The Victorian opposition has pledged to offer free public transport for nurses, aged care workers and allied healthcare workers for four years, if it wins the November election.
Key points:
The opposition says the policy is aimed at easing cost-of-living pressures for health workers
The policy is likely to cost about $468 million a year
Earlier this year the government announced a “surge payment” in a bid to retain healthcare workers
Shadow Health Minister Georgie Crozier, a former nurse, said the plan was designed to recognize the difficulties of the past few years of the pandemic.
“It’s really to recognize all of those who have worked in our healthcare system, both public and private, over the last two-and-a-half years, who have done it so hard and so tough,” she said.
Ms Crozier said the policy would be extended to nurses, allied healthcare workers, clerical staff, patient transport orders, dental assistants, midwives, aged care workers, paramedics and aged care workers.
The policy would make public transport across Victoria free for public and private sector nurses for four years.(Reuters: Sandra Sanders)
“That will be assisting with their cost-of-living pressures,” she said.
“We know this is becoming a very big issue, cost of living. And this is one way that we can ease that burden.”
The opposition said the more than 260,000 healthcare workers covered by the policy could end up $1,800 a year better off.
That upper-end estimate was based on someone who was using public transport daily across zones one and two in Melbourne, the opposition said.
Based on those figures, the policy could cost up to roughly $468 million a year, but Ms Crozier also noted not everyone who was eligible would take up the opportunity.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said the policy would be easy to administer, with eligible workers offered a specific public transport card for free travel.
He said there would be further health policy announcements from the opposition in the months ahead.
The opposition’s announcement comes after a fortnight of turmoil for the Coalition, with several staff leaving Mr Guy’s office after details of a proposed arrangement between a Liberal donor and his former chief of staff came to light.
Earlier this year, the Victorian government announced a $3,000 “winter retention and surge payment” to try and support and retain public sector healthcare workers as the state battles its deadliest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic so far.
The New South Wales government is resisting growing calls to scrap tens of thousands of COVID fines, which lawyers say were unjustly issued, including to a teenager with an intellectual disability.
Key points:
The Redfern Legal Center hopes a legal challenge will quash 45,000 COVID ends in NSW
A total of 3,840 children between 13 and 17 years of age were fined between $40 and $5,000 in NSW
Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay wants to see all ends suspended nationally
The question of whether the government and NSW Police were heavy-handed in their pandemic response will be argued in a test case before the NSW Supreme Court.
The Redfern Legal Center hopes its legal challenge will quash 45,000 fines, which it says failed to properly outline the offense committed.
“The process was unjust, messy, and the rule of law was not followed,” the center’s Samantha Lee told 7.30.
The agency responsible for COVID penalties, Revenue NSW, said that of the 62,035 fines issued since early 2020, more than half, or 38,372 remained unpaid in full.
While the majority of these are being paid in some form of repayment plan, many have gone unanswered.
In total, 3,840 children between 13 and 17 years of age were fined between $40 and $5,000, which lawyers say should be waived as cautions.
Revenue NSW said 17 fines issued to children totaling $45,000 remain unresolved.
Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay says the ends disproportionately affected poorer communities.(abcnews)
“This is a form of unjust treatment to children,” Ms Lee said. “These children have been fined for $1,000, $3,000 and $5,000.
“One child who has an intellectual disability was given three $1,000 fines for being out of his house. I’m of the view that he should never have been issued a fine.
“Under the fine acts, someone who has an intellectual disability should not have been issued a fine.”
The Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay told 7.30 a.m. she wants to see all fines suspended nationally given the system disproportionately affected poorer communities in NSW and Victoria.
“It’s actually a nationwide issue, and what we really need to do is firstly, in respect to the fines, pause enforcement until they can be properly reviewed so that the public can have confidence that the fine system is lawful and working fairly,” she said.
“But secondly, we actually need to have a broader review into the pandemic response.”
Children volunteer to pay off fines through government program
Bronwyn O’Brien, a case worker at SydWest Multicultural Services.(ABC News: Jason Om)
Some people penalized in NSW have chosen to pay off the fines through a program known as a Work and Development Order (WDO).
It allows people on low incomes to pay down the fine through unpaid work or activities such as a life skills course, counselling, drug and alcohol treatment and mentoring.
