5,000 signatures reached
To: Premier Daniel Andrews MP
Public Transport: People not Profit
The Train and Tram privatisation must not simply be rolled over without public scrutiny!
With the major public transport franchise agreements set to expire in 2017, the government has a responsibility to the Commuters and Taxpayers of Victoria to find options that ensure the public interest is protected in the years ahead. Having made clear that they are exclusively negotiating with the current operators behind closed doors, we as the community must hold them accountable. After 20 years of privately run Public Transport, enough is enough.
Sign this petition and/or send the Premier an email to remind the Government that the interests of the public are paramount.
Why is this important?
Our public transport system was privatised by Jeff Kennett in the 1990s under the promise that government subsidies would diminish. Almost two decades on, subsidies have more than doubled leaving taxpayers to foot the bill for lucrative private profits to be sent offshore while our assets fall into disrepair.
With the contracts nearing expiry, this Government has the opportunity to explore more cost effective options that would protect the public interest while providing better maintenance and service delivery.
Governments around the world are waking up from the privatisation induced hangover of the failing thought bubble of the 1990s and 2000s. Sucking more and more taxpayer money while offering next to no public oversight, the privatisation of a monopoly industry must be questioned and addressed.
Victorians deserve better than a multinational corporation all too happy to skip stations, cancel services and poorly maintain State owned assets.
Having now sucked more than $7 billion from the Victorian economy, it is high time that the Victorian government put an end to this open exploitation of taxpayer funds and explore how the public can benefit from the sustainable industry of the future.