Transport network management and urban congestion in South East Queensland

[ozbob]

http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/docs/find.aspx?id=5309T463  PDF

Report to Parliament No. 3 for 2009
Transport network management and urban congestion in
South East Queensland

A Performance Management Systems Audit

Executive Summary here! PDF

[ozbob]

From the Courier Mail click here!

Bligh Government fails on urban congestion

Bligh Government fails on urban congestion


Craig Johnstone
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 10:04am


South east Queensland?s urban transport network is labouring under an ineffective mish-mash of strategies to tackle congestion, according to yet another damning report by Auditor-General Glenn Poole into the Bligh Government?s administrative failings.  Mr Poole found that leadership to address urban congestion was not co-ordinated effectively, there was little integration in transport planning and that plner were relying on out of date strategies and documents.  The upshot, according to Mr Poole, is that there is no guarantee the plethora of plans the Government has to build more busways, better co-ordinate ticketing and convince people to get out of their cars will actually reduce urban congestion, which is likley to cost the Brisbane economy $3 billion a year within the next decade.

Overall, I determined that all entities had systems in place to manage the transport
network in SEQ and address urban congestion albeit at varying levels of development
and maturity. However, these systems are not complete, integrated or consistently
applied. Also, these systems are not subject to review over time to ensure their
continued relevance.

And further on:

Audit identified that some long term transport plans were not reviewed, updated or
renewed on a timely basis.

And still further

Audit found that the current governance structure at the state level does not support effective
decision-making. The risk is that decisions about infrastructure could be made by
individual agencies without proper consideration of the flow on effects on the existing
infrastructure.

As with the scandalous lack of proper hospital planning uncovered by Poole earlier this month, the Bligh Government will have little choice but to fess up and say it could do a hell of a lot better.

[ozbob]

This report confirms what most of us have well known from our consistent observations.

There are systemic failures in the planning and coordination of transport.  Rail has been left to languish, many of the bus way projects are not well considered, it is in short very critical.

The Ministers for Transport and Main Roads are having a media conference as I type.

Whether we get changes and better accurate planning processes is to be determined.  We can only hope!

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

South-East Queensland transport planning in disarray

South-East Queensland transport planning in disarray
Daniel Hurst and Tony Moore
June 23, 2009 - 11:52AM

The State Government is failing to properly co-ordinate efforts to improve transport and cut congestion in South-East Queensland, the Auditor-General has found.

The findings come just two weeks after a similar report criticised poor State Government planning in health.

In his report, tabled in Parliament today, Auditor-General Glenn Poole said while the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council were "committed to an efficient transport network and had identified urban congestion as a significant issue", there were four key problems.

These included a lack of co-ordination at a state level, a "systemic weakness" in planning across operators, use of "out of date key transport documents and plans" and inconsistencies in data collection and reporting.

The government's response, included in the report, backed the recommendations.

Peak hour logjam
The report found peak-hour traffic was pushing Brisbane's road network to the limit while other parts of the SEQ transport system were under huge stress.

"Unprecedented population growth in SEQ and economic prosperity across Queensland in recent years has meant increased demand on the transport network which is operating at or near its capacity," Mr Poole wrote.

"SEQ has reached a critical stage with its current transport policies and services."

The Auditor-General said spending on roads had increased substantially after 2004, but he was concerned the spending was based on "immature plans".

"(This) does not provide comfort that the expenditure will address urban congestion in an effective manner," Mr Poole said.

Public transport one-dimensional
The report said while TransLink was focused on public transport - trains, buses and ferries - it did not take into account 'active' transport elements such as walking and cycling.

"Failing to include active transport elements means that the Queensland Government policy objective of encouraging multimodal transport options risk not being addressed effectively," he wrote.

The report said Brisbane City Council buses carried more than 67 million passengers in 2007-08.

And it estimated the annual economic cost of urban congestion in Brisbane could reach $3 billion by 2020.

Poor planning
Mr Poole said the systems that were in place were "not complete, integrated or consistently applied" and were not subject to review to ensure their relevance.

"While audited entities are individually committed to managing the transport network and addressing urban congestion, there is little evidence of a formal high level protocol for collaboration and co-ordination across levels of government to effectively manage priorities and initiatives on a common approach for an integrated transport network," Mr Poole wrote.

Mr Poole also found "shortcomings" in the data the government was using to draw up policies, saying the Department of Transport had collected a "scarcity of data" between 1993 and 2004.

He said there was a risk policies were being drawn up on out-of-date data.

LNP takes aim
Opposition transport spokeswoman Fiona Simpson said the Auditor-General's report again highlighted poor planning by the State Government to cope with Queensland's growth.

"It is an indication that the government can't plan, can't manage and can't deliver infrastructure," Ms Simpson said.

"It is really the smoking gun on why there has been such huge budget blowouts and yet there is a clear failure to deliver timely and cost-effective infrastructure.

"You had the same thing happening in health... and now, surprise, surprise, the same thing in the Transport Department."

Call to merge departments
The report recommended the departments of Transport (DoT) and Main Roads should be merged to improve planning.

"I consider the merger of DoT and Main Roads into a single new department is an opportunity to enhance integration, embed genuine collaboration and leverage the synergies tat exist in the roles of the former departments."

Ms Simpson questioned the leadership of the departments of Main Roads and Queensland Transport given the poor collection of data that the report showed.

"That really comes down to a question of leadership. It is a very large department, for it not to have good data is a clear indication of poor leadership in Government."

- with AAP

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

New kids on the chopping block for SEQ's transport woes

New kids on the chopping block for SEQ's transport woes
Tony Moore
June 23, 2009 - 3:53PM

Nervous ministers Craig Wallace and Rachel Nolan constantly knocked over microphones and tape recorders today as they fended off journalists' questions over South-East Queensland's strained transport network.

