Do you have confidence in the Hon. Mark Bailey Minister for Transport?

[ozbob]

We don't really seem to be getting anywhere fast with Mr Bailey as the Minister.

It takes a constant effort even to get the limited public transport performance data published.  The Queensland Rail performance data is still many months behind. The delay is not due to Queensland Rail.

The real gain in train crew was only revealed after we and others queried that they were not considering attrition rates.

The Government and Transport has the recommendation from the City Train Response Unit as to ways to improve the administration and delivery of public transport and has done nothing.

Little action with level crossing removals, bridge strikes.  No suggestion of any substantive bus network improvement.

Rail fail blunders on

And now we find there are more ' email ' complications, highlighted in Parliament yesterday.

I think it is time Mr Bailey boarded the early morning XPT to NSW and left town ...

We need a Minister that will stand up to the Unions and the bumbling bureaucracies - TransLink and DTMR.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1007725927667658752

[#Metro]

Welcome to public operation.

In theory, you have a responsible, accountable, democratically elected minister(s) working solely in the public interest unmotivated by personal gain or profit and making rational decisions based on academic and expert advice.

* reality check*

Politicians need to get re-elected, that is priority #1, anything else is priority #2, they also need funding, have to keep donors happy and make sure havoc is wreaked on opposition plans which means non co-operation when other levels of govt involved (e.g. Sunshine coast).

There is little doubt in my mind that if transport operators, public and private, were on competitive contracts and there were standards enforceable by penalties or termination, the data would be out there pronto.

The fact that we have to call for new minister again and again just highlights how this setup is failing. You want a system where the wrong people are compelled to do the right thing.

[ozbob]

Nothing wrong with public operation.  Transperth do very well thank you in Perth.

It is the fail culture that permeates the Transport bureaucracy and the way they capture the Ministers.

Unless there is proper organisational reform it matters little whether the operator is public private or run by enthusiasts in my view.

[#Metro]

It its entirety possible to recreate the Queensland experience inside the Perth model because the ministerial interference pathway, which was the pathway used to create the mess in Qld, is latent and open in the Perth case.

One of the first actions that set this off was Campbell Newman overriding the choice of QRs CEO, something that could not happen under a contractor.

All you would need is a govt that freezes or fires staff by directive, or orders DDA non compliant trains and you can have exactly the same thing.

There are some good public operators, but that is not a reason to continue with the current setup. On the contrary, it's a reason to change it so we can be in a position to get them here.

[ozbob]

But that is not the case with the PTA WA.  Forget QR privatisation under this Govt, simply will not happen.

However there is a chance for a proper PT authority.  This is what we are targeting for now.

A proper PT authority is a real champion for PT.  TransLink is just an emasculated incompetent shell dominated by the Main Roads agenda.

[#Metro]

I agree that red team isn't going to do it, but I don't expect them to. They managed to sell off the profitable part of QR, I think Trad was Blighs staffer then, so is not entirely out of bounds.

Translink will remain toothless until it is given teeth. It will never be a 'proper' authority until it has the power to fire and fine its operators. What kind of authority is it that says it has standards and then signs contract renewal again anyway when those standards are not met? Must be the Queensland one.

[ozbob]

From http://www.pta.wa.gov.au/about-us/our-role/organisational-structure

The above is the PTA Organisational Structure.

Note rail operations is separate from network and infrastructure.  They can change the rail operator easily if needed.

Similarly if we had PTQ Queensland Rail would be the rail operator.  The components (network etc.) moved to a heavy rail division.

So it would be a straight forward matter to change the operator should that be necessary. 

[#Metro]

Good. I fully support a PTQ setup in QLD.

If you want to change the minister you need to change it from someone to someone. So , who is that someone?
And why would they be any different to the previous lot?

I think the lack of timely data reporting comes down to one thing - it is not in the ministers interest to promptly release information that would make him or her look bad. And that is going to be true no matter who is in that seat. Probably the reason why bad news also pops up on Friday afternoons as well.

[ozbob]

A Minister with PTQ will be much more focussed.  PTQ will keep them on the rails!

