Governor's Speech: Address in Reply

GOVERNOR'S SPEECH: ADDRESS IN REPLY

Debate resumed from 9 March.

Mr THOMPSON (Rockdale) [5.0]: At the outset I wish to indicate, as many other members have done in their contributions during debate, my great respect for the Governor His Excellency Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair and his distinguished and capable manner in carrying out the duties of his office. I agree not only with my Labor Party colleagues but also with National Party members and many Government backbench members who have deplored the appalling undermining campaign waged by the Premier's minions against Governor Sinclair. That the campaign was finally called off a couple of days ago was a relief to all; that it happened at all was a disgrace.

I believe the Governor would have been severely embarrassed last week when one of his duties at the opening of Parliament was to read the traditional outline of the Government's legislative and financial proposals for this fourth session of the Fiftieth Parliament. Rarely has any Government put forward a program so bereft of policies or so lacking in firm commitments or initiatives. The Government's legislative program of inaction since the last elections will continue, with more of the same in the future. Nowhere is that lack of positive action more apparent than in transport. I have some local matters on that theme I want to pursue but first I want to refer to some remarks made by the honourable member for Manly during his contribution to the censure motion against the Minister for Transport last Thursday. His comments are pertinent to my case. The honourable member for Manly said:

Page 562

It is not vehicles that have ground to a halt but the whole question of a public transport mass transit system.

What transport do we have? The Minister knows that so-called better buses were introduced in 1991. They are now called worser buses. The introduction of that system was hopeless. It met with enormous community opposition. All non-profit services are being cut. In some places in the electorate people have to wait an hour for a bus service. The Department of Transport regards as acceptable to have to walk 800 metre to a bus stop. In certain areas we have no services at weekends. The bus service is a farce, particularly out of peak hours. It has been a disaster.

I could not agree more with those sentiments. They reflect perfectly the situation facing my constituents who live in an area bounded by Rockdale, Kyeemagh and Brighton. Last Wednesday I made a private member's statement on this matter and detailed how private bus service No. 196 was taken over by the State Transit Authority. Instead of matching or improving a service which had been operating for years, State Transit substituted a service known as Route 479, which ignored a large section of the old route. The upshot was, and still is, that many people now find access to the bus either very difficult or just impossible. Because there is no profit in it, the run is cut down.

Commercial viability are the watch-words of State Transit under this Government. If it does not make a dollar, it is not on. What sort of public transport policy is that? Public transport surely is about serving people, but under this Government it is about serving the balance sheet: do not worry about the elderly or the infirm being virtual prisoners, isolated in their own homes, for as long as the new bus route turns a dollar, all is well. That is not good enough for my constituents. I repeat my call to the Minister and State Transit to either restore the old bus route or make major changes to the current route so that needs of people are met, instead of the mean-spirited expectations of professional bean counters. Public transport administration must be imbued with a concept of service to people rather than the present culture of commercial returns over and above human considerations. The Governor's Speech devoted seven sentences to the issue of public transport. It is a sad reflection and a terrible indictment of this Government that after six years in office it still does not have an integrated transport strategy.

Mr West: It does. We have released it.

Mr THOMPSON: The Minister reports there is such a scheme, but in truth there is not. There is certainly a discussion paper circulating, but this is not good enough after six years. In going to the 1991 general election the Labor Party advocated a transport policy which said, on page 1:

The aims and objections of the Labor Government are to develop a fully integrated land transport policy for the State and to set a clear direction for the overall development of land transport policies in New South Wales.

In approaching the next election the Labor Party will announce innovative policies which will give effect to that ideal. Had all previous governments had such commitment to a fully integrated land transport program it is arguable there would be much less need for the mish-mash of freeways and tollways that are cutting a swathe through our suburbs today. Had there been better planning of the transport needs of people and freight in relation to Port Botany and Sydney airport most of the devastation caused by road traffic in my electorate would have been avoided. Likewise, if there had been better urban and transport planning in the vast and still developing Sutherland Shire, a major part of the massive commuter traffic-flow from that region to the city via the Rockdale electorate might have gone by rail instead. It is suburbs in that electorate, such as Bexley, Rockdale, Brighton and Arncliffe, that bear the brunt of this crazy road bedlam.