To be fair, the questions should have been directed to their predecessors.

The Main Roads Minister, Mr Wallace, and Transport Minister, Ms Nolan were both sworn in on March 26, while today's damning Auditor-General's report covered the period from October 2008 to February 2009.

The report found South-East Queensland's transport network was at a "critical" point, and that Brisbane faced a $3 billion urban congestion problem by 2020. It blamed poor planning and a lack of co-ordination between entities for the region's transport woes.

Two of the Government's senior MPs - John Mickel (Transport) and Warren Pitt (Main Roads) - were in charge of the portfolios before March 2009. The current deputy premier, Paul Lucas - now Health Minister - was Minister for both Main Roads and Queensland Transport before this pair for several terms.

Ministers Nolan and Wallace today put on a brave face over the scathing report, "welcoming" its findings and the "recommendations contained within it".

Ms Nolan said Premier Anna Bligh had already decided to merge the departments of Main Roads and Queensland Transport after the state election, one of the key recommendations of the study.

"It should be noted that since the report's work has been undertaken, the Premier has taken the decision to amalgamate the departments of Transport and Main Roads to ensure better co-ordination," Ms Nolan said. "That is a direct reflection of the key point made in this report," she said.

The pair constantly referred to existing projects underway, pointing to $3.6 billion of spending on roads and public transport as part of the $18 billion capital works program announced in last week's budget.

But both stalled when asked to answer how they would repond to Auditor-General Glenn Poole's key finding that better project co-ordination - not more money - was needed to improve Brisbane's transport.

Ms Nolan said an integrated transport plan would be released in 2010.

"The Auditor-General speaks about the need for better and more co-ordinated transport planning. We are currently working on the next integrated regional transport plan," Ms Nolan said.

"Public consultation will happen on that plan before the end of the year and it will be released in 2010.

"Should we be back here a year from now, that report will be finalised and that better planning will be cemented at the core of government."

Mr Wallace said finishing the Gateway Bridge, Centenary Motorway and Ipswich Motorway projects would make a difference in tackling Brisbane's $3 billion traffic congestion problem by 2020.

Ms Nolan defended criticism in the report that neither department had collected comprehensive transport data between 1993 and 2004 and had used out-of-date information leaving large holes in planning.

"Since 2004 there has been a much better effort in the Department of Transport and Main Roads around data collection," the Member for Ipswich said.

The report also found Queensland Transport let a high-level Transport Co-ordination Plan die for four years between 2004 and 2008 at a time when 1000 people a week were shifting to Queensland.

Ms Nolan said the work was replaced by South East Queensland's Infrastructure Plan and Program (SEQIPP).

"We are now working on the next Intergrated Regional Transport Plan and as I said there will be community consulation on that at the end of this year."

[ozbob]

From the Brisbane mX 23rd June 2009 page 1

Losing traffic battle

[ozbob]

From the Courier Mail click here!

Brisbane's traffic failures exposed in report

Brisbane's traffic failures exposed in report
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Rosemary Odgers

June 24, 2009 12:00am

MOTORISTS were stuck sitting in traffic gridlock because the State Government had failed to adequately plan to tackle southeast Queensland's congestion.

A scathing report from Auditor-General Glenn Poole has found peak-hour traffic was "straining the limits of Brisbane's road network", which operated at or near its capacity.

The report warned there was no guarantee the situation would improve despite renewed efforts to fix the congestion problem, which could become worse than gridlock in Sydney and Melbourne.

It is the second time in two weeks the Auditor-General has blasted the State Government for failing to adequately plan future services, with a separate report casting doubts over its hospital building plan.

In the latest report, Transport Network Management and Urban Congestion in Southeast Queensland, the Auditor-General said state leadership for managing the transport network and congestion was not co-ordinated between the departments of Main Roads, Transport and Infrastructure and authorities were relying on out-of-date data and documents to develop policies.

"While the audited entities are committed to addressing urban congestion in southeast Queensland, formal systems are not operating effectively across Government to oversee a co-ordinated, concerted approach," the report said.

"Inadequate strategic planning in the past has consequences that are evidenced by the current flurry of activity to develop systems, plans and initiatives to manage the transport network."

The report estimated the annual economic cost of urban congestion in Brisbane could reach $3 billion by 2020, worse than Sydney and Melbourne.

New ministers Rachel Nolan and Craig Wallace were left to defend the Government yesterday, assuring the public their newly merged departments of Transport and Main Roads were working together on congestion.

"It's fair to say we have each other very much on speed dial," Ms Nolan said.

Both ministers said 15 times they "welcomed" the report during a press conference and said improvements had been made since it was completed.

Opposition spokeswoman Fiona Simpson said the report was proof the Government "can't manage, can't plan and can't deliver".

The RACQ said the report's findings would come as no surprise to motorists and the Government's focus on toll roads and busways would not solve congestion.

The report also examined the Brisbane City Council's role in transport planning and found most of its measures were adequate.

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Cash splash no match for brain power: why money alone can't fix our roads

Cash splash no match for brain power: why money alone can't fix our roads
Tony Moore
June 24, 2009 - 5:12AM

Simply throwing money at high-profile road projects will not solve Brisbane's transport congestion problems, critics agree.

Now they say it's time the State Government got the message.

Auditor-General Glenn Poole yesterday issued a damning report highlighting poor research and co-ordination in the planning of South-East Queensland transport solutions.

He said spending on roads had increased substantially after 2004, but that it was based on "immature plans".

"(This) does not provide comfort that the expenditure will address urban congestion in an effective manner," Mr Poole said.