Minister Bailey can stay with DMR - Minister for Main Roads ( if he survives the latest email stuff  ).

A new Minister for Public Transport!  The Hon Jo-Ann Miller would be great! 

[#Metro]

That sounds like a good choice, though the rest of red team want to push her out.

[STB]

We need a Minister that will stand up to the Unions and the bumbling bureaucracies - TransLink and DTMR.

I've been a grassroots member of the ALP for about a decade, it'd take a suicidal politician to do what you expect them to do with the unions etc, the ALP represents the unions, they are a union based party, you can't be preselected to be an MP unless you are also a member of a union and relevant faction of that union and you gain support from said union, grassroots local members and the faction you are aligned with, the politicians are then obliged to follow grassroots members and union guidance which is formed with the policy platform.  If you go outside the parameters of what the union and the faction you represent (along with the local grassroot members), you can very quickly find yourself on a very nasty end of the stick with your supporters who got you preselected (and in turn elected) in the first place.

In other words, it's like you expecting to hammer a nail with a sponge.

I can't remember which faction Mark Bailey is a member of, but Jackie Trad is a member of the Left, the Left guide her decision making (along with other politicians who are in the Left Faction) so her decisions will reflect what the Premier wants, what the policy platform dictates (and the only way to change the policy platform is to join the party and vote in motions) and what her grassroots and union members want.

NB: I am not a member of the Left.  I am in a faction, but not in the Left.

As a side note, pretty much every political party acts the same way, give or take, they just represent different groups who help them get them into parliament.

Honestly until there is some sort of political swing within the party itself and the unions are on board, it's unlikely I think that any ALP politician will do what you expect 'stand up to the unions'.

Basically if you want to change things, either join a party, or try and get into parliament as an independent.

[ozbob]

Thanks STB for your comments.  They confirm why the entire political process needs to change, and change it will I suspect.

Disclaimer Footnote:  I was a member of NTEU for around 10 years prior to my retirement.

[ozbob]

The Australian --> Emails at odds with Bailey union denials

Newly released correspondence appears to show a union boss reminding Queensland Labor minister Mark Bailey that he "pulled strings'' to get him into cabinet.

Emails, obtained under state Right to Information laws, also indicate Mr Bailey personally directed his "comrades" at the Electrical Trades Union to contact him on his now-controversial private email account just hours after being sworn into the ministry in 2015.

The email appears to contradict last year's claims in parliament by Mr Bailey, a longtime ETU member given the energy ministry that employs thousands of union members, that he had had no control over who contacted him on his private email.

Mr Bailey, who this year was dumped from the energy portfolio, has faced controversy over his back-channel correspondence with ETU bosses through his mangocube6@yahoo.co.uk account.

Only some of an estimated 1200 work-related emails from the account have been released under RTI, but seem to show Mr Bailey receiving demands from ETU bosses on a range of issues.

Last year, Mr Bailey told parliament it was a "private email ­account, I treated it as a private email account'' after controversy erupted when he deleted the ­account, initially blocking RTI ­access to its contents.

"Given that I cannot control who emails me and that I have had that account for 20 years, I had no control over who would use it so I removed that possibility to ensure I carry out my duties appropriately," he said at the time.

The newly released emails show that just hours after being sworn in, Mr Bailey sent an email from his Yahoo account to ETU national official Lance McCallum, with the subject "Were You Going to Send Me Some Info Comrade?"

"Send it to this email address please ... thanks! M."

The following day, Mr McCallum emailed with suggestions on energy policy reforms, and offering a briefing on key ­issues and advice on choosing ministerial staff.

The ETU endorsed Mr Bailey for preselection, campaigned for Labor to win government, and was rewarded when he was given the energy portfolio that runs the state-owned power companies and employs 7000 of its members.

Secret correspondence between the ETU and the minister continued for more than a year with the union even sending an "incoming brief'' of demands that were mostly delivered by Mr Bailey in the first term of government.

