| Commuters continue to suffer Labor pains |
| Written by CanDo Team | |||||
| Wednesday, 06 February 2008 | |||||
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The Labor Party has continued to struggle with the Public Transport
portfolio, as the latest bus full figures show yet another increase
from last year, Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said today. Last January, 266 buses were too full to pick up passengers. That number blew out to 352 last month, an increase of 32 per cent. “Victoria Newton has clearly struggled with her portfolio since Labor wrested control from Cr Graham Quirk in a grubby power grab in 2006,” he said. “And things will only get worse if they remain at the helm of Brisbane’s public transport network.” Cr Newman said Labor would reach deep into Brisbane ratepayers’ pockets to fund its flawed bus plan, announced on the weekend, while other south-east Queenslanders reaped the benefits. State Labor Transport Minister John Mickel has announced they will fund 90 new buses each year, leaving a shortfall of 30 buses to meet the Labor’s publicised acquisition targets. Under Labor’s plan, Brisbane City Council would take up the burden of the operating cost of 30 new buses every year – that’s 120 over four years. “That will have a cumulative affect, which will cost ratepayers $6 million in the first year, $12 million in the second year, $18 million in the third year and $24 million in the fourth year,” Cr Newman said. “I want to see more buses on the road, but I also want to see the State live up to its responsibility to fund the operational costs of those buses.” The Lord Mayor said under existing arrangements, TransLink was responsible for funding public transport services. So their insistence that Brisbane ratepayers subsidise other south-east Queensland residents was patently unfair. “Brisbane ratepayers already spend about $200 million on public transport every year, in stark contrast to other councils in the region,” he said. “Pine Rivers doesn’t pay a cent. Redcliffe doesn’t pay a cent. Logan doesn’t pay a cent. Ipswich doesn’t pay a cent. Caboolture and Beaudesert don’t pay a cent. Only the Gold Coast chips in about $10 million.” Cr Newman said the State Government was shirking its responsibility and it had found some willing allies within Brisbane City Council’s ranks. “The Labor councillors appear to be rolling over to their George Street masters,” he said. “This shows how vital it is that I have a united team behind me after next month’s election, otherwise Brisbane’s council chambers will be overrun with State Government lapdogs. “It’s clear the State Labor Government is more interested in getting their Labor colleagues into council so they can exert their control over Brisbane City Council, rather than working with me to deliver services.”
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