Yet, fronting up to the media yesterday, Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace and Transport Minister Rachel Nolan simply repeated a list of upcoming projects on the drawing board in response to criticisms.

Only after repeated questioning did they addresss the issue of greater co-ordination, a key part of Mr Poole's report.

Dr Jago Dodson, from Griffith University's Urban Research Centre, said building more roads simply provided more chances for people to use their own car.

"There is a need to look beyond infrastructure projects as a solution to our urban problems," Dr Dodson said.

"Certainly planning of the entire transport network as a whole, rather than through piecemeal projects, is desperately needed."

RACQ spokesman Gary Fites said it was clear that political considerations decided what got built.

"There has been no overall plan to deal with urban congestion," Mr Fites said.

The Queensland Government is spending $2.13 billion on new roads in the next 12 months, while $1.2 billion is going to Translink to boost SEQ's passenger train network.

Dr Dodson said the government should spend less on roads and more on expanding the public transport network.

"There is certainly a need to revisit the balance in transport expenditure between roads and public transport," Dr Dodson said.

"You can continue to expand road capacity and make it easy to drive around by private motor car, but that will just encourage people to switch back away from public transport back to their cars.

"And because of this fact it turns out that the best way to improve the speed of travel through your city is actually to put all your effort into increasing the speed of your public transport system.

"Because every person who looks over and sees the buses travelling faster than the cars on the freeway will start to think about switching to the buses.

"And that frees up space on the freeway."

Dr Dodson said this was the strategic thinking missing in the Queensland Government's planning.

However, he did acknowledge that the Government deserved some sympathy for the number of people who had moved to the south-east over the past decade.

Queensland Transport would release a "comprehensive" congestion management plan before Christmas, Ms Nolan said.

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Council gets tick where government fails

Council gets tick where government fails
Daniel Hurst
June 24, 2009 - 5:00AM

The RACQ says it's not surprised by a new report slamming the Queensland Government over its failure to properly tackle South-East Queensland's transport problems.

In the report, released yesterday, Auditor-General Glenn Poole said the State Government had failed to properly co-ordinate efforts to deal with worsening congestion in the region.

He highlighted "systemic weakness" in planning processes and warned some transport policies were based on "out of date research and data".

RACQ spokesman Gary Fites said the State Government had displayed a "critical lack of leadership" in addressing urban congestion.

"There has been no overall plan to deal with urban congestion, resulting in infrastructure projects that have limited genuine input from stakeholders, with the government's priorities set primarily on political considerations," he said.

Mr Fites welcomed the recent merger of the Department of Main Roads and Queensland Transport, saying the decision should lead to a better focus on problems in the whole transport network.

Brisbane City Council, meanwhile, seized on comments in the report praising the local authority.

Deputy Mayor Graham Quirk said the government would do well to learn from council as it had "sound planning, management and reporting frameworks in place".

"Not only is council getting on with the job of addressing traffic congestion but this report is proof that we have the correct checks and balances in place to make it happen," Cr Quirk said.

He said the council's cross-river CLEM7 tunnel, linking Woolloongabba to Bowen Hills, and the Hale Street bridge from Milton to South Brisbane were both due to open next year.

[ozbob]

From Brisbanetimes click here!

Ministers bunk off SEQ planning meetings

Ministers bunk off SEQ planning meetings
Tony Moore
June 24, 2009 - 12:01PM

State Government ministers have been accused of skipping key strategic South-East Queensland planning meetings by Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman.

A lack of co-ordination between State Government departments and local governments was the main criticism contained in Auditor-General Glenn Poole's report yesterday on South-East Queensland's transport planning.

Cr Newman said ministers were not attending a meeting designed to provide that very thing.

"It is called the Regional Co-ordination Committee (RCC) and it is chaired by the Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, Stirling Hinchliffe, and it is meant to be attended by various State ministers: transport, main roads, etcetera," Cr Newman said.

"They are meant to be at the table with four of the region's key mayors.

"And the minutes will reflect that there has been very poor attendance in the past two years by ministers."

The RCC meets three times a year and was set up to oversee the implementation of the South-East Queensland Regional Plan, the overarching local planning document developed in 2004.

"So that meeting exists, but if the ministers themselves won't turn up to faithfully engage with the mayors on important issues, you then have to ask yourself, 'Where are these problems?'"

Cr Newman said he had been to almost every meeting since he was first elected in 2004.

"But I can't say the same for all the ministers in the same period of time," Cr Newman said.

Yesterday's report by the Auditor-General contained scathing criticism of Queensland's current planning to tackle urban congestion in South-East Queensland.

"The leadership at the state level for managing the transport network and urban congestion is not co-ordinated effectively and makes it more difficult for government agencies to drive a strategic response in an integrated and co-ordinated manner," the report said.

Questions about attendance at the Regional Co-ordination Committee have been sent to the office of Infrastructure and Planning Minister Stirling Hinchliffe.

[brad C]

Here's something to ponder.... Transport and Main Roads merge but still retain 2 ministers!!
Under the first Goss Cabinet, a super department of transport was created (under Minister David Hamill) but the bureaucrats in Main Roads lobbied successfully for a reversion to their own dept status.
Much of MRD money comes from or is tied to federal dollars so the road building priorities and dollars will always be interpreted as skewing funding away from other transport modes.

It would be a good exrecise to trawl through ministerial statements which prececded the disolution of the former Translink  and replaced it with Translink Transit Authority. The new TTA was to include the passenger arms of QR and was meant to be the panacea for integrated timetabling and ticketing. Reading between the lines, greater forces seemed to be at work which have prevented this from happening.

