Do you support a call for the resignation of Mr Neil Scales DG DTMR?

[ozbob]

Public transport is in a failure state in Queensland.  CRR limps along, NGR project seriously compromised, Redcliffe Peninsula Line problems hidden from public assessment.  TransLink and Queensland Rail failures. 

The only thing that has gone reasonably well is the light rail on the Gold Coast, but the rest of the public transport in SEQ is a diabolical mess (including Gold Coast bus to a large degree).

Ever since Mr Scales arrived on the scene it has been a steady path of increasing failure.

I think it is time Mr Scales did the right thing and resigned.  We need a complete change if the mess is to be addressed. 

[#Metro]

You need to change the game, not just the players in the game.

Mr Scales is quite limited in what he can do. He was only seconded to QR to hold the fort while Mr Easy was recruited.

I am very much disappointed that Andy Byford from the TTC did not take the job as I have no doubt that a "big gun" like that would have

fixed the mess pronto.

The fix for this mess is of course:

- Get rid of the board and ELT

- Set up PTQ as an asset owner and contract administrator (No direct or in-house operations). Remove PT from TMR.

- Subject ALL PT operators (private and public) to competitive tendering. Those who cannot or do not perform - fire them and get someone else.

Currently, TMR/TransLink has to keep renewing QR's contract irrespective or performance.
Replacing Mr Scales will not change any of that.

Possible Reasons why gov't is running with Easter Timetable

Ignoring RPL shuttles (I'll leave Mr Easy and Mr Scales to explain the logic behind avoiding that) I suspect that:

- the escalated cost of drivers during a public holiday (public holidays attract penalty rates/overtime IIRC) makes "do absolute minimum" very attractive to the politicians and QR's budget.

- Easter has low patronage (and even lower patronage if you scare people away by telling them almost no services will be running) so any cancellations will affect a few people and the fallout from a PR perspective will be much less than Christmas #RailFail.

- the financial hole left behind due to a long track record of multiple cost explosions due to #RailFail and free transport to make up for that also incentivises "do absolute minimum" from the gov't perspective. I suspect they really really want to stop any more cash flowing out of the QR Budget which is looking more and more like water spilling over Wivenhoe Dam's floodgates.

- many QR staff would themselves be on Easter Holiday I expect. I imagine this would cause a domino effect with overtime. The cancellations the weekend before Easter is probably an exercise in freeing up space for overtime for the subsequent (Easter) weekend. Failure to do that might see services cancelled during the week which is obviously forbidden territory.

- It is very hard to screw up a train operation that has barely any trains on it (plus the OTP and service availability metrics will all show 100% and 100% - amazing!!).

The one thing I have not been able to explain here is the hourly timetable being randomised (i.e. non-clockface). Maybe they just ran an optimisation and the cheapest option that minimised break times was the non-clockface one?? I honestly have no idea what the explanation behind that is.

Even if QR eventually does recover back to normal timetable competitive tendering should still be brought in.
You want to make sure that a return to low standards is permanently blocked off with enforceable consequences.

[ozbob]

Time for change.  I met with Mr Scales in November and I was given certain commitments, which in the main never materialised. 
I ( and by inference all of you ) were used.

Mr Scales made comments at the recent QR CRG which indicates he is more interested in spin than reality.

Failure has been a constant companion of Mr Scales.  Time he moved on IMHO.

Massive salary for overseeing failure on so many levels.  Not acceptable any more IMHO.  DGs must perform.

Mr Scales was A/CEO when this latest timetable abomination was hatched.  I can accept hourly services for Easter, but cannot accept moving from clock-face times and smashing bus/rail connections.  It is a level of contempt that is breathtaking, and will certainly prove very very costly in political terms.

[ozbob]

Queensland Rail is not providing adequate service levels this weekend or Easter. Simple fact.  Easter Saturday, Sunday and Monday are busy times.

This coming weekend is a normal retail activity weekend.  Some universities have examinations as well.

They need to be replaced with an organisation or a management team that will deliver the goods.  Even Adelaide does better!   

Transport is an essential community service, many people are going to impacted by this shambolic timetable.

Does anyone really think that 2 hour frequency on the Sunshine Coast is adequate?  If you do, I suggest you leave this forum.

