I for one was not poobahing the idea at all, but just as election promises go we are still waiting on a great hoard of promises made all the way back to the late Don Dunstan almost!

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NOTE. SPLIT THREAD. Posts below taken from Millswood topic. Any politcal discussion beyond SA public transport is welcome

MOD 2001

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We've seen how well (?) the Abbott and two or three 'Liberal' state governments have kept their election promises to govern well and for the benefit of all, and we've seen the criminality of some apologies for human beings who infested Labour ranks to the dismay of all decent supporters. We are seeing confected alarm over one of the world's smallest per capita governmental national debts justifying all sorts of 'economy measures' and new sell offs of national assets. We are experiencing obscene rises in the price of electricity and gas due to the sell off of vertically integrated governmental suppliers like ETSA and the SEC which ploughed all profits back into the upkeep and modernization of their enterprises, and the preference of the privatised and mostly foreign owned companies to feather their nests at the cost of consumers and because they can get more by selling our once huge national gas reserves overseas. Tom Playford must be spinning in his grave over what has happened in this regard.

What we have also seen throughout my long life is the penchant for Labor to build national assets (like two successive Australian National Shipping LInes to free us from the clutches of overseas owned companies who had a stranglehold on our trade), and the 'Liberal' selling off of those assets as soon as they could after assuming office.

With all of its faults, give the present South Australian government credit for the huge improvement in public transport that they have made in recent years. The process was always going to create temporary pain, and there has undoubtedly been far too much of it due largely to the failure of private contractors to honour their commitments and government departmental failure to enforce them, but would any real railway advocate on this list wish to go back to what we had before they began the process?

I still deeply regret the loss of Adelaide's chance to have an underground connection of the Glenelg tram line under King William Street and the parklands to Tea Tree Plaza. After Sydney and Melbourne, we'd have been the first with a subway instead of the last – some time in the future and well after I am dead.

The Commonwealth Bank was created to free us from the clutches of overseas financiers by creating carefully controlled credit to build national infrastructure interest free, but with the responsibility to pay back the funds via user charges and taxation. The USA does this to uncontrolled excess, but has to do so to keep their economy afloat after the depredations of Wall Street billionaires who have manipulated their way to riches at the cost of ordinary people the world over.

There are very many activities in which private enterprise does best, and which governments should leave as regulation free as is commensurate with fair play, but there are also many things in which governments need to be active to create infrastructure for the benefit of private citizens and their activities.

When you vote, ask yourself which party is the more likely to maintain the progress which we have seen in highway as well as railway building, and examine what they are promising or, as important a sign, refraining from promising.

See you on one of our new electric trains next Sunday, and when at Seaford look South towards Aldinga, and one day even to the burgeoning Victor Harbour conurbation!

We've seen how well (?) the Abbott and two or three 'Liberal' state governments have kept their election promises to govern well and for the benefit of all, and we've seen the criminality of some apologies for human beings who infested Labour ranks to the dismay of all decent supporters. We are seeing confected alarm over one of the world's smallest per capita governmental national debts justifying all sorts of 'economy measures' and new sell offs of national assets. We are experiencing obscene rises in the price of electricity and gas due to the sell off of vertically integrated governmental suppliers like ETSA and the SEC which ploughed all profits back into the upkeep and modernization of their enterprises, and the preference of the privatised and mostly foreign owned companies to feather their nests at the cost of consumers and because they can get more by selling our once huge national gas reserves overseas. Tom Playford must be spinning in his grave over what has happened in this regard.

What we have also seen throughout my long life is the penchant for Labor to build national assets (like two successive Australian National Shipping LInes to free us from the clutches of overseas owned companies who had a stranglehold on our trade), and the 'Liberal' selling off of those assets as soon as they could after assuming office.

With all of its faults, give the present South Australian government credit for the huge improvement in public transport that they have made in recent years. The process was always going to create temporary pain, and there has undoubtedly been far too much of it due largely to the failure of private contractors to honour their commitments and government departmental failure to enforce them, but would any real railway advocate on this list wish to go back to what we had before they began the process?

