LNP Campaign Launch 4th March 2012

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Newman's bid to slay Labor dragon when he launches Liberal National Party's Queensland election campaign

[ozbob]

Late last week received this letter, twice.  It was addressed to the registered electors at our residence.

It was on official Lord Mayor letterhead and signed by the Lord Mayor dated 23 Sep 2010.  I assume all Brisbane voters received this letter.

It mentions up to 2000 express buses daily will benefit ... not sure how this will happen yet?  Does anyone?

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏ @Robert_Dow

@Campbell_Newman  Are you going to fix this deliberate misrepresentation today Campbell? --> http://t.co/Z19Z0Uwq #qldvotes more spin and bull

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Newman launches LNP campaign

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> 'I will be PM': Tony Abbott

[somebody]

So continuing silence on transport policy.

[ozbob]

I would have thought that they would have had some substance by now.  Looks like history repeating to me.

Obviously they think they are across the line and need to do nothing much at all.

Don't think the spinners would be to delighted that Brisbanetimes runs the first story re campaign launch about Abbott.  Says it all really ... lol

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Newman's family pitch at LNP launch

[ozbob]

Media release 4 March 2012

SEQ: Campbell Newman and the LNP fail to deliver an integrated transport plan for SEQ

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org), a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport passengers, wants clarity and commitment from both major political parties in tackling south east Queensland's transport woes.  In his election campaign launch today, Campbell Newman missed an opportunity to reveal his party's public transport plan, indeed, if there is one.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"Mr Newman's plans for public transport – the little he has revealed – seems out of kilter with his party's campaign slogan, which, ironically, is to put Queensland 'back on track'."

"At the LNP campaign launch today Mr Newman continued his assertion that he is big on planning for infrastructure, but is he ever going to get around to delivering other than a few items in key electorates?  He continued his road-centric approach to transport by announcing $1 billion for the Bruce Highway, but no new money for public transport."

"Providing transport infrastructure based on need and worthy outcomes, in the eyes of the LNP, seems to have been replaced by chasing votes.  This perception is reinforced by not having an overarching public transport plan on the table."

"When will we see one from the LNP?"

"We wouldn't mind so much if Mr Newman had a visionary transport plan instead of an isolated series of ad-hoc ideas, some good in themselves, but which seem disconnected from any wider transport agenda."

"While Mr Newman is big on car tunnels – the Clem 7 and TransApex road plans being stand-out projects he supports – he is less enthusiastic about the $7 billion Cross River Rail (CRR) project that will put trains in tunnels beneath the Brisbane River and significantly improve the capacity the rail system across south east Queensland.  The existing rail network will be at capacity in 2016.  LNP announcements to date merely push back the crisis by a further two years at best."

"This is not an indication of good planning, but of indecision about what to do."

"It also seems that Mr Newman can't offer an integrated transport plan for SEQ.  He merely proffers a series of slogans, of which the following are examples:

·        The LNP believes delivering infrastructure to drive economic growth and deliver services should be a primary policy objective of our State Government.

·        The LNP is committed to getting Queensland back on track in economic performance, social development and infrastructure investment and will have a real plan for our state's future.

·        We will share the proceeds of the mining boom to build roads and provide critical local infrastructure.

"Talk's cheap.  Where is the evidence of these words being converted into a costed series of infrastructure initiatives for SEQ?"

"Ironically, the LNP's announced public transport initiatives are aimed more at dislodging Labor voters than at keeping LNP supporters.  For instance, Rail Back On Track sees the duplication of the Sunshine Coast Line as the most important public transport project after Cross River Rail.

"The LNP is silent on the Sunshine Coast line though it is an integral part of a string of LNP electorates on the Sunshine Coast.  All last year, local LNP members there were busy organising petitions and staging protests in favour of an immediate start on dual tracks north of Beerburrum to Nambour."

"Rail Back On Track applauds the LNP plan for a trial of 15-minute train services off-peak on the Ferny Grove Line, but notes the line passes through the Labor-held seats of Ashgrove, Stafford and Ferny Grove.  Plans to build road overpasses of the railway line at Brackenridge and Geebung are directed at winning the Labor electorates of Aspley, Nudgee and Sandgate."

"Could it be that Mr Newman sees CRR in simplistic terms as a lavish gift to the Premier's own electorate of South Brisbane?  Mr Newman strongly supported Cross River Rail, that is until he resigned as Lord Mayor of Brisbane."

