Election 2010 - Victoria State Election

[ozbob]

Antony Green's Election Blog --> Counting in Bentleigh to Determine Victorian Government

Counting resumed 4pm local time in Bentleigh.  Liberals have increased their lead to 400 hundred or so up from 200, looks like it will be 45 to 43, blue win, assuming the remaining seats stay in red hands.

[ozbob]

Twitter

ptua
 
New Lib MP says Frankston line a factor in ALP losing Carrum, Frankston and Mordialloc http://j.mp/fcWVQd (Bentleigh too?)
5 minutes ago via web

[ozbob]

From the Sydney Morning Herald click here!

Mordialloc winner seasoned in local govt

Mordialloc winner seasoned in local govt
Edwina Scott
November 28, 2010 - 6:09PM

Newly elected Victorian MP Lorraine Wreford says residents in Melbourne's sandbelt region have cast their commuter votes.

The Liberal candidate defeated Labor incumbent Janice Munt to take the seat of Mordialloc with a swing of about 5.4 per cent in Saturday's Victorian election.

Ms Wreford says voters in her electorate and the nearby seats of Frankston and Carrum - which also look likely to fall to the Liberals - have had enough of the Frankston railway line which runs through the three bayside electorates.

"I think the Frankston line must be one of the worst-performing lines around and I think the community is fed up with it," she told AAP on Sunday.

"Parents are finding the kids feel unsafe, or women are feeling unsafe on the trains or the trains are late.

"I think it's affected the feeling in the community."

Ms Wreford said the coalition's promise to introduce increased security on the trains would make a difference, but it would take time to change community attitudes.

A Casey councillor of eight years who was elected mayor in 2010, Ms Wreford says her local government experience has been the perfect training ground for state politics.

"What I found with local government is that many of the issues that were affecting our community were really statewide issues like our roads and law and order," she said.

"If I want to affect change, which is what I'd like to do, state government is where I need to be."

In particular, Ms Wreford points to the controversial evacuation of residents from the Brookland Greens development in Cranbourne due to a methane leak which she says was not handled properly by the Brumby government.

She attributes her success at the polls to running a strong local campaign, but also the central messages pushed by Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu.

"I ran a strong local campaign," she said.

"I put a lot of time and effort meeting people, doorknocking.

"I just felt we needed a fresh approach and I just felt that I could be part of a team to deliver a lot for Victoria and the local community."

© 2010 AAP

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Vicious backlash in south-eastern suburbs

Vicious backlash in south-eastern suburbs

    * Ashley Gardiner
    * From: Herald Sun
    * November 29, 2010 12:00AM

KITCHEN table issues such as soaring power bills meant that support for Labor collapsed in the south-eastern suburbs.

Anxiety, particularly from working mothers, over the rising cost of living, contributed to the vicious backlash in seats such as Carrum, which recorded the biggest swing against Labor - more than 10 per cent.

Personal and family concerns, like poor public transport and other services, proved to be a powerful influence, insiders and observers said.

The results have caused a realignment to the long-term status quo: that the eastern suburbs are Liberal territory.

Steve Bracks won them over, but John Brumby has now lost them.

Swinburne University politics expert Brian Costar said the 2010 election was about service delivery.

"The economy is strong and there's no major corruption," Prof Costar said.

"It shows that voters see state governments as service providers."

The failures in public transport were symbolic of a government that had become ineffectual.

"Any Labor member along the Frankston-Pakenham line was in trouble. That was extraordinary. It was the south-eastern suburbs that did Labor in."

A Labor insider, who asked not to be named, said the party had become disengaged from suburban Melbourne families.

Mitcham mother Beth Barclay grilled Premier John Brumby about rocketing bills at the Herald Sun/Sky News People's Forum on November 10.

Her concerns resonated: no matter how hard she tried to curtail her family's power use, bills kept going up.

She was worried they would soar even higher if the Greens had

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> The landslide that no one saw coming

==========

Hello! We saw it coming!   

[#Metro]

Goes to show, hiding behind the private railway company will not save you!

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Labor's Brumby concedes defeat

[colinw]

Libs made some big promises in the lead up to this result.  Time to stand & deliver ...

[Fares_Fair]

... isn't that what the bushrangers used to say colinw ? 
just before they robbed you.

Regards,
Fares_Fair

[colinw]

... isn't that what the bushrangers used to say colinw ?  
just before they robbed you.

Indeed.  