I still deeply regret the loss of Adelaide's chance to have an underground connection of the Glenelg tram line under King William Street and the parklands to Tea Tree Plaza. After Sydney and Melbourne, we'd have been the first with a subway instead of the last – some time in the future and well after I am dead.

The Commonwealth Bank was created to free us from the clutches of overseas financiers by creating carefully controlled credit to build national infrastructure interest free, but with the responsibility to pay back the funds via user charges and taxation. The USA does this to uncontrolled excess, but has to do so to keep their economy afloat after the depredations of Wall Street billionaires who have manipulated their way to riches at the cost of ordinary people the world over.

There are very many activities in which private enterprise does best, and which governments should leave as regulation free as is commensurate with fair play, but there are also many things in which governments need to be active to create infrastructure for the benefit of private citizens and their activities.

When you vote, ask yourself which party is the more likely to maintain the progress which we have seen in highway as well as railway building, and examine what they are promising or, as important a sign, refraining from promising.

See you on one of our new electric trains next Sunday, and when at Seaford look South towards Aldinga, and one day even to the burgeoning Victor Harbour conurbation!

SAR526 -

Well said, it is unfortunate that that your generation and my generation have built this country to what it is now, it wasn't easy but we got there with lots of state owned investment and for the people, the problem now is as I see it, that the generation since don't understand the history or the benefits of those past years and they seem to follow the liberals view of selling the farm such as electricity assets, and then screaming like hell as result of the multinational company's put our charges up and gold plate the system so they can make bigger profits of us all, unfortunately a lot of people can't see it.

Joe Hockey the liberal treasure said we must sell SA Water, if that happens watch the price hike go the same way as the electricity did, and what will we do jump up and down then roll over.

Regards, Rex

Isn't the term "socializing the debt", used to sell assets owned by the taxpayer, to prop up government books in the short term, but the users (also known as taxpayers) pay for it through increased charges, as the new owner will want to make a return on the money they just spent acquiring it?

Got this link from another Forum Labor vows to reopen Millswood Station.
Seems it all hinges on Labors 1% chance of winning next months election, Liberal's closed it years ago looks like they are going to keep it closed. I wonder if Vicki Chapman (Shadow Minister for Transport and Infrastructure) is just going to brush the idea off.

Never underestimate the effect of "one term Tony" and the shutting down of the entire car industry almost overnight, for making the Liberal party seriously unpopular.

Liberal MP David Pisoni would be singing a different tune if he wasn't in a safe seat...
Until about 5 mins after he won, then back to to the tried and tested 'rigged' study which shows reopening the station to be too expensive/unwanted/cause cancer etc. Said study to be conducted by the RAA, whichever bus company has the contract for that area and local anti freight train group, all of which are totally impartial. Rest assured, everything is too expensive for the Liberal party, unless its a road of course.

Never underestimate the effect of "one term Tony" and the shutting down of the entire car industry almost overnight, for making the Liberal party seriously unpopular.

Liberal MP David Pisoni would be singing a different tune if he wasn't in a safe seat...
Until about 5 mins after he won, then back to to the tried and tested 'rigged' study which shows reopening the station to be too expensive/unwanted/cause cancer etc. Said study to be conducted by the RAA, whichever bus company has the contract for that area and local anti freight train group, all of which are totally impartial. Rest assured, everything is too expensive for the Liberal party, unless its a road of course.

Get off the smeg grass, the car industry didn't shutdown overnight... Take your ALP installed blinkers off and realise that the industry's 'overnight' has actually been most of the last six years, under the previous liberal government the car industry did quite well. The industry was going to go anyway, who was in power post about 2010 is just about totally irrelevant. Lest we forget Mitsubishi and Ford went during Labor's term of office, Mitsubishi in particular under two levels of ALP government.

