The Victorian Transport Plan and Melbourne's Population Boom
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N e w s Public Transport Users Association www.ptua.org.au ISSN 0817–0347 Volume 33 No. 5 December 2009 The Victorian Transport Plan and Melbourne's Population Boom It has taken barely two years for one of the biggest shifts in trains, and not a broader vision to make our transport sus- the Victorian public transport debate to occur. tainable. Sure enough, much of our population growth is to As recently as 2007, the State government was shoring up be accommodated in new suburbs on Melbourne’s fringe, ar- its opposition to public transport expansion with a do-little eas which the VTP says are to be provided with new motor- plan—Meeting Our Transport Challenges—that was chiefly ways on the one hand, and hourly bus services on the other. about hosing down expectations of major public transport Clearly, ongoing car dependence for the vast majority of Mel- improvements. The attitude of the government was most burnians is “all part of the plan”: not just today but also in clearly expressed by Director of Public Transport Jim Betts 2030, and indeed in 2100 if the laws of physics permit. in a widely-reported statement in October 2005, that there The good news, however, is that desire for better public trans- was no intention to build any new urban rail lines in the next port, and awareness of the need to change old habits, is not decade. So, while the ‘MOTC’ plan released in 2006 did restricted to peak-hour commuters. This attitude shift has promise new orbital bus routes and some catch-up work on not yet bitten the government, which has yet to sustain polit- the existing rail system, there were few actual additions to ical damage on this wider front, thanks to its ability to hold public transport services. expectations at a miserably low level. But next year’s State Since 2007, however, the government has been seriously election will be the first to take place in this new ‘growth wrong-footed by train and tram patronage growth that it did era’ for public transport. Voters, many of whom have lived not expect, did not plan for, and in fact actively planned in other places and know good public transport when they against (by scrapping surplus Hitachi trains and Z class trams see it, will not let do-little bureaucrats and politicians off the between 2001 and 2005). Faced with substantial political hook forever. damage at the hands of angry commuters, the government has Shoring up car use on the Peninsula =) Page6 had to rethink—if ever so slightly—its stance against service expansion. The Victorian Transport Plan, released in Jan- In this issue uary this year, was its response. Outwardly, it signalled a new era of major rail construction and expansion of service. Victorian Transport Plan, one year on....... 1 Keeping in touch................... 2 Yet behind the spin and glamour of its big project announce- AGM report...................... 2 ments, the old do-little attitude remains. The main benefi- Members' meeting.................. 2 ciaries of the big projects are peak-hour commuters to the Climate action heats up............... 3 CBD—the one ‘market segment’ where the mode-share bat- Summer trains..................... 3 tle is already won. Virtually nothing is said about boosting Clearways vs. real tram priority........... 4 off-peak services, or improving the network that connects Myki update...................... 5 people to places other than the city centre. One of the orbital Buy another ticket.................. 5 Smartbus routes promised in MOTC in 2006 has been qui- Periodicals left for dead............... 5 etly cancelled, and another shortened. And six months after Geelong branch.................... 6 the Regional Rail Link gained Federal funding, its supposed Frankston / Peninsula campaign........... 6 users still do not know how it is supposed to operate. In brief......................... 6 Recently, a new dimension has been added to the debate: the Henry Tax Review.................. 7 question of how to accommodate the huge forecast growth in Movember at the PTUA............... 7 Melbourne’s population. But it is this question that reveals Volunteers sought.................. 