4 Nov 2007: Road funding ?pork barrels? fail to impress

[ozbob]

Media Release 4 November 2007

Australia: Road funding ?pork barrels? fail to impress

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport has said that the latest round of road funding ?pork barrels? are yet a further demonstration of all that is wrong with Australian politics, and fails to impress.

Robert Dow said:

?The Prime Minister is announcing massive road funding ?pork barrels? in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane today.  Rail transportation gets a small mention in NSW and Victoria but still nothing in Queensland.?

?Funding guarantees for public transport and rural railways is what is needed.?

?All states are struggling with public transport and road transport crises of various degrees.  Do we just get more of the same?  Will Federal Labor just ?me too? these ?non-core? promises once again?  Or will there be some true vision??

?It is sad to watch these last minute desperate attempts to buy votes and so condemning Australians to even more chronic road congestion and second rate public transport systems.  As fuel price increases and oil shortages start to bite, and the true environmental cost of road transport starts to really impact, it will be a disaster for most Australians unless environmentally sustainable transport options are put in place now.?

?Massive spending promises at election time are no guarantee at all.  A sustained long term program removed from desperate attempts to buy votes is the vision that Australia demands.  The party that does that will be true champion of the Australian people.?

Contact:

Robert  Dow

Administration
admin@backontrack.org RAIL Back On Track
http://backontrack.org