Get off the smeg grass, the car industry didn't shutdown overnight... Take your ALP installed blinkers off and realise that the industry's 'overnight' has actually been most of the last six years, under the previous liberal government the car industry did quite well. The industry was going to go anyway, who was in power post about 2010 is just about totally irrelevant. Lest we forget Mitsubishi and Ford went during Labor's term of office, Mitsubishi in particular under two levels of ALP government.

One term Tony certainly score the "Gold Medal" for doing in Holden's & then Toyota, and then pulled the "Platinum Medal" straight out of air as well, when he said that he wouldn't be supporting suburban rail systems, and to top that off he went on and got the "Biggest Bronze Medal" in history, because he said he would build roads for trucks that would be better for us, I suppose he believes containers and livestock vote, maybe he might change his mind after the massive 16% swing against the Liberals in Redcliffe Queensland on Saturday. One term Tony bye bye soon.

Last I checked, Redcliffe was not a federal seat. What's his name the resigner was a knob and the LNP expected to do somewhat less than amazingly. Not dissimilar to how the ALP fared in the seat of Dobell on the back of similar events.

Last I checked, Redcliffe was not a federal seat. What's his name the resigner was a knob and the LNP expected to do somewhat less than amazingly. Not dissimilar to how the ALP fared in the seat of Dobell on the back of similar events.
Aaron

Maybe not a federal seat, but it clearly shows people fed up with LNP - Abbott had taken a very similar stance to the LNP of QLD - this shows how Abbott might fare over time.
A 16% swing is very impressive
Abbott is clearly incompetent and is taking our country backwards, if he has his way we wont have medicare, a postal service or public transport.  He already had #$%^ed up the NBN.

Maybe not a federal seat, but it clearly shows people fed up with LNP - Abbott had taken a very similar stance to the LNP of QLD - this shows how Abbott might fare over time.
A 16% swing is very impressive
Abbott is clearly incompetent and is taking our country backwards, if he has his way we wont have medicare, a postal service or public transport. He already had #$%^ed up the NBN.

So when the LNP walk into power next month here in SA what will that say about the LNP/ALP?

So when the LNP walk into power next month here in SA what will that say about the LNP/ALP?

What will that say about a supposed advocate of rail transport who votes Liberal?

In my long life I've not seen any sign of the Liberals fostering industrial and transport growth in this state since Tom Playford, and plenty of selling off of the state's infrastructure assets to their buddies on the pretext that Labor left them with huge debts.

Of course the same taxpayers who once owned those assets are now paying through the nose to sustain the new owners in the style to which they have become accustomed.

Yes, I'm a (recent) member of the Labor Party. I joined when Abbott and his tired and incompetent cabal of ex Howard Government hacks came into power on the votes of people whose knowledge of public affairs is gained from a quarter hour of news grabs before the sports results on commercial TV and Murdoch's totally biased 'newspapers', and who are concerned primarily with their own welfare.

With all of the faults and shortcomings of their term in office which I deplore as much as anyone, I at least know that Labor stands for a good old Australian 'Fair Go' and that they have done and will continue to do something about the shameful backwardness of our rail systems, to say nothing of fending off the pending unemployment catastrophe that will be the result of the transfer of our jobs overseas and the one sided terms of so called free trade which give foreign competitors a huge advantage over our own local industries.

Don't just give me a one line reply. State your case as to why you will vote Liberal, and in particular justify your claim to have an interest in rail transport (and I don't mean just playing 'puff puffs').

As a staunch Labor supporter years back and a union man as well I gave the lot away when both Labor and the Union said I had to vote labor. I told them both to go to smeg off,and while I have not gone to the opposition, I now see that both major parties are the same a load of bull smeg at the best of times. These so called politicians today would not even win a kick in a riot in days passed by. They are all out for what they personally can get out of it and those caught rorting the system are proof of it. If they actually got back to basic politics and stopped the in fighting in parties etc they might actually do something for all Australian's, shock ,horror!