At one stage, the union sent Mr Bailey a CV of human resources executive Mark Algie, championing his eventual appointment to the Energy Queensland board even after applications had closed. The appointment is the subject of a probe by Queensland's Crime and Corruption Commision.

After Labor regained government in 2015, the ETU was reported to have been instrumental in the selection of cabinet ministers, including Mr Bailey.

In the newly released material, ETU state secretary Peter Simpson appears to boast of his influence in securing the portfolio for Mr Bailey in an email with the subject "An Angry Email from a F. king Angry Man".

"I've spent the past 5 months or so talking up this government and our star recruit, you, telling all and sundry that asked how you were going as our new minister, that all was ticketyboo," Mr Simpson wrote in the June 2015 email.

"My pride, given the amount of effort and strings I had to pull to get you there have all kept me in defence mode; well not tonight."

Angry at Mr Bailey and others in government for paying only "lip service" to the union, Mr Simpson threatened to ramp up industrial efforts.

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said the new emails confirm Mr Bailey was "owned lock, stock and barrel'' by the union and that Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk should sack him.

"Mark Bailey's cosy relationship with the ETU makes his position as a cabinet minister untenable,'' she said.

Mr Bailey's office did not return an approach for comment by The Weekend Australian.

The emails were just hours after it emerged that Mr Bailey had used a second private email address as a minister.

Mr Bailey rose in the House just before lunch to address questions earlier by the LNP about his keepqldnuclearfree@gmail.com account after an RTI application made by the Opposition returned several documents.

Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mander tabled emails from Mr Bailey's keepqldnuclearfree@gmail.com account in state parliament, in which he corresponded with ministerial and union figures.

Mr Bailey said there was nothing inappropriate about his use of the email account shortly after he was elected to office in 2015, as it was a holdover from his time as an anti-uranium campaigner.

Later, Mr Bailey rose again to reveal he had a third private mail account, an Outlook account, which had not previously been made public.

"The existence of this account was considered in the previous CCC investigation," Mr Bailey told parliament.

[ozbob]

^ not looking too flash for Mr Bailey ...

A decent opposition would get a scalp here, but I am not sure if the QLD LNP are up to it frankly.

[STB]

I just did a quick Google search, Mark Bailey is a member of the Left (just as Jackie Trad and some others in parliament are), the ETU is also aligned with the Left and IIRC were the ones who were very loud during Anna Bligh's term (Anna Bligh was part of the Right faction).

It wouldn't surprise me that the Left (and in turn the ALP in general), don't want a retread of the Bligh days with the selling of assets, hence why I very much doubt they will rock the boat.

NB: LNP aren't much better - the ones who represent businesses (small and large) and are generally anti PT.

[techblitz]

^ not looking too flash for Mr Bailey ...

A decent opposition would get a scalp here, but I am not sure if the QLD LNP are up to it frankly.

politically wise QLD is in a stalemate....

ALP have the jobs scare 'it will be grim under tim' campaign still popular as they spend more and more to create jobs.
eg: re-bloating the public service, massive spend on rail park and rides instead of investing in bus services...

Red Team also have those backup green preferences from the anti-racism,gender neutral,#metoo,open borders,academically aligned progressives.
All red team have to do is show a little progressivism and they have those preferences sealed.

Blue team literally have nothing.....support dwaining in the regions as more farmers head to the wall and are forced to sell.
A growing list of infrastructure failures and rail stuffups. Perfect fodder for red team come election time...

They need to find another way to counter the increasingly progressive city voters....or else red team is just going to walk all over them again at the next election.

[ozbob]

[ozbob]

I'm calling it .. 

[achiruel]

I'd like to see Cameron Dick as Minister for Public Transport. Why? Well, for a start he's (IMO) one of the most competent performers the Qld ALP have. Secondly, he's not from the faction that the RTBU is a member of (RTBU are Left, Dick is Labor Right). The good thing about this is that the head of the RTBU won't be trying to call in favours from the Minister, as it seems happens currently. I think he'd actually be prepared to do some (gentle) head kicking.