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Baillieu set to churn through changes

Baillieu set to churn through changes
Paul Austin
November 30, 2010

VICTORIA'S new Premier, Ted Baillieu, is expected to recall Parliament before Christmas to start work on the Coalition's agenda to transform the state, after John Brumby yesterday conceded Labor had lost government.

Mr Baillieu started his his first day on the job today with an early-morning dip in an eastern-suburbs pool, swimming laps before heading to Parliament today to start work on the Coalition's agenda to transform the state.

Mr Baillieu visited Governor David de Kretser at Government House last night to inform him the Coalition could command a majority on the floor of Parliament, hours after Mr Brumby telephoned the Liberal leader to congratulate him on winning Saturday's cliffhanger election.

The Coalition cabinet, with the Nationals' Peter Ryan as deputy premier, will be sworn in within days, and Mr Baillieu is considering convening Parliament within weeks to outline his reform program.

He wants to quickly introduce legislation to abolish suspended sentences for serious crimes, and to create a new agency to overhaul Melbourne's public transport system.

Mr Baillieu also plans to move quickly to deploy armed police protective services officers on railway stations at night, abolish the Office of Police Integrity and set up Victoria's first anti-corruption commission.

In a bid to contrast his administration with what he called Labor's ''secret state'', the new premier will also ''open the books'' on public hospital waiting lists and contracts for the $5.7 billion desalination plant and the $1.4 billion myki public transport ticketing system.

''It is an honour to have been offered the opportunity to lead this great state,'' the premier-elect told The Age last night.

''I accept the challenge of government with humility and a determination to govern for the whole of the Victorian community.''

With Mr Brumby last night conceding Labor had lost the decisive seat of Bentleigh, the Coalition is set to take power with 45 seats to the ALP's 43 in the Legislative Assembly.

The Coalition is holding out hope of also winning control of the Legislative Council, but it appears more likely that the Greens - possibly with maverick ex-journalist and independent candidate Stephen Mayne - will have the balance of power in the Legislative Council.

An emotional Mr Brumby yesterday addressed ministers and his staff before publicly conceding defeat just after 5pm. He is expected to quit as Labor leader but stay on in Parliament as member for Broadmeadows.

A shell-shocked Labor caucus is divided over who should become leader, with senior members of the Right faction pushing Tim Holding to stand, influential left-wingers backing Daniel Andrews, and others suggesting Mr Brumby's aggressive deputy, Rob Hulls, should be installed as leader to take the fight up to Mr Baillieu.

While some Labor figures have been privately critical of Mr Brumby's campaign, the out-going premier attributed his defeat to an ''It's time'' factor.

''I believe that, in essence, after 11 years the people of Victoria felt that it was time to give another team and another party a chance,'' Mr Brumby said. ''The weight of time took its toll, and it's a very difficult thing, I think, to fight against that sentiment.

''That's not to gloss over or to airbrush over the issues that were raised during the campaign, but I think the simple fact of politics is that governments seeking to serve a mandate for well in excess of a decade face an extremely difficult time.''

Mr Brumby said he was proud of his government's economic record and stewardship through the global financial crisis. And he said he would never forget the way Victorians stuck together in the aftermath of the Black Saturday bushfires.

[colinw]

This article is very interesting:

Australian cities have grown to the size where public transport issues can, and do influence election outcomes.  I expect to see something similar in NSW next year.  Could it happen here? You bet it could!

The Age: Labor's loss is explained by the rail politic

THOSE who believe the Brumby government was a good government voted out by an electorate bored after 11 years simply haven't been paying attention.

The key to understanding why the Brumby government held on in the regional centres of Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong and lost badly in the outer suburbs of Melbourne - both to everyone's surprise - can be largely explained by the fact that they kept their promise to build the Regional Fast Rail network linking Melbourne to the regional centres but failed to do anything about the abysmal standard of public transport to the outer suburbs.

...

[Stillwater]

A very interesting observation on the part of Mr Davidson: 'The regional fast rail project is successful. Patronage is high and frequent services means an increasing number of its customers commute to work in Melbourne. In some respects the CBD is more accessible to residents in the regional cities than to some of the outer suburbs of Melbourne.'

Pity the same isn't true in SEQ.  Maybe some of our state government's objectives for affordable housing could be met by better regional train services.

It is interesting to note, in a Queensland context, the most marginal seats -- among them Chatsworth, Clayfield, Cleveland, Hervey Bay, Gaven and Glass House.  That points to the fact that the Queensland state government would feel the political heat most from campaigns to duplicate the Doomben Line and extend duplication to Cleveland, as well as accelerate duplication from Beerburrum to Landsborough (in a marginal LNP electorate).