No wonder the informal party gets so many votes today, all of the major parties are just a load of hot air at the best of times to most people. it is really a catch 22 voting wise, you are damned if you do and damned if you don't! Or you vote for the lesser of the two evils or something.

Brian

Off topic. I was not happy with the sale of ETSA but even less happy with the state being saddled with a debt, crippling interest payments and a reduced credit rating to exascerbate the problem, See two letters Advertiser 24/02/14 regarding the one side report into the sale of ETSA.

Back on topic. If persons are concerned about the sale of assets look at the handing over for a paltry sum of the SAR to the Commonwealth and the loss of expertise, jobs and service to SA country communities that followed. Blame Don Dunstan for that because his minister Virgo couldn't stand up to the unions.

It is great having new trains, rebuilt railway, duplicated Southern Expressway, Northen Expressway, nRAH, Adelaide Oval and bridge but all in one term. OK perhaps if BHP had proceeded with Olympic Dam major expansion and the royalties had come in but otherwise no. I am sure you are wise enough to control your own expenditure, you came from a generation that knew how to wait. SA needs to do the same.

The old RAH site shows up the difference between parties.
One is looking for a market for the site and the useful assets on it to make money. The other has grandiose schemes to spend money one to build a shcool there when there are already empty school facilities particularly in the northen suburbs (I pass two when I drive back from Bolivar twice a week.) I know which scheme would appeal toTom Playford, SA's best labor premier (I know, you don't have to remind me he was LCP).

Get off the smeg grass, the car industry didn't shutdown overnight... Take your ALP installed blinkers off and realise that the industry's 'overnight' has actually been most of the last six years, under the previous liberal government the car industry did quite well. The industry was going to go anyway, who was in power post about 2010 is just about totally irrelevant. Lest we forget Mitsubishi and Ford went during Labor's term of office, Mitsubishi in particular under two levels of ALP government.

Aaron, you and I both know (as do many others with the capacity to think) that the car industry has NOT gone overnight. And it's not been just six years either, the Australian auto industry has been on a downhill slide for a whole lot longer than that (more like 20 years plus to my mind) dispite a lot of financial support from BOTH sides of the political fence.
But you and I have but one (legal) vote to have our say.
But to the minds of the unshaven masses out there, the auto industry HAS gone overnight, and thus, it HAS gone on Tony's watch, and they WILL blame him.

The Australian electorate have very short memories and generally cant even remember what the issues even were
at the last election , whether it be federal or state.
All that happens is that people keep flip flopping back and forth between Liberal and Labor.
If either of these parties were actually any good , there wouldnt be any flip flopping.
20% or less of the population is who decides who the next Govt will be .
Everyone else never changes how they vote.
Its never going to get any better.

I don't have much knowledge or interest in politics, personally it's as boring as batsh!t but to me it seems that all the parties, both Federal and State, are all as bad as each other.
Come the election campaigns they say this and promise that then when they get voted in they decide to go back on some things they said they'd do and fingerpoint, bicker and dribble about the opposition and other parties. It seems very childish to me, you only have to watch question time on the ABC to see how much of a joke our politicians are. Surely some of the guests in the gallery at question time must think that Australian politics is a laughing stock with some of the carry on from some of ours politicians.
This is just my opinion but it's about time our politicians pull they're heads out of their posteriors, have a good, long hard look at themselves in the mirror and start doing things for Australia and its states and territories instead of thinking about nothing but themselves and their fat political pensions and other ridiculous benefits that they get post political career.

The Australian electorate have very short memories and generally cant even remember what the issues even were
at the last election , whether it be federal or state.
All that happens is that people keep flip flopping back and forth between Liberal and Labor.
If either of these parties were actually any good , there wouldnt be any flip flopping.
20% or less of the population is who decides who the next Govt will be .
Everyone else never changes how they vote.
Its never going to get any better.

