If the lunch was part of QR corporate's public relations I personally don't have a problem with it.
I suppose when viewed in the wider context of the confusing reports and communication short-comings concerning the train doesn't look the best.

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

Minister has a rail problem

Minister has a rail problem
Editorial from: The Courier-Mail

May 03, 2008 12:00am

SMARTER, less dishonest outfits would never have landed in anywhere near as much strife as the Bligh Government has over the so-called gravy train affair.
The behaviour displayed by Transport Minister John Mickel and his staff throughout this episode has not only demonstrated an appalling lack of regard for public accountability.

It was also just plain silly. Mr Mickel is gaining a reputation as a minister with a gift for turning trifling political mistakes into full-blown blunders.

When news first broke of the now fabled escorted trip on the Citytrain network by a group of Labor Party members, Mr Mickel's office insisted that his adviser, Robert Hough, had expected the tour to be taken on scheduled services. He had apparently even brought along his go card to the station.

Now it has emerged that he had known about the itinerary for the private trip days in advance and had also given the go-ahead for no fewer than 16 public servants to act as tour guides.

Mr Mickel continues to insist he knew nothing of the tour, but now we discover that three other people on the minister's staff besides Mr Hough did know.

But it gets worse. We were initially assured that the catering provided to the group was a pack each containing fruit, water, cheese and a muffin. But again we were misled.

The packs also had fruitcake and biscuits in them, and a separate lunch was provided, too.

What are Queenslanders to make of all this?

The affair is yet another example ? albeit a relatively minor one ? of how, when confronted with evidence that it has committed an error, the Government immediately sees the problem as one to be manipulated and managed rather than honestly resolved.

For a Government not burdened with an excess of political talent, it is perplexing how often its members believe they can navigate around problems with obfuscation and bluff.

The truth is that this whole sorry story had to be dragged out of Mr Mickel, his staff and Queensland Rail because none of them really believed Queenslanders were entitled to know about it.

The only entitlement they did recognise was the level of privilege, however dubious, enjoyed by the Labor Party committee.

Would a group of Liberal Party members enjoy such a level of service and attention from Queensland Rail? Would Mr Mickel's office spend as much time and effort organising a private tour of the Citytrain network for, say, the Darling Downs Model Railway Club? We struggle with the notion that the office of the Transport Minister, which the public has entrusted with the job of trying to solve the state's congestion problems, has enough spare time on its hands to act as a travel agent for anyone, let alone an unelected group of ALP officials.

It was also wrong for Queensland Rail staff and bureaucrats from other departments to be pulled off their usual duties to provide an exclusive briefing to the group. The ALP should not stop at paying the $3000 owed to the taxpayer for the cost of the trip.

The party should also be made to pay for the work time of the public servants they had to themselves.

Blog comment:

I think south-east queensland has a rail problem. Great things being done further up north, but in reality we are only seeing some belated catchup in trying to patch together local infrastructure to attempt to cope with the public transport issues. Buses are failing, the only long term solution will be mass line transit. Buses are short term expedient solutions, for the long haul it cannot cope with numbers that will need access to public transport. The SE busway is already at congestion 'buslock' the INB will be only a temporary solution that side of town. Buses feeding high capacity line transit will take a lot of pressure off. This will allow the bus routes to run radially and cope. We need to have more lateral routes as well.

Government needs to distance it self from the oft flawed advice coming from within the inner sanctum and take a wider view.

The go card is a classic example of a major policy disaster obvious to most except Government and Translink. There are solutions but they simply will not listen ....

[ozbob]

Link to Gravy Train Report part 1 (external link Courier Mail) here!  PDF


Link to Gravy Train Report part 2 (external link Courier Mail) here!  PDF

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

No gravy train bill for ALP, says Anna Bligh

No gravy train bill for ALP, says Anna Bligh
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Patrick Lion

May 06, 2008 12:00am

PREMIER Anna Bligh has rejected calls for her party to pay for the public servants involved in the ALP gravy train scandal, saying they experienced "useful professional development" during the tour.

Her comments came as Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg demanded the Labor Party pay for the 16 public servants who joined the unelected ALP members in viewing infrastructure projects.

The staff were authorised to attend the controversial three-hour trip aboard a private Citytrain by tour organiser Robert Hough, a policy adviser for Transport Minister John Mickel.

A briefing note to Ms Bligh states the Treasury, Queensland Rail and Queensland Transport staff were present to brief the ALP transport committee and for staff development purposes.