In the 1970s, the then State Govt formed the Metropolitan transit Authority (MTA) which at that stage set about co-ordinating all public transport in Qld. The MTA built and owned all of the park and rides at railway stations and developed a number of integrated bus rail centres  at stations such as Sandgate, Enoggerra and Darra. Knowing people who worked in the MTA at that time, its work on integration waas stifled through the vested interests of the various transport providers. Sadly the MTA was disbanded under the new Labor govt in 1990.
In thirty years it would appear that progress has been slow.

[Dean Quick]

A Gov't with its finger on the pulse and one that actually listened and cared would not have needed to spend taxpayers money on an expensive Auditor General study to come to the same conclusions that many of us already knew!!! Which begs the question, will they actually act on any of the recommendations or just continue to re-arrange the deck chairs?

[STB]

Premier has responded on the report.

Premier accepts blame for gridlock

PREMIER Anna Bligh has shouldered the blame for traffic chaos after a report found peak-hour traffic was straining Queensland roads.

Queensland Auditor-General Glenn Poole's report - tabled in State Parliament today - reveals the roads are operating at close to peak capacity.

Ms Bligh has blamed the problem on different levels of government not working together and the state's population boom, despite the record growth being a well-established trend.

"What is driving congestion in Brisbane is the growing pains of a rapidly growing city in the southeast,'' Ms Bligh said.

"As premier I accept responsibility for the need to improve our traffic management system and I accept responsibility for those things done in the past we could have done better.

"We will never get this right unless all levels of government work together.''

Increased patronage of public transport would help take the burden off the roads, she said, but the government was also working on many new road projects around the city to combat the problem.

Opposition Leader John-Paul Langbroek said the problems stemmed from a time when Ms Bligh was infrastructure minister and Deputy Premier Paul Lucas managed the transport portfolio.

Mr Langbroek demanded the Premier and her deputy apologise to Queenslanders for the mess they created on "their watch''.

"They clearly have major problems in delivering things. That's why Queenslanders who are stuck in cars, trains, ferries and buses are stuck in the traffic congestion we currently have,'' Mr Langbroek said.

"The auditor-general and the people of Queensland would say there is a major issue with how projects are being delivered.''

The report estimated the annual economic cost of urban congestion in Brisbane could reach $3bn by 2020.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25683914-29277,00.html

[ozbob]

From the Brisbane mX 24th June 2009 page 4

A congestion of support

[ozbob]

From the Courier Mail click here!

Anna Bligh won't say sorry for traffic gridlock

Anna Bligh won't say sorry for traffic gridlock
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Rosemary Odgers

June 25, 2009 12:00am

ANNA Bligh has refused to apologise to southeast Queensland motorists despite a damning report finding the Government had failed to properly plan to tackle congestion.

As the Opposition accused the Bligh Government of being "asleep at the wheel", the Premier said rapid population growth in the southeast was "driving" congestion.

She said the Government was building new roads, bridges and tunnels and improving public transport services in a bid to ease traffic gridlock.

"What is driving congestion in Brisbane is the growing pains of a rapidly growing city in the southeast," Ms Bligh said. "I say to southeast motorists, look around you, you can see the infrastructure being built to relieve congestion."

When asked repeatedly if she would apologise to motorists for the Government's failings, Ms Bligh would not say sorry but conceded improvements were needed.

"As Premier, I accept responsibility for the need to improve our traffic management system and I accept responsibility for those things done in the past we could have done better," she said.

The Premier's comments came a day after a report from Auditor-General Glenn Poole slammed the Government's congestion-busting policies, saying there was no co-ordinated planning between departments and authorities were relying on outdated data to develop their strategies.

He warned there was no guarantee the situation would improve despite billions of dollars being spent on infrastructure and said Brisbane streets could be more clogged than those in Sydney and Melbourne by 2020.

Opposition Leader John-Paul Langbroek said Queenslanders deserved an apology.

He said the Premier and her deputy, Paul Lucas, had previously led the infrastructure and transport portfolios, so were directly responsible for the problems.

"Labor's record on infrastructure is a long litany of delays, drop-offs, cost blowouts and complete white elephants," Mr Langbroek said.

It was the second Auditor-General report in two weeks that was critical of the Government's planning.

Ms Bligh said future audit reports could find similar problems in other departments and all had been put on notice to improve their performance.

In a bumbling press conference on Tuesday, Transport Minister Rachel Nolan and Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace failed to answer questions about the report's findings and instead repeated 15 times that they "welcomed" it.

[ozbob]

Media Release 25 June 2009

SEQ:  Public transport commuters welcome promised public transport improvements

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters has welcomed the Premier's and Minister for Transport's indication that public transport services will be improved.  Why wait six months though for yet another bureaucratic effort from Queensland Transport as they attempt to map out a congestion management plan? What guarantee is there that they will actually put together a coherent plan?  Past performances indicate they have failed the Queensland community. What is needed is action today.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"The recent audit of urban transport is proof positive of why we need to do something today (1). Increases in funding for all modes of public transport must be made available immediately.  Restrictions on services lifted and let the operators get on with the job. A scan of train frequencies around the world in similar cities to Brisbane reveals we are indeed a transport backwater (2). South-east Queensland has a pathetic train frequency.  This causes problems with connecting bus services and acts as a major disincentive for commuters to leave their cars."

"Rail has the capacity to make a real impact on easing the congestion.  Rather than restricting rail services we should move rapidly to a 15 minute off peak frequency on all lines.  Peak times 7 minutes or better.  This will in turn help move people off the roads and onto sustainable public transport.  More feeder buses running to key rail and bus stations is essential.  High frequency rail services will overcome the present problems of bus/rail and rail/bus integration."