7 how limited the ‘VTP’ really is—that it’s really just a polit- ical response to angry peak-hour commuters in overcrowded PTUA News—December 2009—Page 1 Keeping in touch: Committee Member Meetings Daniel Bowen—President Melbourne PTUA Office Tony Morton—Secretary Dates / times as advised Ross House Kerryn Wilmot—Treasurer Ross House 247 Flinders Lane, Melbourne Michael Galea 247 Flinders Lane, City Telephone (03) 9650 7898 Ian Hundley More details: see below Email: [email protected] Mark Johnson Eastern Suburbs Membership Enquiries Jason King Third Tuesday of every month, 7pm Call or email the office (see above). Tim Long ‘The Barn’ (behind Box Hill Baptist Rob Meredith Church) Commuter Club Tim Petersen PTUA members can obtain cheap 3 Ellingworth Parade (off Station St) David Robertson Box Hill yearly Metcards. See www.ptua. Vaughan Williams org.au/members/offers. Geelong Branch convenors Internet First Saturday of every month (except Paul Westcott—Geelong Jan), 10:30am Our website is at www.ptua.org.au. Jeremy Lunn—Eastern Suburbs The PTUA runs email lists for mem- Multimedia Room ber discussions, and to stay up to date Courthouse Youth Arts Centre with PTUA events. Members can Contact Corner Gheringhap and Little Malop also view archived newsletters online. All committee members can be Streets, Geelong See: www.ptua.org.au/members/ emailed using the format firstname. resources. [email protected]. PTUA Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting of the members (listed above), Paul Westcott PTUA took place at Ross House on will continue as convenor of the Gee- Members' Monday 9 November. The highlight long Branch, and Jeremy Lunn will con- meeting: of the meeting was a video montage of tine to convene our Eastern Suburbs news clips and other media coverage of branch. 14 December the PTUA’s activities. Members were Following the formal business of the Our final members’ meeting for the invited to count the number of times the AGM, there was a period of general year takes place on Monday 14 De- ‘Myki machine falls apart’ clip was re- discussion in which the Committee an- cember, at 6pm at Ross House. In used in the year’s news bulletins! swered questions from members. Most keeping with the spirit of the season As the number of nominations for member questions focussed on the new there will be light refreshments, and PTUA Committee was equal to the Myki system, about which there is the opportunity to discuss issues of number of positions available, there clearly a lot of uncertainty—see articles concern to members. was no election held this year. The on page5 of this issue. Meetings are open to PTUA financial Committee welcomed two new mem- members only, but we encourage you bers, Michael Galea and Ian Hundley, Ample finger food and drinks rounded to bring a friend and sign them up on and farewelled retiring members Myles out the evening. Many thanks to our the night! Green, Bronwen Merner and Fiona Rae. dedicated Committee caterers for help- The meeting schedule will be chang- ing make this a success. ing for 2010: more details next issue. In addition to the elected Committee PTUA News—December 2009—Page 2 Climate action heats up A few short days after this newsletter is and internationally. Kevin Rudd was tile Senate. On one hand the Greens of- published, world leaders will gather in named personally by the G77 group of fered to support the bill provided that Copenhagen to thrash out a new global developing nations who criticised the emission targets were strengthened to agreement to curb greenhouse gas emis- failure of developed nations to commit bring them into line with those recom- sions. At the time of writing, expecta- to an emissions reduction target “that mended by scientists. On the other tions are being actively managed down- saves the world,”—that is, at least 40% hand, those Liberals who want a CPRS wards, with leaders at the recent APEC below 1990 levels by 2020. at all have demanded additional com- meeting in Singapore suggesting only pensation for polluting industries (on Australia’s ‘unconditional’ offer of only a “political agreement” many emerge top of proposed reductions in fuel ex- 5% compares very poorly to pledges of from Copenhagen, with legally-binding cise) and a permanent exemption for up to 40% by 2020 by European nations details to follow in 2010—perhaps. agriculture. The Nationals, and many such as Norway. Meanwhile, our ‘con- Liberal Senators, continue to show lit- According to some commentators, fail- ditional’ offer of up to 25% contains so tle inclination to support the CPRS in ure to conclude a binding agreement many escape clauses that many analysts any form. Amid the farce playing out in in December 2009 may be a blessing suggest it is meaningless. For example, Canberra, science-based targets seem to in disguise. Author of the landmark the offer is conditional upon (among be all but forgotten. 2006 report for the British government other things) “global action which mo- on the economics of climate change, bilises greater financial resources;” yet Australians who are concerned Nicholas Stern, told the Financial Times development agencies such as Oxfam about the lack of commitment to that he would “much prefer a frame- accuse the Australian government itself ensuring a safe climate will have work that had to be filled in [next year] of holding back on financing climate an opportunity to show their frus- than something agreed with weak tar- change adaptation in developing coun- tration at the Walk against Warm- gets that would be difficult to unravel.” tries.