Re: Brisbane Light Rail Proposals

["Garry R. Ford" <garry@merddyn.apana.org.au>]

Scott Ratcliff wrote:

> Of course nothing will ever happen. Of course they are talking about
> grand projects -  It's an election year in QLD.
>
> Briztram - It will never happen.

Please remember this is a National/Liberal Government and not a Labor excuse for
a Government you are talking about. Unlike Labor, the Nationals do deliver on
their so called grandiose projects, whether it be election or non-election year.

Railway electrification, new trains, Gold Coast railway (started when Nats in
government. Labor took over and still not opened by them in six years because of
mismanagement.  Nats finally opened), new hospitals, tilt train, new railways
proposed, new power stations (Labor scrapped plans for them and instead wanted to
buy power at almost twice the generating cost from NSW because NSW now has a
power surplus. Nats want the link to be able to sell power to NSW, hence the
redesign and new route that doesn't go through significant national parks, but
farmland instead.)

Need I go on.

Scott, please don't comments about things you don't understand as a southerner.
When you've been living here 25 years then you might be a Queenslander and can
comment upon the way government works here.

Check back through last 85 years of Queensland political history and find one
large project that Labor actually initiated, commenced, finished and was
successful with. Apart from the initial "lander" trains and the commencement of
dieselisation I know of none.

All their state owned enterprises failed miserably, marketing boards were the
result of a compromise with the Country Party in the early twenties. (I know
officially dates from 1935 in Qld but that was because for around ten years it
was combined with what became Liberals to form UAP).

Sorry. I did forget one major benefit Labor did give Queensland, free hospitals
and dental services, only to have Labor (Whitlam) federally, almost destroy the
world's best health care system by introducing "Medifraud". Because Qld already
had a better system ours was downgraded and little running costs paid to the
state in compensation as opposed to massive subsidies in the other states where
there already wasn't free health care.

I'd better stop here as I'm well off topic. I just get annoyed when people make
ill educated rash, uniformed statements.

If Briztram doesn't go ahead it won't be because of the National/Liberal  State
Government.

It will because:
(a) they lost government (Labor appears against it as its been National Policy
for several years now);
(b) the people of Brisbane don't want it;
(c) the Howard Government refuses to accept it as our major Bi-centennial fund
project;
(d) private enterprise is not interested in being involved; or
(e) there is a massive down-turn in economic performance meaning it can't be
justified.

Cheers

Garry