"Neglecting rail and focussing on roads and a bus-centric transport system has failed, clearly.  The answer is of course is to do what the rest of the world does.  Use the respective transport modes properly.  The overall savings and benefits in terms of reduced congestion costs, less environmental impacts and costs, and  less cost impacts on health are overwhelming."

"What are we waiting for?"

References:

1. http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/docs/find.aspx?id=5309T463

2. http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=2410.msg11746#msg11746

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org

[Derwan]

Here's something to ponder.... Transport and Main Roads merge but still retain 2 ministers!!
Under the first Goss Cabinet, a super department of transport was created (under Minister David Hamill) but the bureaucrats in Main Roads lobbied successfully for a reversion to their own dept status.

The merging of departments is an interesting one.  I'm not closely involved with the process, but I am aware of stuff happening and I hear various rumours.  The Department of Communities, for example, is pushing very much for the integration of the former departments of Communities, Child Safety, Housing and Disability Services Queensland.  Environment & Resource Management is also one keen to integrate.

As for MR and QT, I've heard various rumours.  I've heard that there is a push develop an integrated organisational structure - but I have also heard that they are resistant to integration and that the two entities will continue as is - and that the "Department of Transport and Main Roads" would simply be a title that they both use.

I guess time will tell.

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Bligh pulls 'wagging' ministers into line

Bligh pulls 'wagging' ministers into line
Tony Moore
June 26, 2009 - 9:19AM

Embarrassed State Government ministers caught "wagging" a vitally important committee guiding infrastructure planning in South-East Queensland have been pulled into line by Premier Anna Bligh.

brisbanetimes.com.au this week revealed few Bligh Government ministers bothered to attend meetings of the Regional Co-ordination Committee (RCC), which guides how South-East Queensland will accommodate the 1000 people each week moving to the region.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman expressed his outrage on Wednesday, and this was reinforced yesterday when Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) acting president Bob Abbot said mayors were bitterly disappointed ministers did not attend.

Last year bureaucrats attended the meetings instead of most ministers.

"The RCC was set up for a particular point. It wasn't certainly for the mayors of South-East Queensland to debate senior heads of staff," Cr Abbot said.

"It was there for mayors of South-East Queensland to debate the ministers and to discuss issues of regional co-ordination."

The Queensland Opposition said the decision by ministers not to attend showed a lack of leadership from the top.

Poor coordination of transport projects was the key criticism raised in Auditor-General Glenn Poole's report into the State Government's handling of traffic congestion issues.

A fortnight ago, Mr Poole highlighted similar problems in the health portfolio.

Yesterday afternoon, Premier Bligh addressed the embarrassing lack of focus by confirming ministers would now attend RCC meetings.

"The next meeting is on July 3 and all ministers who are members of the RCC will be attending," a written statement read.

It said the state election had interrupted the flow of meetings.

"The RCC last met in October 2008 on the eve of the release of the regional plan. It was due to meet on March 1 - after the release and a public consultation period - but that meeting was postponed due to the state election."

The committee's terms of reference says: " The RCC shall meet at least four times a year."

Ms Bligh's spokesman said the committee had been successful, but was was not a decision-making body.

"The Regional Coordination Committee was set up to oversee the implementation of the SAC Regional Plan and is a formal opportunity for government to consult directly with SAC councils."

The following ministers and mayors are on the new Regional Consultative Committee:
Ministers:
* The Hon Stirling Hinchliffe MP (Chair) - Minister for Infrastructure and Planning;
* The Hon Andrew Fraser MP - Treasurer and Minister for Employment and Economic Development;
* The Hon Stephen Robertson MP - Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy and Minister for Trade;
* The Hon Craig Wallace MP - Minister for Main Roads;
* The Hon Tim Mulherin MP - Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland;
* The Hon Rachel Nolan MP - Minister for Transport;
* The Hon Karen Struthers MP - Minister for Community Services and Housing And Minister for Women;
* The Hon Kate Jones MP - Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability;

Mayors:
* Cr Allan Sutherland - Mayor of Moreton Bay Regional Council;
* Cr Bob Abbot - Mayor of Sunshine Coast Regional Council;
* Cr Paul Pisasale - Mayor of Ipswich City Council ;
* Cr Campbell Newman - Mayor of Brisbane City Council;
* Cr John Brent - Mayor of Scenic Rim Regional Council.
* Ms Felicity McNeill - Commonwealth Government

[mufreight]

If they do not attend they can claim that they did not know when things are stuffed up.

[ozbob]

From the Courier Mail click here!

Southeast Queensland's traffic congestion indicators dumped

Southeast Queensland's traffic congestion indicators dumped
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Craig Johnstone

June 27, 2009 12:00am

THE Bligh Government is preparing to ditch a system which shows the extent of its failure to stem southeast Queensland's chronic traffic congestion.

The decision, quietly flagged in this month's Budget, spells the end of a range of performance indicators which track the Government's record on delivering transport services.

They show that average travel speeds in greater Brisbane are up to 6km/h slower during peak times than they were two years ago and that just 40 per cent of the state's urban roads provide an acceptable standard of service.

They also show that the Government has consistently failed to meet all of its targets aimed at curbing traffic congestion, although it is improving in some areas.

Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace has confirmed that the system of performance measures ? a key part of the Budget papers for several years ? is being "reviewed".

In a statement, the Minister's office cites this week's damning report by Auditor-General Glen Poole into transport planning to justify the change despite the decision being outlined in the Budget papers the previous week.

It is tucked away in a section detailing service delivery statements from each government department.

A note next to 23 separate performance measures states: "This measure has been reviewed and it is considered that the measure should either be replaced with a more meaningful measure or discontinued".

Mr Wallace insisted that the likely replacement for the department's existing congestion indicators would use "real-time data" and be more relevant.

