Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc.

On 4 December 2008 the Senate instituted an inquiry into public transport in Australian cities. Submissions have been lodged and hearings are now being held in Australian cities.

APTNSW made a submission to the Senate Inquiry and was invited to attend the hearings in Sydney which were held on 6 March. APTNSW shared a half hour of hearings with Bicycle NSW and Bike Sydney, and a short statement was presented outlining our views on the needs facing Sydney's public transport services which the Federal Government has the ability and resources to address.

The Senate Inquiry is a positive move, and will prove especially helpful if it results in the Rudd Government becoming involved in financial aid in the cause of improving public transport in Australian cities.

In the past with a few notable exceptions such as the Better Cities Program instituted under the Hawke and Keating Governments, the Federal Government has left financing of public passenger transport to the State Government budgets. For railway improvements it has generally restricted its financing to freight projects and inter-state railways. The same restrictions have not been applied to roads. The Federal Government has given considerable amounts of funds to major road projects, including motorways such as the Western Sydney Orbital.

The effect of this policy has been to both neglect public transport, and moreover to provide financial aid to the rival system of private car oriented infrastructure, including motorways.

APTNSW told the Senators that this lop-sided system of expenditure was wrong in terms of efficiency and environmental damage, and expressed its hope that the Rudd Government would re-consider the current system and begin a new regime which included much greater Federal aid to public passenger transport, with a focus on transport disadvantaged areas especially the urban sprawl areas where adequate public transport services have not been provided, leading to increased car-dependency.

The APTNSW presentation was in close accord with the presentations from other organizations such as WSROC and other Regional Organisation of Councils, about the needs of recently established suburbs which were transport disadvantaged because of the failure of successive State Governments to accompany new housing with adequate transport services and infrastructure to the new areas.

The APTNSW presentation to the Senate Inquiry will eventually appear in Hansard.

We hope for a positive report from the Inquiry, and a positive response from the Rudd Government to remedy the present unbalanced Federal aid programs.