Gladys Berejiklian, December 3rd on motoring carnage.
“(Premier) Morris Iemma and part-time Police Minister John Watkins have failed to deliver increased highway patrols over 12 years and unfortunately families across the state are all paying for their failure in the most horrific way,” he said.
Peter Debnam, December 5th on public transport.
At the same time more than 1500 weekly bus services were cut, she said. “Part-time minister Eric Roozendaal won’t be able to focus on getting those bus commuters who have left the service to hop back on a bus,” she said.
Yet the Liberals and Peter Debnam can’t seem to make any headway against a part-time Labor government.
The NSW Iemma government would have won comfortably if a state election was held last weekend, a new poll shows. A Roy Morgan Research poll shows that, despite a series of scandals, support for the state government improved through November.
The NSW Labor government would have attracted 55 per cent of the two-party preferred vote, compared to 45 per cent for the Liberal/Nationals coalition.
Labor support improved by two percentage points from October’s figure after Carl Scully was forced to resign as police minister for misleading parliament and former Aboriginal affairs minister Milton Orkopoulos was charged with 30 drug and child sex offences.
The coalition’s vote dropped two percentage points through November.
Time for Debnam and crew to get some new talking points.
Not just new talking points but actual policies. Debnam has ridden Laura Norder into to the ground and after that the policy cupboard is bare. There was talk of 300 extra Highway Patrol officers to combat the spate of P-plater deaths but for the life of me I can’t see how that would help. It is just yer transparent attempt to be seen doing something without actually doing anything.
I’m calling the election for Iemma and Labor now.
I don’t know how accurate Roy Morgan polls are…
Putting my political analyst hat on, the NSW opposition doesn’t look as if they’d be competent managers, and Debnam hasn’t shown he has a good sense of judgement – and there may actually be questions about his judgement, which could prove problematic given the focus on the competencies of the individuals wanting to be Premier.
As an inner city resident, it’s hard to judge what people in Sydney and the rest of NSW think – no doubt many think that the Labor govt stinks and is hopeless and that the opposition is acceptable. I wouldn’t be surprised if doubts about the opposition lead to Iemma being re-elected.
The lack of policing on the roads is a big problem. Part of a letter in today’s Age, although referring to Victoria, sums up the situation in NSW too:
The last time I spoke to a highway patrol in my local area, I was told there are 23 officers on the books but only 2 available for rostering at any one time. I get the idea this is the situation throughout NSW.
Drivers know only too well that ‘the chance of being caught breaking road laws is insignificant’ and this is the mindset too many p-platers are experiencing in the formative years of their driving experience.
Our local police station, opened a few years ago with great fanfare by Attorney-General Debus, has never had a police officer stationed in it (the HP use the rear of the building as their lunch-room). To contact the police you have to press a button near the front door which connects to another police station 15 kilometres away.
You might think policing is an old talking point but it’s one that resonates in local communities where the lack of adequate policing in all areas is an important matter.
I think that’s true.
But I suspect that Debnam blew any lead he might have gotten from those last three weeks in Parliament by deciding to focus his attack on Debus. The unassailable.
He lost any chance for questioning about teh issues.
Iemma’s summary dismissal of Orkopolous should prevent the issue flaring when it emerges with the court hearings in January.
after the cronulla riots – it was “fuck, there are heaps of cops – so where had they been hiding?? – there were cops and cop cars everwhere.
phil, what ever happened to that police rostering issue – was it ever changed, or did the union dig in its heels. it seemed to be a huge stumbling block in getting normal operating procedures up – bascially if a particular officer handled your case, he/she was unlikely to be available to follow it up…etc
I think there is alot of goodwill for Iemma, who is wisely responding to bread and butter issues, after they were seriously neglected and downgraded by Carr, for so long.
Whether there is the time, talent, or policies to actually make much of a difference…but as you point out, it doesn’t seem to matter as Debnam has no traction. I wonder how many marginal right wing libs are regretting dumping Broggers now!
“I think there is alot of goodwill for Iemma”
I don’t agree. I think there are a lot of people who think Labor in NSW are terrible. Problem is that they see the Liberals as being even worse. I also don’t think they did themselves any favours they way they treated Brogden.
Laura Norder will probably be a big issue again but promises such as ‘arresting 200 middle eastern thugs’ don’t give Debnam any credibility.
“there are heaps of cops – so where had they been hiding”
From what I remember at the time friends in various country towns said their local cops were ‘looted’ and sent to Sydney.
“they see the Liberals as being even worse”
‘xactly!
I know for a fact that Ron’s friends are right – they bussed in coppers from all over NSW to alleviate the pressure on Cronulla.
However, it should be noted that operational police numbers are rising, and that hopefully there will be fewer un/under(wo)manned stations in the near future. Oh, and that lovely election-winning phrase, ‘more cops on the beat’.
Yes – arresting 200, or was it 1000? and charging them with “anything”!
Interesting that everyone should focus on law and order, I’ actually thinking the transport thing will have more legs. But as always I’m probably wrong. It’ll probably be water……or kiddie fiddling if Debnam keeps taking advice from dodgy sources.
The Libs won’t move on Debnam now, it’s too late, they’re stuck with him so they will have to play out the string and hope to contain any losses and make a few gains along the way in preparation for the next one with a new leader.
As an aside the issue really isn’t more patrols, it motorists attitudes, madness has taken hold especially in advertising. We need to kill the glorification of speed we seen in ads and also the glamourizing of motoring…….that would be a start.
As for the police rostering issues, I’m not up on that, but my focus from now on will be NSW stuff leading up to the election so I’m hoping to add to my knowledge base.
Real Dumb Move from Debnam, and a Boost for Rudd and the ALP’s Anti-Work-choices Campaign.
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,20880385-5005361,00.html
Debnam pledges public service cuts
December 05, 2006 10:49pm
THE NSW Opposition has pledged to cut 20,000 public service jobs if it wins government at the March 24 state election.
Opposition Leader Peter Debnam has been under pressure from the Government to detail his policy on the cuts, after his predecessor John Brogden promised to cut 29,000 public service jobs.
Mr Debnam says he will cut 20,000 job over four years, saving more than $4 billion.