"The Minister is committed to transparency in departmental reporting and that measures reported on are meaningful and effective," his statement said.

The current system measures speeds on a certain number of roads during peak times.

The latest congestion indicator detailed in the Budget papers shows Brisbane motorists are travelling 38km/h slower than the posted speed limit during morning peaks.

That compares with 32km/h slower than the speed limit in 2007 and 29km/h slower in 1999, meaning that morning peak traffic is nearly 10km/h slower than a decade ago.

This week, Auditor-General Poole blasted the lack of co-ordination in transport planning to reduce southeast Queensland congestion, which he warned would cost the region's economy $3 billion a year within a decade.

Opposition transport spokeswoman Fiona Simpson said the Government has been criticised in the past for setting itself congestion management targets that were not meaningful.

"They were fairly inadequate anyway," she said. "What you replace them with . . . is the $60 million question."

[ozbob]

Media Release 27 June 2009

SEQ:  Why we need increased Citytrain frequency

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters has called for urgent increases in train frequencies on all lines of our Citytrain network.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"Public transport is a much more cost effective option for the community compared to high-capacity road systems. The cost of the roads is highly sensitive to the number of road users; each additional user adds to the rapidly increasing costs of the system. The cost of public transport is more or less the same regardless of patronage, so that if more people use the system, the cost per passenger actually diminishes. Public transport revenue increases with more passengers, it is clearly economic to encourage more people onto public transport. It is uneconomic to encourage more people to abandon public transport and drive cars. By restricting public transport services this is what the Government, Queensland Transport and TransLink is doing."

"RAIL Back On Track believes that we need to move rapidly to a 15 minute off peak frequency on our rail suburban rail network, between 5am and 8pm. Twenty minute frequency on weekends, holidays and after 8pm.  At peak, depending on loadings frequency between 5 and 10 minutes. This will encourage commuters to shift from the overloaded roads and onto sustainable transport.  The present commuter nightmare of the constant failures of buses to connect with rail services will largely disappear. This will in turn drive further increases in public transport utilisation."

"There have been major issues and deficiencies identified by the Queensland Auditor General in terms of how Queensland Transport and TransLink have managed the build up of our public transport (1). Now is the time to properly resource all our public transport modes and move into a sustainable transport future.  The investment in public transport is repaid many times over as reduced congestion costs, less environmental impacts and savings to our health system."

"The congestion nightmare in south-east Queensland is bringing the state to its knees.  Every day commuters can see the solutions, it is a great tragedy that Government and its agencies, Queensland Transport and TransLink seem to be more concerned with corporate sponsorships and self promotion than maximising utilisation of our public transport (2)."

"We call on our elected representatives to take charge of this transport fiasco and implement urgent improvements. The commitments made to improve services must now be turned into reality.  Nothing else will do."

References:

1. Transport network management and urban congestion in
South East Queensland http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/docs/find.aspx?id=5309T463

2. Why is TransLink sponsoring a soccer game? http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=2432.0

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org

[ozbob]

The Queensland Auditor General's report is no real surprise.  Here is a an article from Sunday Mail  June 2008, click here!

Department is breaking down

Department is breaking down
Article from: The Sunday Mail (Qld)

By Darrell Giles

June 15, 2008 12:00am

QUEENSLAND Transport is one of the State Government's worst departments.
In a high-level review it scored poorly in six important areas, including planning and strategy, resource management, performance measurement and leadership.

The Service Delivery and Performance Commission report came just days before long-serving director-general of transport Bruce Wilson was moved to a new role. Premier Anna Bligh announced on Tuesday that Mr Wilsonwould become the interim chief executive of the new Public Service Commission after spending 12 years in charge of the transport department.

The service-delivery commission has been reviewing departments to find ways to streamline the public service.

The most recent reviews included Transport, Main Roads, Police, Emergency Services and Employment and Industrial Relations.

The Transport evaluation was completed last week and contained damning findings.

Sources told The Sunday Mail that Transport scored just one out of four in four areas, and two out of four in another two categories.

Some of the comments included: "Planning is . . . typically done as a compliance exercise rather than as a valued part of business", and ". . . the quality and appropriateness of (performance) measures requires improvement" and "leadership capability may be variable across the organisation and not well aligned".

The final report will be tabled in Parliament before the end of the year.

However Opposition transport spokesman Tim Nicholls urged the Government to release the findings now.

"There have been very strong rumours for some time about a highly critical report pointing the finger at the Transport Department under Labor," Mr Nicholls said.

"The Government needs to release the report, warts and all, and not provide a sanitised, politically-acceptable version."

Mr Wilson's 19 years as a director-general with the Queensland Government were recognised last week with an Australia Medal in the Queen's Birthday honours. In a message to staff on Tuesday, Mr Wilson said his move from QT was "not a decision I have taken lightly".

Dave Stewart, deputy director-general in the Premier's Department, will take over from Mr Wilson in an acting capacity. Ms Bligh said he will head new congestion-busting initiatives.

A spokesman for Transport Minister John Mickel said the commission report had not been finalised.

"Nor have the scores for the different categories been finalised. The commission has advised the report will be finalised later this year," he said.

"The commission begins the review in a provocative and challenging way, then the department has a chance to make its case and introduce ways they can address concerns . . . the final report usually is very different to the first draft, and a more accurate depiction of the department's performance.

"This matter has no relevance to Bruce Wilson's new role. Mr Wilson was director-general of QT for more than 12 successful years and now takes on the role of setting up the Public Service Commission."

[ozbob]

From the Courier Mail click here!

Traffic expert George Hazel yet to prove his worth

Traffic expert George Hazel yet to prove his worth
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Ursula Heger

June 29, 2009 12:00am

AN international expert paid almost as much as Premier Anna Bligh appears to have done little to solve southeast Queensland's congestion woes.

