I will change my vote for transport
Today, first the first time in a long, long time, both The Daily Telegraph and Sydney Morning Herald led with NSW's transport crisis.
It's time for lightrail in the city. It's time for heavy rail to the outer north-west and south-west. It's time for normal ticket prices on the airport line. It's time for integrated, electronic ticketing. It's time for secure bicycle parking at train stations. It's time to connect people across Sydney to jobs and universities that are near the city without craming everyone into cars and buses and killing us all with global warming. It's time for leadership.
The newspapers can rattle the chains, but I fear that NSW Labor thinks if they ignore it long enough it will go away. And they could be right, so let's not let them ignore us.
That's why I pledge, today, that I will change my vote for transport. I have been a life-long Labor voter. Every election since I was 18, I have either voted Labor or voted minority (Green/Democrat) and given my preferences to Labor ahead of the Liberals. But in the coming election, if the NSW Liberals present a credible integrated public transport policy and Labor still hasn't begun implementing basic concepts that Carr first began discussing almost a decade ago, I will do the unthinkable and vote Liberal.
But this will only work if it's a mass movement. If you're willing to do the same, forward this as an email or write this as a blog post. If the momentum builds and we get a real movement, my vote is up for grabs.
8 Comments:
Wait! Better idea: move enough people to change their vote from Labor to Democrat/Green and maybe we could get a credible future public transport policy and a government prepared to commit to implementing it immediately.
Too great a risk that voting Liberal would deliver the same incompetence and arrogance we see in NSW government today, with the added disadvantages of ugly fascist policies on crime, drugs and race relations.
The only problem is, NSW Labor would not be mortified if a number of Labor voters became Green-with-Labor-preferences voters. Of course it matters for appearances and they'd rather we voted Labor, but in the end Labor preferences are still a vote for Labor not the Liberals. Only if Labor knows they have something to lose will they finally invest in our future.
Steven,
I think it's healthy that at 18 people vote Labor or minority. It's amazing how things change as you get older.
I have just been selected as the Liberal Candidate for the new seat of Sydney which covers Chippendale. This would have been beyond my imagination as an 18 year old (with very long hair).
Tired of all the talk fests, I believe I can help move Sydney onto the front foot.
Today, Sydney is the capital of Australia’s poorest performing state. It's in a transport and infrastructure crisis.
This is the result of over a decade of Labor government neglect and local part time representation confined to poking holes in the ideas of the government of the day.
If elected I will have the opportunity to be initiating and driving well thought out solutions. To be elected I need to win over labor and minority voters. I hope to meet the people of Chippendale soon.
Steven,
I think it's healthy that at 18 people vote Labor or minority. It's amazing how things change as you get older.
I have just been selected as the Liberal Candidate for the new seat of Sydney which covers Chippendale. This would have been beyond my imagination as an 18 year old (with very long hair).
Tired of all the talk fests, I believe I can help move Sydney onto the front foot.
Today, Sydney is the capital of Australia’s poorest performing state. It's in a transport and infrastructure crisis.
This is the result of over a decade of Labor government neglect and local part time representation confined to poking holes in the ideas of the government of the day.
If elected I will have the opportunity to be initiating and driving well thought out solutions. To be elected I need to win over labor and minority voters. I hope to meet the people of Chippendale soon.
Welcome to the world of politics, Edward. I know your work from your time at the helm of the Australian Computer Society.
I'm pleased that you found my blog, though I strongly urge you to enable comments and TrackBack on yours.
I was a bit put off by your comment about voting Labor at 18. I've been voting Labor since I was 18, right up to the last election. The reason I am thinking of ditching NSW Labor (but not Federal Labor) at the next election is not that I've grown up (the apparent implication) but because NSW Labor has grown old. In fact, if you believe in the old left/right categories, you could say that the Labor Right, which dominates NSW Labor as far as I can see, is to the right of the Liberal wets in this state. Hence my post.
But put all of this to one side. My vote is still up for grabs. If you want it, don't tow the party line -- hit NSW Labor where they're really failing us Basix, transport, etc. Good luck!
Thanks Steven,
I am planning to conduct a transport forum with the community hopefully in August.
I met with the Shadow Minister for Transport Barry O'Farrell yesterday and he is keen on this idea.
Send me your e-mail address and I will make sure you are invited.
I have also been active with the Chippendale community on the CUB development. A number of Chippendale community leaders went with me earlier this week to meet with the shadow planning Minister Chris Hartcher.
Unfortunately Chippendale is a victim of Labor's big business friends and Clover Moore bundling her local member and Lord Mayor role into one.
We have a plan of action for the community and one of the suggestions was potentially using your blog to publicise the matter. Happy to talk you through this.
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