Posts Tagged election campaign
Sydney long-term train ticket cuts on track
Posted by Malcolm in Uncategorized on May 31, 2011
Updated may 30, 2011 15:26:00
The new South Wales Government is following through on its promise to reduce the price for longer-term tickets for Sydney train commuters.
Premier Barry O’Farrell says the price of all monthly, quarterly and yearly train tickets on the CityRail network will be cut by 9 per cent from July 1.
Commuters buying monthly rail tickets to the city from outlying areas such as Gosford, Wollongong and Springwood will save the most, at $20 a month or $240 a year.
At the other end of the spectrum monthly tickets to the city will be $9 a month cheaper from Chatswood and $11 a month cheaper from Strathfield.
The discount will also apply to MyMulti tickets from combined train, bus and ferry travel.
The announcement means many commuters will save more than was promised by the Coalition during the March election campaign.
The Premier says the measure is a small step to ease cost of living pressures for Sydneysiders.
“The July 1 ticket price cuts will reward regular commuters, provide an incentive for others to use the train system, but it will also help cut the lengthy Monday morning ticket buying queues at suburban stations,” Mr O’Farrell said.
“There’s no doubt that people who live in Sydney and other parts of new South Wales face higher costs of living pressures.
“It’s one of the reasons we were keen to deliver rail ticket cuts, but it also highlights the need for federal funds, particularly for infrastructure.”
Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian says cheaper tickets will encourage more people to catch a train to work, and the network can cope.
“This policy that we’ve announced today goes hand-in-hand with our other initiatives we’ve announced, such as bringing back 135 weekly rail services,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“We also know from the most recent RailCorp report that unfortunately there were more than a million fewer trips taken that year than the previous year.
“We want to encourage people back onto the rail network, we want to encourage people back onto public transport.”
But a transport researcher from the University of Sydney doubts the measure will increase passenger numbers.
David Hensher is the director of the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies.
He says the evidence suggests passenger numbers will increase by less than one per cent.
“The concern with many people who do not use rail is the lack of service, ie reliability, getting to and from it, crowding and so on,” Professor Hensher said.
“Any drop in fares, while it might be welcomed, is not going to necessarily have much impact on getting people out of their cars.”
First posted may 30, 2011 08:47:00
<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/30/3230290.htm?site=newcastletag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/30/3230290.htm?site=newcastleSun, 29 May 2011 23:21:53 GMT 00:00″>Sydney long-term train ticket cuts on track
Greens MP mum on Jewish stance
Posted by Malcolm in Uncategorized on April 3, 2011
INCOMING Greens MP James Parker yesterday stayed silent.
He refused to answer claims he had made inflammatory comments about Jewish people when discussing the NSW Greens’s proposed boycott of Israeli goods.
Mr Parker, who on Saturday claimed victory in the seat of Balmain in Sydney’s inner west, was quoted by online magazine new Matilda that the boycott, divestment and sanctions policy supported by some Greens had made many Jewish people unreasonable, while even "progressive Jews" had failed to have a moderate response. "These Jews provide cover for extreme actions if they occur," Mr Parker said.
"if there’s a sniff of you being critical of Israel, such Jews will attack you and cut you loose."
Mr Parker said the BDS policy had provoked aggression among Jewish people and that during the election campaign he received hate mail, his car was vandalised and campaign signs were spray-painted with swastikas.
"one letter said I wanted to turn Balmain power station into a gas chamber and the light rail would take people there," Mr Parker is claimed to have told new Matilda.
"Lefty Jews told me you can’t be surprised if extreme people do extreme things, but they wouldn’t come out in public and condemn it."
The national secretary of the Australian Workers Union, Paul Howes, writing in yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph, claimed Mr Parker denied making the statements to journalist Antony Loewenstein.
Loewenstein did not respond to the Australian’s request for comment yesterday.
The Australian has made repeated attempts to contact Mr Parker since Friday, but he has not returned calls, nor did either of the Greens’ key spokeswomen in NSW, Allison Orme and Susie Gemmell, persuade him to do so.
Mr Parker’s win over Liberal candidate James Falk and former Labor education minister Verity Firth makes him the first Greens MP in the lower house.
After preferences, Mr Parker won 52.2 per cent of the vote with a count of 18,647.
<a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/greens-mp-mum-on-jewish-stance/story-e6frg6nf-1226032936380tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/greens-mp-mum-on-jewish-stance/story-e6frg6nf-1226032936380Sun, 03 Apr 2011 14:05:51 GMT 00:00″>Greens MP mum on Jewish stance