Only days after a damning Auditor-General's report found the State Government had failed to adequately plan to tackle the region's worsening congestion, it has been revealed transport expert Professor George Hazel and his company, MRC McLean Hazel, have been paid $285,634 for work over 11 months advising on congestion management.

But Queensland Transport has struggled to explain anything the British professor has recommended that may lead to a smoother transport system for the region.

Hired in a blaze of publicity, Professor Hazel was touted as bringing "international experience and best-practice thinking to our city" by Ms Bligh, but for battling motorists in the southeast, a plan to reduce the region's congestion woes is yet to materialise.

Professor Hazel was contracted with the State Government for two years from April 2008, and his payment included $40,346 for two visits to Australia in May and November last year.

Transport Minister Rachel Nolan's office has issued contradictory statements regarding Professor Hazel's initiatives. One statement said he had shown that "a multi-ranged approach" targeting five key areas was necessary, implying the professor had provided some initiatives.

But when questioned earlier this year, Queensland Transport said Professor Hazel's preliminary findings "indicate the five key areas being targeted by the Queensland Government's congestion management strategy are correct", indicating the Government had come up with the initiatives and the professor had given them his stamp of approval.

A brief compiled by Queensland Transport said Professor Hazel and his team had provided "an interim report on developing a congestion management strategy and a report outlining future options for ... congestion".

Ms Nolan's office refused to release the interim report, or any working papers, saying a final report had not been compiled.

A statement by Ms Nolan said Professor Hazel had advised that more work needed to be done on demand management - a more efficient use of the current city network - which prompted the introduction of the Flexible Workplace Trial.

"A further plan including new initiatives resulting from Professor Hazel's work will be released this year," she said.

Professor Hazel did not respond to questions from The Courier-Mail.

[ozbob]

Media Release 28 June 2009

SEQ: Memo to Premier and Minister for Transport -  ten point plan to fix urban transport congestion crisis

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters has said the bureaucracy has failed south east Queensland in terms of the urban congestion crisis.  Experts have failed to convince the Government that they actually need to be proactive and forward thinking. So called community consultation processes are a cosmetic sham. If they weren't, we wouldn't be in this mess.  Here is a simple ten point plan to turn around.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"Here is a simple ten point plan to fix the urban transport congestion crisis, free of expensive consultancy fees!

1.  Ramp up Citytrain rail services to achieve a frequent service off peak and peak all lines.  This will take pressure off the overloaded bus system (1).

2.  Fix the go card system or junk it.  Denial of a ticketing system in crisis is not resonating with the public who observe the many issues daily.  A properly operating go card system with a high uptake will generate real time load data (2).  Place ticket machines in bus stations and ramp up pre-paid only on bus.

3.  Introduce more local 'station buses' to help alleviate  the car parking crisis that is causing its own level of chaos around bus and rail stations(3). 'Car park rage, bus rage, train rage' are all terms now in common use that reflect the impacts on individuals. This is not healthy!

4.  Introduce incentive ticketing on the go card, early late and off peak to assist in congestion management.  Further encourage variable shifts and decentralisation of the work place (4).

5.  Get serious about fare evasion.  Fare evasion is rampant basically because of the failure to drive the go card roll out properly and the complications of a dual ticketing system.  Issue all TransLink Transit Officers with mobile go card readers (5).

6.  Maximise the use of transport assets all ready in place.  For example, the Exhibition loop line provides opportunity to reduce the number of people transiting through the CBD axis with the recreation of a railway station at Normanby, linked with the bus station at Normanby and around the year service through Exhibition station (6).

7.  Introduce more lateral bus routes.  The great circle bus route is an example.  Brisbane public transport is fixated on a radial pattern which contributes to the CBD congestion.

8.  Fix the systemic problems identified in the recent urban congestion management audit.  Queensland Transport was flagged in June 2008 as a poorly performing government department (7).  How many times does the government have to be told? Step up deployment of public transport infrastructure such as the railways to Springfield and Kippa Ring. Correct the imbalance in funding and move funds from non sustainable roads to sustainable public transport.

9.  Ramp up bicycle storage facilities at rail and bus stations.  Step up the emphasis on active transport options.

10. Properly fund all public transport operators for an immediate increase in services and capacity."

"These improvements will move people off the road nightmare and free up space for commercial and other road users that truly do need to drive. They will save the community billions of dollars in reduced congestion costs, reduced environmental impacts and a reduction in costs to our health system."


References:

1.  SEQ: Ramp up rail now!  http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=2187.0

2.  SEQ: Commuters are abandoning the go card http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=2447.0

3.  SEQ: Car parking crisis at and around stations worsens, community rage - solution? http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=2052.0

4.  SEQ: Go Card - manage congestion,  add off peak and incentive fares, time to GO! http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=2301.0

5.  SEQ: Fare Evasion rampant on TransLink network http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=2377.0

6.  Brisbane: The Exhibition rail loop is another option to ease congestion! http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=175.0

7.  Department is breaking down http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,,23862794-3102,00.html


Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org

[ozbob]

From the Courier Mail click here!

Airconditioning push is just a cover for government

Airconditioning push is just a cover for government
Article from: The Courier-Mail

By Mike O'Connor

June 29, 2009 12:00am

CASTING desperately about for an enemy at the gates, the better to distract attention from its bumbling inadequacies, last week the State Government found the distraction it sought - airconditioners!

From September 1, units with an energy efficiency rating of less than four stars will be banned, Premier Anna Bligh proudly declaring this would cut electricity costs for all Queenslanders.

Were these the costs the Government said would go down after it deregulated the industry but which keep climbing skywards?