"Rail Back On Track wants the politics taken out of the debate when it comes to the provision of public transport infrastructure in Queensland.  Currently, the LNP policy harks back to the days of tricky politics during the Bjelke-Petersen reign of conservative government.  It is not a good look for the LNP."

Contact:

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

[achiruel]

"Could it be that Mr Newman sees CRR in simplistic terms as a lavish gift to the Premier's own electorate of South Brisbane?  Mr Newman strongly supported Cross River Rail, that is until he resigned as Lord Mayor of Brisbane."

Doesn't he realise that South Brisbane will not be the only electorate benefited by CRR?  It will benefit every electorate with a working rail line in SEQ.  Many of which the LNP will need to win at the election if they are to take Government.

[Mr X]

I'n in South Brisbane and CRR won't help me one iota 

[Stillwater]

In another thread, I suggested that the specialist team that worked by the CRR Business Case will, now that work has finished, be retained and put to work on other projects, such as the case for the Sunshine Coast Line duplication, which will require joint fed-state money to achieve.  This would be a worthwhile promise for a political party to make.  It will cost little, except for wages, superannuation costs and office accommodation -- something that would be allowed for in the state government budget anyway.  Such action would be consistent with Mr Newman's utterances that the LNP is better at infrastructure planning.  For the ALP, it means keeping in place something they established in the first place.

[somebody]

In another thread, I suggested that the specialist team that worked by the CRR Business Case will, now that work has finished, be retained and put to work on other projects, such as the case for the Sunshine Coast Line duplication, which will require joint fed-state money to achieve. 

I do not think so.

Sunshine Coast duplication could easily be done without Federal money.

[Fares_Fair]

"Could it be that Mr Newman sees CRR in simplistic terms as a lavish gift to the Premier's own electorate of South Brisbane?  Mr Newman strongly supported Cross River Rail, that is until he resigned as Lord Mayor of Brisbane."

Doesn't he realise that South Brisbane will not be the only electorate benefited by CRR?  It will benefit every electorate with a working rail line in SEQ.  Many of which the LNP will need to win at the election if they are to take Government.

It will not help the Sunshine Coast whilst the Beerburrum single line; freight; passenger services; long-distance services, bottleneck remains.
It's the weakest link in all of this.

The fact is, CRR makes no promise for the Sunshine Coast line, as it has for the Gold Coast and lines from the south who will hit the single 'bridge' wall in 2016.
This is why I believe that the bottleneck comes first, it's already here, has been for years.
Until it is addressed, our fate is sealed.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[achiruel]

Sunshine Coast duplication could easily be done without Federal money.

Where would the money come from?  Beerburrum-Landsborough I could believe, as that section would be (relatively speaking) quite cheap, but beyond that will be megabuck$, due to all the tunneling/cutting needed.

[Fares_Fair]

Sunshine Coast duplication could easily be done without Federal money.

Where would the money come from?  Beerburrum-Landsborough I could believe, as that section would be (relatively speaking) quite cheap, but beyond that will be megabuck$, due to all the tunneling/cutting needed.

It's a federal issue, insofar as it is part of a national north south freight corridor.
That should attract federal funding under Infrastructure Australia.
If a Brisbane Cycleway can be eligible for it, why can't a significant rail route.

Beerburrum to Landsborough was contracted to be built for $300 million.
Landsborough to Nambour has only cost estimates from a 2009 report, derived via a QoN from Andrew Powell, at my behest, believed to be about $1.8 billion, for the reasons you specify, it's also aerial.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[somebody]

It will not help the Sunshine Coast whilst the Beerburrum single line; freight; passenger services; long-distance services, bottleneck remains.
It's the weakest link in all of this.

The fact is, CRR makes no promise for the Sunshine Coast line, as it has for the Gold Coast and lines from the south who will hit the single 'bridge' wall in 2016.
This is why I believe that the bottleneck comes first, it's already here, has been for years.
Until it is addressed, our fate is sealed.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

It most certainly has the potential help the Sunshine Coast, in the sense of removing Albion, Wooloowin, Toombul and Nundah passengers from the trains and speeding up the services by removing those stops, as SurfRail pointed out in another thread.

[Fares_Fair]

It will not help the Sunshine Coast whilst the Beerburrum single line; freight; passenger services; long-distance services, bottleneck remains.
It's the weakest link in all of this.