The ALP has been forced to pay the $2849 train bill ? originally to be paid by taxpayers ? but Ms Bligh yesterday said that Labor should not be paying for the public servants.

"The public servants attended on this day because it was an opportunity for them, many of whom were involved in infrastructure planning and decision-making, to actually see first-hand the progress of the projects," Ms Bligh said.

"Frankly, that's a useful professional development opportunity for them."

However, Mr Springborg said the public servants were obviously there purely for the benefit of the Labor Party at taxpayer expense.

Their time may have cost somewhere between $2000 and $3000.

"Maybe their professional development was to watch a Government get into trouble and try to get out of a great big mire," Mr Springborg said.

"This is snake oil. She is denying the obvious and making up these wild excuses on the run."

Those on board the train on April 24 were served party packs including muffins, fruit, bottled water, fruitcake, cheese and biscuits.

Queensland Rail sources have told The Courier-Mail that only including the costs in the train bill was wrong as a margin of about 15 per cent is normally added.

Ms Bligh said that was a matter for Mr Mickel and Queensland Transport.

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail Editorial click here!

Little learned from ALP gravy train affair

Little learned from ALP gravy train affair
Article from: The Courier-Mail

May 07, 2008 12:00am

PREMIER Anna Bligh has said public servants caught up in the ALP gravy train affair obtained "useful professional development" during the tour. Perhaps she was trying for some humour.

If so, she needs to work on it. In any event, just imagine how much more useful the professional development would have been if the officers involved had been obliged to travel the Citytrain network just like the rest of us, at peak hour perhaps, with a paid ticket, little chance of a seat and no chance at all of a free snack. Not much fun, really, but perhaps they would have learned something.

[mufreight]

If nothing else the general public has another demonstration of the arrogance of the present government,
In any other westminister government Mr Mickle would have resigned from the portfolio over any of the three most recent examples of his incompetence, if he had not resigned then the Premier woulkd have sacked him to ensure the credibility of the government.
The recycled party hack currently employed as an advisor who Mr Mickle would have us believe organised the gravy train without the Ministers knowledge is in all probability the same spin doctor who sought to blame the bus drivers for a failure of the Go Card system that the ministers office had been advised of the technical details of a fortnight previously.
This is not the first recorded failure of the advice of this staffer and the Minister should have dispensed with his services well before this time, such an advisor would better serve the minister and the government by being redeployed to cleaning stables, his advice would then be more relevant and have less of a stench.
The decision by Premier Bligh to take no action in respect of the Minister and to seemingly have decided that the Advisor should not be dismised, a decision that should have been up to the Minister, would make most thinking members of the community question if she has in fact a commitment to provide temporary employment for labour party hacks and to have the opposition become the next government of this state.
At the very least Mr Mickle should be removed from the position of Minister for Transport and a new ministery should be created for him in something that on his track record to date he seemingly is quite competent at, the Minister for Denial, Deceit and Duplicity.
Obviously it is time to let your local member know your thoughts on this matter.

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail 9 May 2008 page 5 not online

Gravy train rider says Minister was present at birth of scandal

Gravy train rider says Minister was present at birth of scandal

Patrick Lion

TRANSPORT Minister John Mickel has been further embroiled in the ALP gravy train scandal, with revelations he attended the meeting that hatched the controversial train ride.

A member of the Labor transport committee has broken party ranks to reveal Mr Mickel and Main Roads Minister Warren Pitt attended the policy meeting at Parliament House on February 26.

The meeting was the birthplace of a Citytrain tour of infrastructure projects last month, with taxpayers set to foot a $3000 bill for the unelected party members to enjoy a private
catered passenger train.

Mr Mickel has said he had no prior knowledge of the April 24 trip despite it being organised by his policy adviser, Robert Hough, and known to three  other staffers, including his chief-of-staff.

And now committee member Ken Addison has said Mr Mickel sat opposite him at the meeting.

"I know there were discussions of some form on a bit of a train tour of infrastructure," said Mr Addison, an ALP member for 35 years.

"He and Warren Pitt had to get up and go backwards and forwards because the bells were ringing (letting them know they had to vote in the chamber). He may have known some trip was being arranged but I just can't say for sure."

Mr Mickel said in a statement yesterday he attended the meeting.

"At no time while I was in the meeting was there a discussion about a proposed rail tour," Mr Mickel said.