Yep.

The same, but somehow banning some aircons will cause them to fall.

Yes, Minister.

Of course it will, Minister.

While Ms Bligh was spinning this fanciful tale like a spider on speed, those present were aware of a large grey presence in the room in the form of a metaphorical elephant being ridden by an equally metaphorical mahout, Auditor-General Glenn Poole, clutching a copy of his newly released investigation into the Government's southeast Queensland transport strategy.

As it transpired, this was one of the less demanding tasks undertaken by Poole because as he discovered, this strategy in any coherent, cohesive form does not exist.

"Oops! Bit of an oversight there. Terribly sorry. Won't happen again. Took the old eye off the ball for 10 years but don't you worry about that. We'll fix it up next week. Was there anything else?"

You cannot help but wonder what Poole thought as he dug through the top few layers of gilded Transport and Main Roads Department press releases to discover that, as he wrote in his report, "despite many activities to improve the transport network in SEQ, renewed efforts to address the critical issue of urban congestion and high levels of spending on transport infrastructure, the expected outcomes might not be realised".

Put another way the Government is running around in circles with a buckets of borrowed money screaming "Infrastructure, infrastructure! Anyone want some infrastructure?" in a frantic attempt to address the problems it has watched multiply for the past decade.

Incredibly, neither Bligh nor any of the well-fed and watered Sir Humphreys who trail along behind her has a plan.

They can deny this is the case but Poole was unequivocal, his findings revealing what has been evident to anyone who regularly attempts to drive anywhere in this city between 6am and 6pm.

Poole wrote he "found no framework or leadership to share data between entities and no shared data base to provide a complete picture about urban congestion in SEQ. The inconsistencies in data collection are highlighted by the scarcity of data collection by DoT (Department of Transport) between 1993 and 2004". Apparently, for 11 years none of the highly paid mandarins in the Department of Transport thought it would be helpful to collect statistics on rising urban traffic congestion.

Poole also did what no one in the State Government, sitting back in their Executive Building offices and calculating their super entitlements, has bothered to do ? he looked out the window.

On doing this he saw the single railway bridge spanning the Brisbane River.

"Peak period overcrowding on buses and trains is increasing . . . this situation is exacerbated by the fact that rail transport is restricted by the Merivale St rail bridge across the Brisbane River that must cater for all north- and south-bound passengers and freight," he wrote.

Alleviate pressure on the commuter rail service by building another bridge? Brilliant! Has the Government a plan to do this? Well, no Minister, not exactly, which is not to say in the fullness of time and taking all things into account and given changing circumstance blah, blah, blah.

Poole's report runs to some length but throughout, the message is as constant as it is clear and it is this. There is a lack of leadership at a ministerial level. The public service runs itself and feeds the ministers on what it thinks they need to know.

"Well done, Minister. What a splendid idea, Minister. Wise decision, Minister."

Try this. It was decided to develop a strategy document, with short, medium and long-term measures for Cabinet's consideration that focused on tackling urban congestion. This was to be finished a year ago and there's still no sign of it.

The report lists other high-level strategy plans that were supposed to be pursued but just lapsed, forgotten in some bureaucrat's in-tray, one sitting there for five years.

Sitting atop this steaming pile of bureaucratic inaction, inefficiency and incompetence are two newly appointed ministers, Transport Minister Rachel Nolan and Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace.

Their response when presented with Poole's report last week was to perspire freely in front of the TV cameras, dodge questions and repeat that they welcomed its findings, their expressions indicating they welcomed them in the same way a person might welcome the news they had bubonic plague.

God knows what the ministers and their forelock-tugging senior bureaucrats do all day. One thing we know they are not doing is running the state.

Whose fault is it?

No one's, of course.

Blame it on the global financial crisis, climate change and swine flu and let's go to lunch.

[ozbob]

From the Courier Mail click here!

Building cost projections 'flawed', says auditor-general

Building cost projections 'flawed', says auditor-general
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Patrick Lion

July 01, 2009 12:00am

ANNA Bligh's building program has been slammed again with another report finding poor planning was risking cost blowouts and short-changing taxpayers.

In his third critical report in as many weeks, Auditor-General Glenn Poole yesterday identified a severe communication breakdown between departments that left them applying different methodologies to several similar policy areas.

The report found agencies were risking inaccurate cost projections and blowouts by using different methods to calculate the true cost of projects several years away from completion.

Mr Poole also found the same inconsistency was causing large project land resumptions to be leased back to landholders below market rates and for as little as $1000 a year.

The whole-of-government report comes after damning individual audits of Queensland Health and Transport and Main Roads departments and casts doubt on the billions being spent on water, road and hospital projects.

The report has also foreshadowed a future focus on the Rudd Government's stimulus package after departments were asked to spend money in short time frames.

It also found a risk to the security of personal information with IT systems protecting sensitive data only comparable to those of a medium-sized business and not that required by a government agency.

Ms Bligh yesterday said it was the role of the auditor-general to find problems and recommend improvements. "I understand this report does that and we'll certainly be looking at it very closely," she said.

The report found Education Queensland's OneSchool initiative, which profiles every state school student on an intranet, had no clear directions to deliver it on-time, within scope or on-budget. It was estimated to cost $45 million but had a current price tag of $97 million.

Opposition Leader John-Paul Langbroek said the report highlighted the appalling mismanagement of the Premier and her ministers.

"The Bligh Labor Government can't manage their way out of a paper bag," he said.

[ozbob]

"The Bligh Labor Government can't manage their way out of a paper bag," he said.

[Stillwater]

It is worthwhile reading the Auditor-General's report and asking whether much has changed in two years.

http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Documents/TableOffice/TabledPapers/2009/5309T463.pdf