Mr Metro: there are plenty of situations where staff work 24/7, 365 days a year.  I did myself as a medical scientist.  It is a matter of having rostering systems that are adequate.  Queensland Rail clearly doesn't !

Your beloved Metro is running 10 minute trains in Melbourne over Easter (thank god I will be there and away from this mess), they seem to be able to manage rostering.

[#Metro]

Your beloved Metro is running 10 minute trains in Melbourne over Easter (thank god I will be there and away from this mess), they seem to be able to manage rostering.

And if Metro does a bad job, they will be fired. As it should be when they - or any other business - does a bad job.

Even politicians get fired at elections if they do a bad job. QR has guaranteed business no matter what - it doesn't make sense.

Maybe you should drop into METRO HQ and ask to see Andrew Lezala. Get a photo with him and put it up on Twitter. Ping Trad and Annastacia.

I can just see the caption: "Hey Deputy Premier, just chatting to rival train operator about how bad QLD train services are. Getting desperate here!!"

[Mr X]

Nope. What use will replacing Mr. Scales achieve if it's the board that's the issue?

[ozbob]

Nope. What use will replacing Mr. Scales achieve if it's the board that's the issue?

It is the entire upper echelons ..  got to start somewhere ..

[techblitz]

Failure has been a constant companion of Mr Scales.  Time he moved on IMHO.

agreed ozbob....he hasn't actually achieved anything positive as of 2012 when he left merseytravel and moved to TL/TMR.
his linked-in profile clearly shows that...he lists his achievements at Mersey(did have 'some' success there).....then for the next 2 entries.....simply describes the organisation and that's it.....

I think he has an issue when dealing with politicians/other organisations.....none more evident than 'copping it sweet' when translink was shunted down to the powerless organisation we see today.....failed to secure more funds for problem routes like the 522 or early finishing routes on the gold coast.....does anyone have any evidence that he argued for more funds or at least put up a fight when translink was shunted?

But Merseytravel had believed it could be improved further if the transport authority was given power over the track from Network Rail, known as vertical integration.

Merseytravel spent £1.5m investigating the plan, but the Labour-run authority performed a U-turn on the policy in June saying it was no longer convinced it was a good idea.

The U-turn is thought to have driven a wedge between chairman Cllr Dowd and Mr Scales, although this was denied as the reason for his departure.

The low point of Mr Scales' tenure will be the £70m spent on the failed Merseytram scheme without a single piece of track being laid.

The authority borrowed £50m, and is spending almost £5m each year to pay off the debt.

The Audit Commission said if Merseytravel and Liverpool council had been able to work together, the scheme could have succeeded.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/merseytravel-chief-executive-neil-scales-3357586

[ozbob]

Spot on TB.    Sometimes it is best to call it as it is.  Limping along as we do in Queensland at present is not getting us anywhere.

[BrizCommuter]

Failure to foresee RailFail
Poor management of Xmas, SSHTT, and Easter timetables
NGR project failure
MBRL signalling failure

He's gotta go!

[ozbob]

Indeed.  I am calling it ... 

[ozbob]

Failure to foresee RailFail
Poor management of Xmas, SSHTT, and Easter timetables
NGR project failure
MBRL signalling failure

He's gotta go!

And he did state the 2017 timetable was it for the year.  What's next?  4 hour trains on the Sunny Coast, 2 hourly everywhere else?

[techblitz]

Failure to foresee RailFail
Poor management of Xmas, SSHTT, and Easter timetables
NGR project failure
MBRL signalling failure

He's gotta go!

also oversaw paul pluta gagging/foi requests
oversaw the board who were purposely withholding boardroom meeting documents from mr Strachan......forcing the premier to hold a 'please xplain' with QR

[ozbob]

DTMR is at the apex of failure.

[BrizCommuter]

Failure to foresee RailFail
Poor management of Xmas, SSHTT, and Easter timetables
NGR project failure
MBRL signalling failure

He's gotta go!

also oversaw paul pluta gagging/foi requests
oversaw the board who were purposely withholding boardroom meeting documents from mr Strachan......forcing the premier to hold a 'please xplain' with QR

I actually have a blog post coming on the lack of RTI releases related to NGR. It's one big cover up.