The fact is, CRR makes no promise for the Sunshine Coast line, as it has for the Gold Coast and lines from the south who will hit the single 'bridge' wall in 2016.
This is why I believe that the bottleneck comes first, it's already here, has been for years.
Until it is addressed, our fate is sealed.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

It most certainly has the potential help the Sunshine Coast, in the sense of removing Albion, Wooloowin, Toombul and Nundah passengers from the trains and speeding up the services by removing those stops, as SurfRail pointed out in another thread.

Wow, and for just $7.3 billion.
Sarcasm there, not directed at anyone, just the situation.

[ozbob]

I think most people here agree the situation with the Sunshine Coast Line is most unsatisfactory.
 
Cross River Rail is essential step to allow improved services on the Sunshine Coast Line as much as the duplication north of Beerburrum itself,  and the entire network. 

The Sunshine Coast community has been treated poorly by both Government and Opposition, but that is not a valid reason to not proceed with Cross River Rail. 

[Stillwater]

Apparently, Mr Newman pledged $18 million to public transport in his campaign speech.  $18 million for PT versus $1 billion for the Bruce Highway.  We can only hope that there will be further announcements that will address the imbalance, rail versus road.

[ozbob]

The $18 million is the notional 'cost' of the Ferny Grove frequency line upgrade.  Nothing new at all.

[Fares_Fair]

It most certainly has the potential help the Sunshine Coast, in the sense of removing Albion, Wooloowin, Toombul and Nundah passengers from the trains and speeding up the services by removing those stops, as SurfRail pointed out in another thread.

Wow, and for just $7.3 billion.
Sarcasm there, not directed at anyone, just the situation.

The CRR is funded entirely by the state will probably deplete the state of any spare cash to fund the Sunny Coast line and NCL upgrade and other projects for more than a few years. But likewise without the capacity to move more traffic through the city, where will the extra traffic from NCL/SCL traffic run to in peak. If the project(s) were done and not CRR, benefit in off-peak yes, benefit in peak no.

Unless of course NCL trains come into/out of RS Plat 10 from Normanby?

regards
Shane

CRR cannot possibly be funded by the state in its entirety, as ozbob has said,  it is after all a project of national significance.
The state expects the commonwealth to take primary responsibility for all of its IA projects, not just CRR. (refer correspondence from Andrew Fraser to Anthony Albanese of 11 November, 2011.)

The state has made no actual commiment to fund CRR until it is in surplus.
That will be a surplus of a mere $60 million in 2014/15.

Regards,
Fares-Fair.

[somebody]

Re: funding.  It's just a matter of priorities.

I'd be pretty surprised if IA agreed to fund 100% of it, even in the initial stages.

[Stillwater]

The cat and mouse game is whether (or when) the federal Minister, Mr Albanese stands beside Anna Bligh and announces funding (at whatever level or however configured) for CRR.  Maybe that is when Campbell Newman will reveal his cross-river solution.  The trouble is, if it is a substantially different project than CRR, it goes to the back of the queue for IA assessment and funding -- potentially another five years that Queensland does not have given the impending capacity constraints on the Merivale Bridge.

The other problem for the LNP is that it will have a concept design for a "cross river rail solution" (but not CRR), 15-min off-peak on the Ferny Grove line, a couple of rail overpasses, and a few other bits and pieces, possibly on the Gold Coast, and its commitment to transport components of the Commonwealth Games as its 'public transport policy'.  It doesn't hold together and there is nothing integrated about it.  Nothing about the trains meeting the buses, for instance.

Is the LNP committed to Translink, or does it have ideas of a changed or expanded role for Translink?

Voters need to have answers around PT, and not just spin three or four days out from the poll, when the LNP might hope it can skate across the line without too much scrutiny.  I will go spare if Mr Newman continues to tell me that only the LNP has a plan for more efficient and cost-effective ways of providing public transport.

[Fares_Fair]

When is the IA annoucement due anyway?

If IA decided to fund CRR to the orginal request which I think was around 2/3 to 3/4 of total cost. I don't see Newman going against this because his alt idea is a solution which is trying to provide a shorth term solution for a fraction of the cost and merely an upgrade so it probably won't be suitable for IA funding anyway.

Anyway, I don't know why we are all worried as it looks like the CRR is going to fall outside the current term of the next govenment, Anna has said not until 2014-15, Newman has said not affordable at this time and unlikely for a few years yet which probably means 2015-2016, almost at or past next election and 2.5-3 years is a very longtime in politics and policy.

The only real unknown is IA at this time and until IA make a decision it matters little what Newman or Anna want to do and the decision either way will ultimately determine what will happen.

regards
Shane

Last sentence true.
What is the source for the request for 2/3 to 3/4 of the cost please?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.