Mr Pitt said he never saw Mr Mickel at the time as they were never in the meeting together.

"We didn't talk about (the trip) while I was there," Mr Pitt said.

Opposition transport spokesman Tim Nicholls said the attendance raised more questions about how Mr Mickel I did not know about the trip.

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

Labor lion on gravy train and they got Poppers too

Labor lion on gravy train and they got Poppers too
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Patrick Lion

May 10, 2008 12:00am

A FORMER Labor MP who once complained Queensland Rail was being robbed of funding was a passenger who enjoyed the luxuries of the ALP gravy train.

Len Ardill was a member of the Labor transport committee that rode the private, catered Citytrain for three hours last month while commuters battled the daily rigours of public transport.

Taxpayers were set to foot a $3000 bill for the group of unelected party members to enjoy the tour complete with morning tea onboard, public servants as guides and a cafe lunch.

A renowned public transport diehard, Mr Ardill was deputy mayor of Brisbane in the early 1980s before serving as an MP for Salisbury and Archerfield between 1986 and 1998.

He was unable to be contacted yesterday but told The Courier-Mail in 1991 that the Federal Government had cheated Queensland out of vital railway funding.

"The railways have been starved of funds," Mr Ardill had said. In fact, Mr Ardill was so in love with trains he revealed in 1976 that he rarely used his council car.

"It's good to catch a train and let somebody else do the driving," Mr Ardill had said.

The controversial trip has embroiled Transport Minister John Mickel, who has claimed no prior knowledge of the tour despite his attendance at the meeting where the idea was first floated.

Four of his staff members also knew about a planned trip, including his policy adviser and tour organiser Robert Hough.

The Courier-Mail can also today reveal the contents of the party pack enjoyed onboard has widened again.

The fruit, muffin, bottled water, fruitcake, biscuits and cheese were also accompanied by Poppers (possibly orange-flavoured).

However, transport committee member Ken Addison defended the refreshments, insisting he did not really think about who was paying for the political party excursion on taxpayer assets.

"I only had BLT and a glass coke at the lunch," Mr Addison said.

"It wasn't five star. It was just enough to keep you going. Does the world stop because you have a slice of fruitcake and a Popper on the public purse?"

The other members of the committee include ALP Logan branch president Lonnie Nielsen and a mix of retirees, transport workers and unionists including Ray Marx, Noel Morris, Roger Tedmanson, Graham Bludhorn, Ralph Bonnick and Tom Brown.

I think the go card problems are far more pressing than 'orange poppers' ....

[ozbob]

From Brisbanetimes click here!

Mickel cleared over 'gravy train' scandal

Mickel cleared over 'gravy train' scandal
Christine Kellett | May 13, 2008 - 3:17PM

Queensland's Transport Minister has been cleared of official misconduct after a Queensland Rail train was used for a controversial Labor party jaunt.

The Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) today found Transport Minister John Mickel and a senior staffer who arranged the trip for Labor backbenchers, had no case to answer over the $3000 trip, dubbed the gravy train scandal.

The CMC backed Mr Mickel's claims he knew nothing of the three hour tour of CityTrain services last month, despite being organised by his department.

In a statement released today, the CMC said Mr Mickel's policy adviser had acted on a request from the ALP Transport Policy Committee to arrange the event, which consituted nothing more than "a gross error in judgement."

"Evidence shows that the Minister did not make any such arrangements and was not even aware of the planned tour," the CMC statement reads.

"In any event, even if the Minister had knowledge of the tour, such action could not amount to a criminal offence and, therefore, would not fall under the CMC?s jurisdiction."

"All written material relating to the request refers to the tour being for the ALP Transport Policy Committee. It appears there may have been some confusion and the departmental officer arranging the train trip did so in the belief it was for a parliamentary backbench committee. A taxpayer funded tour for such a group would have been acceptable.

"The evidence suggests the policy adviser?s actions were transparent and he did not deceive anyone in an attempt to avoid the ALP paying for the event. However, his belief that he was doing nothing wrong in his capacity as Ministerial Adviser ? that is, arranging a clearly private political event - could be regarded as a gross error in judgement."

However, the CMC found it would be up to the department to decide whether disciplinary action should be taken.

"The CMC recognises that on occasions for ministerial staff there is a fine line between providing legitimate assistance and support to a Minister and using government resources for political party purposes," it said.