[mufreight]

Can we have confidence in Mr Mark Bailey as Transport Minister, the short answer to that question is a most emphatic NO, on his performance so far he has been even more ineffectual than his predecessor Mr Hinchcliffe or Deputy Premier and Treasurer Ms Trad.
From their efforts it is painfully obvious that none of these seat warmers as Transport Minister have had the slightest interest in the states railway system with their lack of competence to manage railways in this state evident.
Railways in this state need a separate Minister for Railways, a Commissioner with a railway background reporting back to the Minister, and two Deputy commissioners, one for operations and the other overseeing infrastructure.
The current board should be shunted, they have failed dismally in their oversight of the railways and serve no purpose what so ever.   

[#Metro]

Can we have confidence in Mr Mark Bailey as Transport Minister, the short answer to that question is a most emphatic NO, on his performance so far he has been even more ineffectual than his predecessor Mr Hinchcliffe or Deputy Premier and Treasurer Ms Trad. From their efforts it is painfully obvious that none of these seat warmers as Transport Minister have had the slightest interest in the states railway system with their lack of competence to manage railways in this state evident.

Railways in this state need a separate Minister for Railways, a Commissioner with a railway background reporting back to the Minister, and two Deputy commissioners, one for operations and the other overseeing infrastructure.
The current board should be shunted, they have failed dismally in their oversight of the railways and serve no purpose what so ever.   

PTQ cannot come soon enough! No need to remove the transport minister - can stay with DTMR while PT is hived off without him.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1008027585668714496

[SurfRail]

One thing I have no confidence is that any replacement will do a better job.  They are ALL hopeless.

[ozbob]

There have been varying degrees of hopelessness, some more hopeless than others.

The last one that was reasonable IMHO (although he didn't like me too much because I kept asking awkward questions about the Go card  ) was Mr John Mickel.

Problem with present incumbent is he is captured by bureaucracy (this is a given for most Ministers), but also captured by the unions.

TransLink and TMR have managed to bluff a succession of Ministers, and have delivered an almighty cluster-fuk.   

Doing the same without reform, will just deliver an even bigger cluster-fuk ( if that is possible, the present situation is a BIG one ..  ).

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1008385497503182849

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1008386539892531200

[James]

I have zero confidence in any minister this government produces, to be quite frank. Minister after minister, it has been the same bumbling failure. First Trad, then Hinchliffe, then Trad again, and now Bailey. Failure to act on bus reform. Failure to adequately act on QR. Failure to act on the NGR's. Failure to deliver any improvements whatsoever.

It needs to change, and unions are at the core of at least one of these. It will take a lot of political guts to sort this out. I do wonder if there's anybody who has enough knowledge on the key issues out there to actually do it (who is not already on this forum, that is) - yet alone any MPs.

[ozbob]

^ nailed it James!

[#Metro]

I have zero confidence in any minister this government produces, to be quite frank. Minister after minister, it has been the same bumbling failure.

Right. And after Brisbane city council torpedoed the bus reform package, what happened next... They got all their contracts renewed again. Insanity!

Contrast this with SA where a bus operator didn't deliver. Minister called a press conference and ripped up the contract. Same with Melbourne - contactor didn't perform - OUT!!

Quality control is part of ministerial duties IMHO.

Part of the solution here is to STOP RENEWING the contracts of operators that don't perform or co-operate. Yes, this also means no exemption for QR and BCC too.

[ozbob]

Daniel has had enough!   

(on here refers to twitter)

https://twitter.com/mistertraveller/status/1008525056920543232

[InclusionMoves]

Unfortunately I had high hopes but they have been dashed. It appears that there was a political need for Jackie Trad to move to Treasurer which meant a hunt around for a Trad Jr which is who we got in Mark Bailey. Someone who may as well be Trad just with slightly more selfies. He has simply stayed the course that Trad set us on. Still taking advice from the same TMR. Wishlist for Transport Minister (1) Complete selfie ban.(2) Small enough political baggage that opposition is forced to ask relevant portfolio questions at least 50% of the time.(3) Able to use the term 'people with disability' without following it up with 'can make a complaint'.

[ozbob]