The Minister announced three weeks ago that the M5 would be extended from Beverley Hills to General Holmes Drive at Kyeemagh. He said the environmental impact statement had identified this as the best option and, according to the Daily Telegraph Mirror of 17 February said, "It is estimated that fewer than 80 homes in the Arncliffe area would be affected by the four-lane thoroughfare". To an outsider that may seem fair enough, but to the people of Turella and Arncliffe it is a long way short of being satisfactory. At the very time the project consultants were undertaking a program of community consultation as a key ingredient of the environmental impact statement process, the Minister, ever desperate for a quick headline or what he thought was a good news story, pre-empted the whole process and so destroyed much of the good will of the local community.

He blithely went ahead and announced the result of an environmental impact statement process that still had a long way to go. The M5 route was now a fait accompli, and people who had not even had a chance to attend one of the scheduled local environmental impact statement meetings found they had been taken for granted. Local opinion did not count for this roads and transport Minister. Since the Minister's pre-emptive announcement I am pleased to note that Rockdale Council met to review the position concerning the inquiry. Quite properly, council decided to oppose the route as proposed and announced by the Minister. Council, like me, is loath to stand by and see a whole community cut in half by this road, nor does it want to see the wholesale demolition of houses, with all the disruption that would bring to the families directly involved and to the border neighbourhood. Nevertheless, council did resolve to support extension of the M5 along an alternative northern alignment.

I wish to put on record some of the key elements of the council resolution supporting a northern route for the M5. I shall quote the eight points council listed: the effects of noise on residents close to the proposed motorway, particularly in the vicinity of Kingsgrove Avenue, Kingsgrove, being satisfactorily addressed; the road being constructed in a tunnel from Bexley Road to the Illawarra railway line and not an elevated structure; access onto or off the motorway at Bexley Road being eliminated; the motorway
Page 563
following the proposed northern route to Tempe Reserve and a cross-over to Airport Drive with access being provided to Princes Highway and Airport Drive; the proposal providing for the construction of a connection from the motorway to Campbell Road along the line of the proposed northern option; the motorway continuing from Airport Road on airport land to General Holmes Drive; adjustments being made to the traffic arrangements on General Holmes Drive to overcome any traffic congestion at that location resulting from the motorway termination; and the inclusion of truck bans or other restrictions to limit the use of existing truck routes through council's area once the motorway has been constructed.

Rockdale Council has also sought urgent meetings with the Roads and Traffic Authority and the consultants to highlight these concerns. If the M5 is to go ahead it must proceed only after full and proper consideration is given to the views and feelings of people who are in close proximity to the proposed route and others who may be affected in whatever fashion. Full and open consultation is the only way to go. For my part I strongly support Rockdale Council's position, particularly that the road be constructed in a tunnel from Bexley Road and should remain in that tunnel until at least the railway line. It must not be built on an elevated structure through Turella and Arncliffe. If the road is built on a structure I understand it will need to be up to 15 metres high. The disruption of noise and pollution from that traffic to residents would be horrendous. An extended tunnel is an absolute must. The tunnel will not only protect the precious Wolli Valley, it will also safeguard the peace of mind and social amenity of the people of Turella and Arncliffe.

I mentioned before that I thoroughly oppose the road going over the route advocated by the Minister which, according to newspaper reports, would affect up to 80 houses. In local terms this is the Flora Street, Valda Avenue and Marsh Street route. Indeed, I applaud the initiative of Rockdale Council and council officers who have closely studied real and viable alternatives for a more people-friendly way of connecting the M5 with General Holmes Drive. Naturally the residents of Kyeemagh are concerned about the effects a major interchange at General Holmes Drive will have on their community.

This has been recognised by the council proposal which suggests ways and means of overcoming any traffic congestion. Another major point of the council's resolution is to propose that access onto and off the motorway at Bexley Road be prohibited. If access and egress were allowed, there would be little or no alleviation of the traffic problems which already beset Bexley North. I refer briefly to railways. The Daily Telegraph Mirror of 1 March 1994 contained a brief report under the headline "Danger on the rails" which stated:

Violence is a major hidden problem on Sydney trains, with bashings, robberies and rapes being committed on weekends and at night, a report by a new watchdog group claims.