"To help avoid such situations in the future, the CMC?s Research and Prevention area has offered to assist the department in reviewing its policies and training of ministerial staff.

The Crime and Misconduct Commission has found there is no reasonable suspicion of official misconduct in relation to an allegation of inappropriate commissioning of a Queensland Rail train for party political purposes."

Although ALP headquarters will cover the cost of the trip, Premier Anna Bligh last month branded it "inappropriate"

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

Gravy train staffer stays

Gravy train staffer stays
Article from: The Courier-Mail

May 14, 2008 12:00am

THE ministerial staffer at the centre of the ALP gravy train scandal has been allowed to keep his job ? but will cop a $1628 annual pay cut for his role masterminding the affair.
Transport Minister John Mickel yesterday decided the punishment for his policy adviser Robert Hough after the Crime and Misconduct Commission described his actions as "a gross error in judgment" but found no evidence of misconduct.

Mr Hough commandeered a privately catered Citytrain for a group of unelected Labor Party members last month, complete with 16 public servants as guides for the tour of infrastructure projects around Brisbane.

Taxpayers were set to foot a $3000 bill for the ALP transport policy committee excursion until The Courier-Mail revealed the scandal, forcing party headquarters to cover the train bill and $200 cafe lunch.

Under fire in State Parliament yesterday as the Opposition attacked him with "Sergeant Schultz" jibes, Mr Mickel again insisted he had no prior knowledge of the tour despite four of his closest staff being aware a trip was being planned. Mr Mickel also attended the meeting where the trip was hatched.

CMC chairman Robert Needham yesterday said there was no evidence of official misconduct by Mr Mickel or Mr Hough but insisted the adviser needed to be reminded of his influence.

"His belief that he was doing nothing wrong in his capacity as ministerial adviser ? that is, arranging a clearly private political event ? could be regarded as a gross error in judgment," Mr Needham said. "The position of ministerial adviser is an extremely influential one and anyone in that role should be very mindful that, when making requests of public servants, these officers may feel obliged to carry out their request."

Mr Hough will be docked a "pay point" to reduce his salary from $71,354 to $69,726 a year under a recommendation from the Ministerial Services Branch.

However, staff generally move up one point each year so he is likely to return to his previous level before too long.

Mr Mickel was once again unavailable for interviews yesterday as questions continued to linger over his bungled handling of the affair.

His office had initially claimed Mr Hough arrived with his Go Card in his "hot little hand" expecting to pay for normal services and was surprised to see the public servants.

But internal reports showed Mr Hough authorised the staff and knew days in advance of an itinerary including safety briefings, morning tea and a cafe lunch at the Roma St Parkland.

Opposition transport spokesman Tim Nicholls last night said Mr Mickel still had to explain the contradictions from his office and his role in the initial committee meeting.

"He hopes it will go away but he has to explain in full because I think people still want to know how the public purse has been opened for private political purposes," Mr Nicholls said.

"This Government has been there so long that it thinks public assets are available for its own private political use and they don't have to explain themselves."

[ozbob]

Media Release 14 May 2008

SEQ:  Public transport ? largess and contempt!

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport users has called for a clear statement as to why go card users were not informed of the problems with the time on the go card system on buses and ferries in a prompt manner. During this period, as go card uses often unknowingly copped many excess fares and penalties, deals were being done for ?mates? with special rates for a QR suburban rail tour!

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

?RAIL Back On Track alerted the Minister for Transport and Translink to an issue with the go card system equipment on  buses and ferries that resulted in an incorrect time being used to calculate fares, and users being overcharged on the 10th  April 2008.?

?There was no public statement to alert go card users to the ongoing issue and the fact that they may well be copping extra fares and penalties until the 21st April 2008. This is documented at the RAIL Back On Track web site (1)?

?The failure to alert go card users is further evidence of the contempt public transport commuters suffer from Translink and others.?

?The failure to respond in a timely manner is even more reprehensible when it is now realised that during this period deals were being done for ?mates? to tour the suburban rail network.?

?When RAIL Back On Track members inquired to as to the cost of hiring a train to demonstrate the utility of a commuter service from Gatton to Ipswich we were quoted $20,000 plus!?

?Obviously, we don?t qualify for ?mate rates?!?

?RAIL Back On Track calls on Queensland Government and Translink to treat public transport commuters with courtesy and implement processes that inform commuters in a timely and sincere manner.?

Reference:

1.  http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=743.0

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org