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2014 Victorian Election

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I agree with you doc, but I think the emergency stopping lanes are what is being removed at the moment.
It will only be a matter of a couple of years and the situation will be back to where we are now.
The rail line takes about six lanes of capacity away, it is only a matter of time before it has to be utilised.

As for the Armadale line, trains run every 15 minutes, this can be increased, also the rail easement has enough space for a dedicated line.

I know the Mandurah line on the foreshore is a lovely trip and experience, however in demographic terms it would have been better servicing Welshpool and Canning Vale.

Mandurah has high unemployment and Welshpool, Canning Vale are industrial areas, therefore require workers.

My personal belief is, the rail link through Canning Vale will be put into service, and the Perth - Cockburn line will have to be sunk or raised.
It was nothing more than a political vote catching scam, that will cost heaps to rectify and cause a huge headache for everyone South of the river.

No doubt the east west tunnel, would circumvent traffic issues that will no doubt manifest themselves, as the population increases in Melbourne.

Labor tend to go for sugar fix, instant hit politics, that end up costing everyone heaps later.
But it does sort out peoples pensions.IMO
 
Check it out when it's finished.
 
moXJO said:
Victoria is a well known state to avoid for construction while under labor unless you are union friendly.
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+ 1.

We now have the Premier saying he wants to increase debt - hence line the unions pockets.
Debt is not a dirty word, he tells us, there goes our triple A rating.
 
Tink said:
+ 1.

We now have the Premier saying he wants to increase debt
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Debt isn't necessarily bad if it's used to acquire or build assets. It's a different story if it's used to fund ongoing consumption, that's when it leads to serious trouble.

There needs to be a much broader debate in Australia about debt, particularly where state governments are concerned. The approach of the past 20 years has essentially been to say that the mortgage was a problem, so we sold the house in order to repay it. Trouble is, we got rid of the assets as well as the debt, in many cases making the net position worse rather than better over the longer term.

So far as something like building a road is concerned, there's a question. What is the total cost over the life of the road if it's done by some arrangement involving private ownership? And what is the cost if it's owned by the state and financed by debt?
 
noco said:
It looks like Victorians are starting to rebel against the Andrews government going by the recent bi-election.

Andrews will be Tony Abbott's best asset in 2016.

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/...ents/by_election_whack_to_andrews_government/
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What a load of rubbish. Labour did not even have a candidate. Both parties do this at times when it is a retiring member in a safe seat.

And as for debt, the liberals need to get it into thier heads, that to make a dollar you have to spend a dollar.

Debt is healthy with turnover and participation. The offshore multinationals need to he taxed at the same levels as everyone else. This is participation.
 
Smurf, the reason he has brought up about borrowing is because the money is gone, and he wants to sell the Port of Melbourne to fund the projects.
He doesn't think that will come through.
No sell, no projects.

What he wants to do is build and sell to the private companies.
That is the only reason he has brought this up.

I understand what you are saying, Smurf, and that is a whole different topic.

As you know, I am not very happy that he has backed down on the road project.
 
Tink said:
Smurf, the reason he has brought up about borrowing is because the money is gone, and he wants to sell the Port of Melbourne to fund the projects.
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Now I get it!

There's a bit of a fuss here in Tas since it seems that shipping charges via the Port of Melbourne are about to go through the roof. It's a big enough problem that would pretty much wreck the Tas economy, since many of the state's exporting industries wouldn't be viable at such a huge cost for shipping. Most shipping in and out of Tas presently goes via Melbourne to either interstate or overseas markets.

The workaround is looking at either direct international shipping, or shipping via Sydney or even Brisbane. It's further away obviously, but if the Vic Govt is going to hold another state to ransom then there's not much choice but to look at the alternatives. I've also heard mention of shipping via Adelaide and even NZ as possible solutions.

The real problem with privatisation is that governments inevitably blow the money. Where in 2015 is the money from selling the Gas and Fuel Corporation, the State Electricity Commission and all the other things that were sold off in Victoria during the 1990's? The money inevitably disappears over time and the debt is run up again, that's how governments work. Personally, I'd rather have a debt backed by an asset of ongoing value, be it gas pipes, railways or whatever, than to have a debt backed by nothing but future taxation revenue.
 

It looks like Labor ran scared and could not stand the heat.
 
noco said:
It looks like Labor ran scared and could not stand the heat.
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You miss the point, it has been a normal protocol to stand aside.

The Libs broke that by putting up a candidate.
 
Yes, that is the one, Smurf, since he has no funding for his projects, he now needs to sell off the Port of Melbourne, but has increased the rent to 800%, killing business and jobs.

http://tandlnews.com.au/2015/03/11/article/port-melbourne-fattening-pig-sale/

The Port of Melbourne and the Government of Victoria have been accused of trying the ‘fatten the pig’ for sale by increasing stevedores’ rates by almost 800%, making the Port of Melbourne the single most expensive container port in the world.

I think I have given my thoughts on the public sector, and if anything, I would rather public-private, if we had to.
I agree with you, it is the way it is run, be it private or public, but the unions get ridiculous with this bottomless pit of taxpayer funds.
I remember when we had telecom, one and only, I was thrilled when we got competition.
 
So far as things like ports are concerned, they are absolutely critical infrastructure with relatively little competition. Regardless of who owns it, there needs to be some regulation to ensure that the rest of the state isn't wrecked economically as a result of either inefficiency or blatant over charging.
 

I'm in Perth fairy often and traffic flow there is a dream compared to Melb, Syd and Bris. I must admit for a clean sandy soil place it seems to take an extraordinary time to build over passes (e.g. the one on Alexander Drive and Reid) and the Great Eastern Hwy widening near the airport appeared to be tasked twice?
 
A truck caught fire on the Westgate Bridge this morning and freeway outbound totally blocked more than two hours. Two lanes inbound with similar mayhem due to peakhour.

With the extra traffic from a completed East West Link the situation would be much worse. Currently trucks from the east heading north, to Hume Hwy., etc., veer off via Heidelberg, but with the East West would go via Tullamarine and cause huge mayhem.

If the outer ring road was to be connected to Eastlink, as I have explained here in a post a few months back, the truck this morning would have taken the outer link for a swift run away from the peak.

We need to start a movement to have the Government look at this idea and the movement of the heavy stuff by rail also.
 
What do you mean by tasked twice ?
 
A good job the libs were kicked out in Victoria last year

Millions stolen by one of their own whilst in power. Will be in the papers tomorrow.
 
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