But CityRail has disputed many of the findings and says violence on trains is decreasing.

The report by Concerned Citizens Association of Australia says its researchers noted 115 violent incidents while travelling on Sydney trains from October to February.

It lists 12 Sydney stations as being "danger hazard zone stations": Blacktown, Central, Mount Druitt, Rockdale, Wynyard, Burwood, Newtown, Penrith, Strathfield, Campbelltown, Redfern and Town Hall.

I have received many complaints about the activities of gangs and vandals in the vicinity of our railway stations. There are seven stations in my electorate, the biggest being Rockdale, where most of the trouble occurs. The complaints verify the newspaper report I quoted. These larrikins are moved on by police, but they return once the police depart. Graffiti is common despite the efforts of the local council to control it. Surely something more needs to be done to ensure that commuters can travel safely on our trains, and can alight in safety at their local station to wait for buses or a lift.

As far as the scourge of graffiti is concerned, more serious measures must be taken to restrict the sale of spray paint cans. Hefty fines apply to the sale of cigarettes to juveniles. Yet, given the huge community cost and the damage and despoliation caused by graffiti, it is incredible that greater measures are not being taken to honestly and properly address the problem. Some time ago the Minister for Transport announced a priority list of 33 railway stations to be provided with easy access. This program makes railway stations more accessible to the elderly, the frail, the disabled and anyone else who has difficulty negotiating dozens of stairs. I acknowledge that it is not possible to convert every station through this program and that there is a need for it to be done on a priority basis. However, I cannot understand why Rockdale station, which is a public transport hub, is not one of the original 33 stations.

Government and private buses radiate from Rockdale to Kyeemagh, Brighton, Ramsgate, Kogarah, Sans Souci, Dulwich Hill, Arncliffe, Bexley, Kingsgrove, Bexley North, Campsie, Hurstville, Burwood, the airport, Bondi Junction, Miranda, and many other places in between. Rockdale railway station is one of the busiest on the Illawarra line. Rockdale has one of the most senior - by age - populations of all municipalities. There are real and obvious reasons why Rockdale should be on that priority list. I raised this matter with the Minister by way of a question upon notice and I await his response.

The Governor referred in his Speech to issues related to the International Year of the Family and to law and justice. I want to dwell for a time on a matter which is relevant to both these areas. It concerns one of my constituents, Johann Ernst Seigfried Pohl, whom I have spoken of previously in the House. I first met Ziggy Pohl soon after my election to Parliament in 1991. In the time that has elapsed since 1991 I have come to know him very well and I consider myself honoured to have his friendship. Ziggy Pohl spent 10 years in gaol for a crime he did not commit. It took more than 20 years for him to be pardoned and to eventually have the conviction quashed and his record wiped clean.

Page 564

I have previously recounted details of his case to this House and I do not propose to go over it again today. However, I want to take this opportunity to draw attention to the fact that even though he has been pardoned, the conviction quashed, and the slate wiped clean, Ziggy Pohl has yet to receive justice. As I said earlier, this case has connotations for the International Year of the Family. Steve Barrett, reporting in the Sunday Telegraph on 9 May 1993, related that Ziggy Pohl was living for the day when he would be finally and fully cleared of his wrongful conviction. He would then be able to visit his elderly mother in Germany and be reunited with her. I do not propose to read that report, but it is a telling story and one which would move most people.

Ziggy's conviction was finally quashed in December 1993, following the passage of the long delayed Crimes Legislation (Review of Convictions) Bill. That occurred only because the honourable member for Wallsend and I introduced private members' bills which forced the Government's hand. If Mr Pohl's mother were still alive he would have been reunited with her and other family members now, in the International Year of the Family. I can certainly imagine and share the disappointment and bitterness of Ziggy Pohl that he never saw his mother as he hoped. I also feel a sense of near despair that this good, decent and honest man will ever receive acknowledgment from the Government, by the payment of a reasonable amount of compensation. He is owed something by a system that locked him up for 10 years and made his life hell for more than 20 years.

Mr DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Order! It being 5.15 p.m., pursuant to sessional orders the debate is interrupted.