About 140 children have taken part in WDOs, including some at SydWest Multicultural Services in Blacktown, which was among the suburbs that suffered harsher restrictions than the rest of Sydney.
Case worker Bronwyn O’Brien told 7.30 that NSW Police had been unforgiving to residents, particularly if they were multilingual.
She cited a case of a father and a son who had gone out to get groceries and tried to explain themselves to the police, but were ignored.
“Any opportunity for them to explain was shut down and they were immediately given a $1,000 fine each,” Ms O’Brien said.
She said it took weeks for people in the WDO program to pay off their ends.
“They were like $500, or $1,000 per fine. For the clients we’re working with that could be their weekly or fortnightly pay, if they’re receiving Centrelink it’s even worse.”
“Some people, they have to spend months and months to engage in activities just to get the fine down just a bit.”
Connor Jago was 17 when he was fined for not wearing a mask on a train.(ABC News: Jason Om)
Connor Jago was 17 when police issued him with two COVID fines for not wearing a mask on a train, and a separate transport fine, totaling $680.
“That was more than I make in two weeks almost,” he told 7.30.
The second $80 COVID fine was because he was wearing a mask below his nose after putting it on, Mr Jago told 7.30.
He threatened to take the government to court, arguing he was complying with police directions before Revenue NSW dropped one of the COVID fines of $500.
Fines commissioner says repayment system beneficial
NSW chief commissioner of state revenue, Scott Johnston.(ABC News: Tom Hancock)
In a rare interview with 7.30am, the head of Revenue NSW defended the organisation, and welcomed any review of individual cases.
The chief commissioner of state revenue, Scott Johnston, would not be drawn on whether it was appropriate for police to fine children as young as 13, and said the WDO program had had “powerful” outcomes.
“Some of the criticism or challenge on the way that we’ve done that, about imposing unfair penalties on people and youths, I think is not really reflective on the experience that the people who received these fines have had,” he said.
“I understand completely that a fine affects people differently. Some people can’t afford to pay that commitment and the genuine commitment from my organisation, and [me]is to have a conversation with people where they need help and support.”
Mr Johnston said the agency had resolved the cases of 500 children under 15 who were fined $40 for not wearing a mask.
NSW Police declined to comment at 7.30, while the Victorian Government told 7.30 its penalty system protected citizens from the pandemic and that there are options available if people are struggling to pay off fines.
Major train disruptions are set to return this month as NSW’s rail union reveals employees will strike every week to the end of August.
It comes after more than a year of negotiations between the state government and the Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) over work conditions have failed to satisfy either party.
The major sticking point is the union’s claim that recently purchased New Intercity Fleet trains do not meet their safety requirements.
“We’ve done everything by the book in order to get these vital safety changes, but the government is refusing to listen,” RTBU NSW secretary Alex Claassens said in a statement on Tuesday.
“This is our only way of making sure that the safety changes that need to be made will actually be made.”
Strike action will begin this Sunday with a small gift to Sydney public transport users in the way of a ban on issuing fines and caution notices.
The real strike action begins next Wednesday as travelers on the T4 Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra line that runs towards Cronulla and Wollongong will have to make alternative travel arrangements for six hours.
Between the hours of 10am and 4pm, trains will not run on this line.
“It is frustrating,” Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland told 2GB radio station on Tuesday.
“We’ve been dealing now for more than 12 months working with unions as we navigate our way to a new enterprise agreement.”
Three more six-hour strikes will take place on August 17, 23 and 25 and will pinpoint different regions of the train network.
“We’ll do our best to minimize impacts to customers. There’s a whole lot of action that we’re managing around infrastructure and cleaning and those sort of things,” Mr Longland said.
The Sydney Trains boss is encouraging customers to use existing light rail and bus services while train lines are not running.
However, there are not enough replacement buses to cover such widespread outages.
“We only have a limited number of buses to be able to replace trains and the reality is we can’t provide that many buses,” Mr Longland said.
“I do want to acknowledge the frustration of customers and thank them for their patience.”
He is confident that the union and government are “very close” to finalizing the enterprise agreement.
“We are working really hard to get this resolved and we are certainly hopeful working with Minister Elliot that we can get an outcome,” he said.