That's the problem with Australian politics, there are only two parties that are capable of forming a Government, so we only end up going like blue, red, red, blue, red, blue, blue, red, blue, etc

Need to get a bit of yellow, orange, grey, white, green, purple, black, gold, silver, etc In the mix

In many European countries, their election could have like 7 different political parties that could form a Government through alliances of the smaller and other different parties.

I don't have much knowledge or interest in politics, personally it's as boring as batsh!t but to me it seems that all the parties, both Federal and State, are all as bad as each other.
Come the election campaigns they say this and promise that then when they get voted in they decide to go back on some things they said they'd do and fingerpoint, bicker and dribble about the opposition and other parties. It seems very childish to me, you only have to watch question time on the ABC to see how much of a joke our politicians are. Surely some of the guests in the gallery at question time must think that Australian politics is a laughing stock with some of the carry on from some of ours politicians.
This is just my opinion but it's about time our politicians pull they're heads out of their posteriors, have a good, long hard look at themselves in the mirror and start doing things for Australia and its states and territories instead of thinking about nothing but themselves and their fat political pensions and other ridiculous benefits that they get post political career.

Well said
The behavour of our pollies in parliment is an embarrisment.
Honestly, we expect (and see) better behavour from our kids in a kindergarten class

Question time is a pantomime, if you get your political knowledge and ideas on government from question time you really do deserve the government you get.

You'd be better off watching a single budget release or a parliamentary debate on a decent bill, or better yet, actually attending, or watching a senate estimates hearing - so long as Conroy is not present.

I don't have much knowledge or interest in politics, personally it's as boring as batsh!t but to me it seems that all the parties, both Federal and State, are all as bad as each other.
Come the election campaigns they say this and promise that then when they get voted in they decide to go back on some things they said they'd do and fingerpoint, bicker and dribble about the opposition and other parties. It seems very childish to me, you only have to watch question time on the ABC to see how much of a joke our politicians are. Surely some of the guests in the gallery at question time must think that Australian politics is a laughing stock with some of the carry on from some of ours politicians.
This is just my opinion but it's about time our politicians pull they're heads out of their posteriors, have a good, long hard look at themselves in the mirror and start doing things for Australia and its states and territories instead of thinking about nothing but themselves and their fat political pensions and other ridiculous benefits that they get post political career.

Glad to see I am not the only one that thinks like this!

Question time is a pantomime, if you get your political knowledge and ideas on government from question time you really do deserve the government you get.

You'd be better off watching a single budget release or a parliamentary debate on a decent bill, or better yet, actually attending a senate estimates hearing - so long as Conroy is not present.

But Aaron, in the real world, the average joe doesn't ever watch a budget release, a bill debate or could even afford the time off work to actually attend anything. They see the snippets of Question Time, and the snippets of boys behaving badly on their nightly news service.

In the real world those with any brains treat all poliies with disdain no matter what party they represent. Most have them on a ladder lower than real estate agent's, used car salesmen and lawyers!

But Aaron, in the real world, the average joe doesn't ever watch a budget release, a bill debate or could even afford the time off work to actually attend anything. They see the snippets of Question Time, and the snippets of boys behaving badly on their nightly news service.

And that is why we get the governments we deserve.

It's pretty clear that Labor will continue spending money upgrading the rail network,  also very clear that that no one has any idea what the SA liberals will do with the rail network, I doubt the liberals have any idea on what they will do.

It's pretty clear that Labor will continue spending money upgrading the rail network,

Where do you get that clarity from? The SA ALP's site makes no mention of rail, indeed it's not mentioned in their top seven priorities and their 'policies' page is an ingeniuos '404 error'.

Vickie Chapman has recently issued a number of media releases attacking Labor for their "on again, off again" plans to electrify the Gawler line. I emailed Vickie Chapman's office a couple of weeks ago to ask what her policy was on electrification and the rail network generally (given she attacked Labor's policy in the media release but made no mention of her own policy). So far, no response.