[Fares_Fair]

My position on this thread question.

Unequivocal YES.
He's a common thread throughout all of the transport failures.

[Arnz]

One has to ask whether DTMR should be separated back into the "Department of Transport" and "Department of Main Roads" respectively. 

[ozbob]

One has to ask whether DTMR should be separated back into the "Department of Transport" and "Department of Main Roads" respectively. 

That is exactly what we are proposing essentially Arnz.  Public Transport Queensland (similar to PTA - WA )  see > https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=12341.0

I am firmly of the belief that unless that is achieved public transport in SEQ will not improve.

[ozbob]

Your TMR DG is not too popular these days @jackietrad hey ..
> https://t.co/GP0yeHFtpJ#qldpol#stoplisteningtoboffins#listentothepunters

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) April 5, 2017

[ozbob]

" DTMR is at the apex of failure. "@TMRQld @jackietrad @AndrewPowellMP @QLDLabor @LNPQLD
> https://t.co/IT5sgXpT8E#qldpol #railfail pic.twitter.com/sHycb9xiJs

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) April 5, 2017

[ozbob]

Discussion re NGR > https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=3706.msg190552#msg190552

FYI

BrizCommuter:
NGR project - no RTI disclosure releases. Something to hide Mr Scales?
> https://t.co/pOt3l6DYh4#qldpol @jackietrad pic.twitter.com/VTG8goVUwm

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) April 5, 2017

[ozbob]

You are at the apex of failure @N_Scales_TMR
Time to do the right thing? What you think @jackietrad ?
> https://t.co/GP0yeHFtpJ#qldpol pic.twitter.com/aF3ae6twSL

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) April 6, 2017

[ozbob]

This what we think about the DGTMR @N_Scales_TMR @katejonesqld @jackietrad @AnnastaciaMP
> https://t.co/uzqOuDHAsZ#qldpol#youarewelcome pic.twitter.com/urjg82xivf

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) April 19, 2017

[mufreight]

Mr Scales should not be given the option of resigning, he should be sacked together with the Queensland Rail Board

[achiruel]

Mr Scales should not be given the option of resigning, he should be sacked together with the Queensland Rail Board

+ whatever's left of the ELT.

[ozbob]

+1 

[Mr X]

I support the full sacking of the entire QR board and Mr. Neil Scales. It's time to clean the rot out and get this mess sorted out pronto.

The Commonwealth Games are 12 months away. We can't allow another Christmas style fiasco when the world is watching SEQ.

(can't change my poll vote)

[Stillwater]

So much has happened on Mr Scales' watch.  Unprecedented.

[ozbob]

I would suggest it has been an ongoing cluster-fuk ...   

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/969706000323244032

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/LYBASkw/status/969710841560907776

[#Metro]

I wonder if some of the same feeble reasoning that I have heard applied to QR's incumbency
can also be applied to Mr Scales position?

For example:

Would there be enough competition for the DG of TMR position?

Looking at other places, the current office holder has been successful elsewhere, so we
know he can be successful, so we should sign on the current office holder again.

Let's just wait some more time (a few years, maybe an indefinite period/forever) to "see what happens"
and for the situation to improve before we open up the position to outside competition.

Changing the DG of TMR position won't change anything. You will still need a TMR and all the
staff working under them will still be the same.

There is no evidence that replacing the DG will improve TMR, what would change?

It wasn't the DG's fault, it was the government's fault, they made the changes and he just had to
follow them, so we should sign on the current office holder again.

There would be significant costs in changing the office holder, running a recruitment process,
and it would take time. It's just too much, so we should just sign on the current office holder again.

There's no guarantee that a new office holder would be any better, and it would take time for them
to get acquainted with the position.

A new office holder might ask for more money - there's no evidence the new person would cost less
, so we should just renew the current office holder again.

[Stillwater]

It is interesting to observe where Neil Scales was working, making crucial decisions within the Queensland public service, flitting between TMR, QR and TransLink, and the timing of when decisions were made. There have been a number of critical issues develop on his watch, the seriousness of which may not have been obvious to him at the time.  Invariably, a big problem develops out of seemingly unrelated smaller decisions that then compound.