Schedule for rail strike action in August:
August 7: Ban on transport officers issuing ends and cautions begins
August 10: Strike on T4 Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra line, including Bondi Junction 10am – 4pm
August 12: Ban on cleaners using vacuum cleaners or scrubbing machines
August 13: Station staff to leave all gates open at all times
August 15: Train crew to only operate trains that meet maintenance center minimum standards
August 17: Strike in T2 Inner West and Leppington line and some regional lines, 10am – 4pm
August 23: Strike on unidentified line, 10am – 4pm
August 25: Strike on unidentified line, 10am – 4pm
While the economics of electric buses may make them an increasingly irresistible public transport option, year 4 student Annabelle Nicolson has a different reason for liking her new electrified ride to school.
Key points:
Hillcrest Christian College begins Gold Coast’s first electric bus school-run trial
Transport research indicates car dependency is driving up congestion around schools
A Griffith researcher predicts an uptake in the use of electric vehicles in public transport as costs drop
“If the gas from the bus goes into the air, then we, and the plants and the animals, can get sick,” she said.
Annabelle will be among the first students at Hillcrest Christian College to ride on its new electric bus as part of an upcoming trial.
The trial is the only one of its type on the Gold Coast, with the school hoping to transition its fleet over five years.
But according to Griffith University’s Transport Research Group, as fuel prices rise and maintenance costs drop, more schools should follow suit.
“We’re at the inflection point now, where if you were setting up a new operation with the depot and fleet, you would probably want to invest in electric,” Griffith University’s Matthew Burke said.
“The costs are just starting to become obvious that that’s what you do, particularly with fuel prices having leapt up in recent months,” Professor Burke said.
“The maintenance burden, in particular, of an electric vehicle is significantly lower than that of an internal combustion engine.”
Hillcrest students Milena Garcia Mariano, Emilia Savage and Annabella Nicholson on an electric bus.(ABC Gold Coast: Camille Chorley)
‘Unsustainable’ transport problem
Professor Burke said Griffith studies have shown unsustainable trends in Gold Coast transport, with about three-quarters of students being driven to school in cars.
“People have shifted into SUVs, which with light trucks, are about three-quarters of all sales here now,” he said.
“It’s pretty polluting.”
The Gold Coast City Council’s transport strategy, which is currently being revised, shows the population increasing from 640,000 to one million people by 2041 “could lead to a doubling of car trips on our road network by 2031”.
Moreover, each car only carries an average of about one person during peak hours.
But Professor Burke said the Gold Coast had taken steps in the right direction, with Australia’s first 100-per-cent electric bus depot opening in Currumbin earlier this year that would service a local fleet of 14.
“I first rode on these vehicles in China in Guangzhou,” he said.
“100 per cent of their fleet is electric now, has been for a long time, and as a user it was so much more pleasant than riding on the buses in Australia.”
‘Irresistible’ economic prospect
While the up-front cost of electric vehicles exceeded their combustion alternatives, Professor Burke said that the change over time with the price of core minerals used in EV production was expected to drop.
“I’d imagine most fleets will convert over the next 10 years just because the economics will be irresistible,” he said.
“It’ll just be cheaper to run, cheaper to maintain in the long term.”
The electric bus depot in Currumbin is powered by renewable energy, including a 56-kilowatt solar panel array.(Supplied: Translink)
State government estimates show lower-end EV cars cost $3 per 100km to operate, compared to $14.25 for a four-cylinder internal combustion engine.
EV manufacturer Nextport estimated that its electric buses were 30 per cent cheaper to maintain than their diesel counterparts.
“Charge time on the bus that is in the trial is between four to five hours,” Nexport’s director of mobility Pierre El Chiekh said.
“Our standard range is about 320 [kilometres].”
A lesson in the unknown
Hillcrest has begun trialling the buses along school pick-up routes with weights to test range, running costs and load capacity.
But Hillcrest’s finance manager Rachel Collins said there was also a symbolic lesson for students.
“The jobs that our kids are going to be going for, 65 per cent of them don’t even exist,” she said.
The Gold Coast faces congestion issues due to relatively high levels of car dependency.(ABC Gold Coast: Dominic Cansdale)
“What we can teach them is to be curious about the world, to research, and to find their way.
“When we bring in new technology early, like the bus, we’re modeling that we don’t really understand all of it, we’re going to make mistakes, and we might have issues charging the bus or problems along the way.
“But that’s what life is, and that’s what you need to learn.”