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Baillieu hedges on promises

Baillieu hedges on promises

TED Baillieu has flagged dumping or deferring some of his big-spending election promises if an audit of Victoria's finances reveals holes in the budget.

He has vowed to ditch some of the Brumby government's most contentious projects and policies, saying the $750 million north-south water pipeline will be "shut down", changes to clearway times in inner-suburban shopping strips will be reversed, and planning laws allowing high-rise residential developments along suburban train and tram corridors will be overturned.

In his first media conference since becoming Premier-elect, Mr Baillieu also pledged to quickly implement his reform agenda, including:

■ Deploying armed police on railway stations at night, despite concerns from the head of Metro, Andrew Lezala, that this could result in innocent passengers being shot.

■ Implementing all the recommendations of the Black Saturday Bushfires Royal Commission, including a government buyout of home owners who want to abandon high-risk bushfire zones.

■ Putting an end to government "spin" by slashing the number of taxpayer-funded advertisements and media advisers.

Mr Baillieu signalled that his cabinet would muscle up to the federal Labor government by urging Prime Minister Julia Gillard to give Victoria a better deal on hospital funding and to improve mobile phone reception in rural areas as part of her broadband agenda.

But he indicated he would hold back on some of his most expensive promises pending the results of a comprehensive audit of Victoria's finances, taxes and debt management.

"We will simply remain cautious about our funding commitments until we've had that review," he said, noting that similar exercises by previous in-coming governments had revealed budget black holes.

Mr Baillieu said he was concerned about the escalation of debt under the Brumby government, and the financial obligations on the state from public-private partnership projects including the $5.7 billion desalination plant and the $760 million Frankston bypass road.

"There are future obligations which are not yet fully accounted through the budget process which may impose constraints on the budget," he said. "We want to get to the bottom of those obligations — that remains a concern."

Mr Baillieu's cabinet, with Nationals leader Peter Ryan as deputy premier, is expected to be sworn in at Government House tomorrow.

"We have a detailed plan and we're going to get on with it," Mr Baillieu told yesterday's media conference.

Ms Gillard later contacted him to congratulate him on his election victory. She said she looked forward to working with the Liberal leader "to tackle the challenges facing all Australians, including the continuing need for improvements in health, education and broadband."

But Mr Baillieu signalled that he would seek to "expose the contents" of the national health reform deal struck by John Brumby, and would "need to renegotiate" the deal if he judged it not to be in Victoria's best interests.

[Golliwog]

and planning laws allowing high-rise residential developments along suburban train and tram corridors will be overturned.

WHAT?! Groan, and here I was thinking Melbourne was going to get ahead of the curve in terms of TODs. If I was a victorian, I would be mad right about now.

[Stillwater]

The Victorian election has placed public transport in a political context, so what are the lessons for us in Queensland -- particularly in relation to transport, TODs and land use planning.?

Ms Tracy Davis, the new Shadow Minister for Public Transport quoted Winston Churchill in her maiden speech, reminding the Parliament that Churchill once said: 'We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.'

Her maiden speech also reveals some other core beliefs of this potential new minister.  She believes that the Urban Land Development Authority is an unaccountable body that does not listen to local feeling and sentiment.  (Ominous for the people of Caloundra South and the Sunshine Coast, if true.)

Some further quotes:
'It is inevitable that we will have to accommodate reasonable growth and development, but we have to balance that with a higher value on the aspirations and lifestyle of current and future residents.

'Just as we need to accommodate good and reasonable development while safeguarding local amenity, we have to accept that there has to be more road and transport infrastructure and the state has a role to make that happen.

'I believe we have to place a higher value on the lifestyle of our suburbs and those hardworking families and taxpayers who live in them. I hope to be a champion for a better deal for our suburbs, and I will be asking locals to participate in a process to develop better local solutions.'

On the developments at Fitzgibbon and Carseldine, Ms Davis says: 'Before this development goes ahead there needs to be more investment and a better plan for local transport infrastructure which is not coping now—never mind with the influx of thousands more people from this development.'

Some food for thought amid those sentiments.

[Stillwater]

And what are Queensland's marginal electorates going into the next state election -- places where some gentle pressure could be brought to bear on political parties about local transport infrastructure projects?

The marginals include:

Chatsworth -- inner south (busway extensions)
Clayfield -- Doomben line duplication
Cleveland -- Cleveland Line duplication
Glass House -- (LNP seat, but marginal) Beerburrum-Landsborough duplication

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Trains drove poll hopes off the rails

Trains drove poll hopes off the rails
Carol Nader
December 4, 2010

THE Labor MP defeated in what became the state's most knife-edge seat says the former government's failure to fix public transport problems plaguing the south-east was one of the main reasons he lost his seat.