Although he is one of us now, we must ponder whether Mr Scales realised fully (having emerged from the British Civil Service) the rambunctious, rough house nature of daily politics in Australia and the blurring of public administration and politics - especially in Queensland, with its Joh-era antecedents. Also, the desire of Australians to view the whole body politic cynically and warily, based upon a much earlier contempt for authority going back to convict times. Australians demand a say in their government's daily functions, preferring not to leave things, trustingly, to career public servants working behind closed doors. That is the nature of who we are.

The structure of government in Australia (three levels having interwoven responsibilities in areas such as roads and transport) must have been an eye-opener for Mr Scales.  Is not the DDA something for the federal government to administer, not a state government, he might have thought?  Or Simon Cook might have thought.  We pause to reflect whether a home-grown administrator might have been a better option.

Just like importing trains from India, bringing in public servants from overseas also has its challenges.  Some in power might be thinking that now.

[#Metro]

Although he is one of us now, we must ponder whether Mr Scales realised fully (having emerged from the British Civil Service) the rambunctious, rough house nature of daily politics in Australia and the blurring of public administration and politics - especially in Queensland, with its Joh-era antecedents

There are two main things here - reforms at QR and reforms at TMR.

Is there a blurring of the public administration and politics or are they one and the same in Queensland? Remember fluoro pink jumpsuits for The People in Jail idea? I doubt that public servants thought that one up: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/pink-prison-uniforms-for-bikies-20131021-2vvhe.html Part of the issue there is that there is no Senate to block bad ideas (Jo-Ann Miller has tried) or a proportional lower house where negotiation must take place.

QR should be decoupled from ministerial intervention by contracting it out so that it is only paid to run trains for passengers and is managed by independent people outside of gov't. IMHO that would reduce the potential for negative political interference. When a minister can write a directive and phone up Queensland Rail and say "Do this!" then there is no separation.

Many of the problems have a root in the ministerial intervention pathway - overriding CEO selection, placing pressure to approve EBAs with certain conditions another reasonable train operator might think twice (or three times) about, deciding to include staff in a mass gov't employee firing campaign, directing to run DDA-noncompliant trains and so forth.

Separation in this way means an additional layer of clear standards and enforcement - because the Queensland Government will be paying and automatic service contract renewal will no longer be guaranteed.

The second thing is TMR. There are some things that fall outside the above. The choice and design of the train, the signaling of the Kippa-Ring line. BCC bus reform failure is again partly due to the fact that BCC doesn't just respond to monetary incentives but also political ones - because it is public. (Stating the obvious here). When Council and State Government are of different stripes, then there is huge incentive to stall and play tedious games to draw things out - because why would you want your political opponent to deliver things that could then be listed as delivered achievements in their next re-election campaign against you?

Whether Mr Scales stays or goes becomes irrelevant if transport services are moved out of TMR into a separate PTQ headed by someone else. And I think that is what we should focus on - getting PT out of TMR.

[techblitz]

ippy motorway overpass bridge at goodna yesterday.....go to use the elevator......I see a sheet of paper taped to the cement at the top and bottom  reading 'elevator not working'
Seriously......this is what we have to deal with when it comes to QR/DTMR.....they cant even organise proper official signage/posters.....just two bits of paper...taped to the cement...
Hopeless...

[ozbob]

I think it is time for a nice song ... 

[Stillwater]

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/973582179497263112

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/973582904050688000

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/973594487652990976

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/973600293836406785

[Stillwater]

This quote from Mark Bailey is debatable: "The Director General and I are in complete agreement that these trains need to be rectified as quickly as possible by Queensland workers to ensure they are accessible for all Queenslanders. The necessary work to fix them is underway."

So the work is 'underway' eh?   

[ozbob]

News.com.au --> Public servants involved with procurement of Queensland's bungled $4bn new trains still hold senior positions in the State Government

TWO bureaucrats who were singled out as key players in procuring $4.4bn worth of botched trains in Queensland were given promotions and now hold senior, and very well paid, positions in the State Government.

The New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) train project is more of an ongoing laughing stock after it was discovered the new trains failed to meet legal requirements that had been on the statute books for more than a decade.

