Transport Minister wrong to sledge Libs on local bus routes
The letter from Transport Minister Davis Campbell (July 29) responding to criticism over his proposal to cut local bus routes portrays a Minister who isn’t quite aware of what’s going on within his portfolio.
His claim that the government has behaved transparently in this matter is absolutely laughable.
When the state government first proposed the cuts, they scheduled the consultation period for the Christmas school holidays. And when they made their final decision they kept it secret while commuters (myself included) were left in the dark.
It was only after pressure from the state opposition that the government finally caved in and set a date for the announcement.
These are hardly the actions of a government concerned with openness and transparency. In fact, their announcement is planned to coincide with the announcement of a new train timetable.
First it was Christmas, and now they’re using the train system to divert the public’s attention away from our bus routes.
I also take exception to the Minister’s assertion that no Liberals made a submission during the consultation period.
As a Liberal Councillor, I was joined by my colleagues at a community forum where I outlined three options to reinstate services to Greystanes, save the government money and reconnect the suburb of Pemulwuy to Merrylands via Greystanes (Advertiser, February 10). There are upwards of 300 people who attended the forum who can attest to that – including three Labor MPs.
I made sure that both the Ministry of Transport bureaucrats and Joe Tripodi left the building carrying out maps and explanatory information.
Minister Campbell’s total lack of awareness makes a mockery of his claim to be “taking the time to individually review these submissions”.
Next time the state government wants to save face from potential embarrassment perhaps they should avoid the dodgy political spin tactics and return to the basics. Before you write your next wild and inaccurate letter I suggest you have a staffer run a quick fact-check over it first.
Not cutting our bus routes isn’t a bad idea either.
Ross Grove
Liberal Councillor
Greystanes