Rob Hudson, beaten in Bentleigh by just a few hundred votes, told The Age the Frankston line had been ''bedevilled'' by problems. Train punctuality plunged from 80 per cent in July last year to 65 per cent in June this year.

Assessing what went wrong for Labor in the four sandbelt seats it lost, Mr Hudson said Labor needed a strategy for the south-eastern suburbs.

''We needed to find a way to deal with these problems, and I think if we had a strategy I may well be still there,'' he said.

He had approached outgoing premier John Brumby and his transport and roads minister about problems with level crossings in his electorate that needed a grade separation and the impact of timetable changes on rail services.

''I really tried to convey the seriousness of the impact of the timetable changes and I certainly argued as strenuously as I could about the need to tackle the level crossings,'' he said.

''I spoke to more than 1000 people on the phone in my electorate and they kept raising public transport and community safety on trains. It wasn't the only issue that people raised but it was by far the major issue that kept coming up.''

Mr Hudson also cited the ''it's time'' factor, echoing Mr Brumby's words about the ''wear and tear'' of a long-term government.

He said timetable changes on the Frankston line in June meant the loss of at least five part-express services running through his electorate in the morning peak period.

''It did reduce overcrowding and the trains were starting to become marginally more reliable and punctual ... but the problem was people were just furious that we had taken away all their part-express services.

''Every train in the morning peak from my five stations were stopping all stations. There's no question that was enormously unpopular.''

Mr Hudson said there had been significant delays on the train line in the last week of the campaign, and people were ''savage and unforgiving'' about that.

People also felt that the trains were unsafe, particularly after an incident a few months ago in which a group of men attacked a train with rocks, hitting one person on the head. ''It was terrible ... and people thought this was the most dangerous, violent line in the world,'' Mr Hudson said.

Other issues were cost-of-living pressures, particularly the cost of water and electricity bills, and the myki ticket system.

''We all had myki stamped on our foreheads. It was seen as waste,'' he said.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

4th December 2010

Greetings,

There is message for all here.

Best wishes
Robert

========================

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Trains drove poll hopes off the rails

Quote

Trains drove poll hopes off the rails
Carol Nader
December 4, 2010

THE Labor MP defeated in what became the state's most knife-edge seat says the former government's failure to fix public transport problems plaguing the south-east was one of the main reasons he lost his seat.

Rob Hudson, beaten in Bentleigh by just a few hundred votes, told The Age the Frankston line had been ''bedevilled'' by problems. Train punctuality plunged from 80 per cent in July last year to 65 per cent in June this year.

Assessing what went wrong for Labor in the four sandbelt seats it lost, Mr Hudson said Labor needed a strategy for the south-eastern suburbs.

''We needed to find a way to deal with these problems, and I think if we had a strategy I may well be still there,'' he said.

He had approached outgoing premier John Brumby and his transport and roads minister about problems with level crossings in his electorate that needed a grade separation and the impact of timetable changes on rail services.

''I really tried to convey the seriousness of the impact of the timetable changes and I certainly argued as strenuously as I could about the need to tackle the level crossings,'' he said.

''I spoke to more than 1000 people on the phone in my electorate and they kept raising public transport and community safety on trains. It wasn't the only issue that people raised but it was by far the major issue that kept coming up.''

Mr Hudson also cited the ''it's time'' factor, echoing Mr Brumby's words about the ''wear and tear'' of a long-term government.

He said timetable changes on the Frankston line in June meant the loss of at least five part-express services running through his electorate in the morning peak period.

''It did reduce overcrowding and the trains were starting to become marginally more reliable and punctual ... but the problem was people were just furious that we had taken away all their part-express services.

''Every train in the morning peak from my five stations were stopping all stations. There's no question that was enormously unpopular.''

Mr Hudson said there had been significant delays on the train line in the last week of the campaign, and people were ''savage and unforgiving'' about that.

People also felt that the trains were unsafe, particularly after an incident a few months ago in which a group of men attacked a train with rocks, hitting one person on the head. ''It was terrible ... and people thought this was the most dangerous, violent line in the world,'' Mr Hudson said.

Other issues were cost-of-living pressures, particularly the cost of water and electricity bills, and the myki ticket system.

''We all had myki stamped on our foreheads. It was seen as waste,'' he said.