Airconditioning on the nine delivered trains, out of a total of 75 due in service, has been faulty, there are issues with the brakes and the supposedly disabled accessible toilets don't have adequate room for a wheelchair.

The Government is facing the possibility the new trains could be pulled from the tracks during next month's Commonwealth Games after the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) refused a temporary exemption for the fleet from the Disability Discrimination Act that came into effect in 2002.

Dave Stewart and Neil Scales, two public servants who headed departments involved with the procurement of the NQR fleet in the run up to the contract being signed, now hold some of the most senior civil positions in the state.

Mr Stewart is the Director General of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's Department of Premier and Cabinet while Mr Scales is the Director General of the Department of Transport and Main Roads which has been charged with sorting out the train mess.

Transport and Roads Minister Mark Bailey told news.com.au Mr Scales had his "full confidence" and laid the blame for the trains squarely with the Liberal National Party (LNP) who signed off on them when they were in power. On the contrary, the LNP said the train debacle was "100 per cent Labor's mess".

News.com.au has contacted the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

While Labor and the LNP have traded blows over who is responsible for the multi-billion dollar bungle, Robert Dow of public transport advocacy group Rail Back on Track, also pointed out the role of staff.

"It's really a crisis and extremely serious situation badly mismanaged by a number of governments and the associated bureaucracy.

"You can't expect novice politicians to be across all the details but you expect the bureaucracy to say you can't order trains that aren't compliant."

The NQR trains were ordered under the Campbell Newman led LNP Government which said they were cheaper than similar designs.

The LNP has said Labor modified the design after they took the keys to parliament. But the party has also pointed the finger at bureaucrats.

"The trains that were being delivered were trains that were actually ordered under the supervision and guidance of the Premier's hand-picked Director General Dave Stewart — he ran the procurement process," then Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls said last year, reported the ABC.

"We took advice from people like Dave Stewart and Neil Scales, Queensland Rail, the Department of Transport, and made sure we were delivering value for money for Queenslanders," he said.

The new trains were signed off in January 2014.

Mr Stewart was the head of Projects Queensland, which was involved with the train procurement, in the run up to the contract being awarded.

He had a difficult relationship with the LNP Government. Following the 2012 LNP election victory, he was axed from his role as head of the transport department and replaced by an ally of Premier Newman before being reinstated to the public service just months later.

In late 2013, Mr Stewart took up a senior role at Transport for NSW before being lured back north of the border when Ms Palaszczuk took the reins of Government in 2015. In 2016, Fairfax reported he earned $678,000 a year.

According to Mr Scales' biography on the Queensland Government website, he became Chief Executive of TransLink, the state's transport co-ordination agency, in 2012.

In March 2013, he became Director General of the transport department and in 2016 was appointed Acting Chief Executive of rail provider Queensland Rail before returning to his Director General role. He has a similarly attractive pay package.

Minister Mark Bailey told news.com.au: "Mr Scales has my full confidence. The $4.4 billion decision made to order half price trains from overseas that were not disability compliant was made by the Newman LNP government.

"The Director General and I are in complete agreement that these trains need to be rectified as quickly as possible by Queensland workers to ensure they are accessible for all Queenslanders. The necessary work to fix them is underway."

Shadow Transport Minister Steve Minnikin told news.com.au the trains problems were "100 per cent Labor's mess".

Mr Minnikin claimed an Australian manufacturer pulled out under the watch of Anna Bligh's Labor administration and so the LNP were forced to send the contract overseas.

"Labor has now been in charge of this contract for three years. They have been warned and warned about the design issues and have done nothing until the eleventh hour."

On Monday, the State Government faced the prospect of a legal injunction meaning its new trains could be laid up during the Commonwealth Games. That could prove disastrous as organisers are relying on the fleet to provide a round the clock rail service between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

The AHRC has said it will review its decision to not exempt the train from the requirements of disability laws on 16 March.

"The Government will review the details of the preliminary decision and make a submission accordingly," Mr Bailey said. "We are getting on with the job of rectifying the NGR, and working with the disability sector."

Mr Dow said the whole NQR saga was embarrassing for Queensland. "It's a massive bungle and there's been a lot of procrastination, obfuscation and gross incompetence. It's just terrible for us."