More forum fun...Hunter Business Chamber Forum

I have a business. I’m the major share holder, company director, and have been voted employee of the year for the last 10 years. It’s a small business, actually it’s a micro-business but even so I have all the reporting requirements of being in business, I understand what it takes in time and human resources to keep a business viable

At this forum a list of 9 issues were provided to address which the three Greens Candidates present shared in discussing. I covered Regional economic stability in light of environmental pressure on coal and Reliable public infrastructure.

It was interesting that not one other candidate even mentioned Regional Economic Stability in the light of environmental pressure on coal and yet our future depends upon considereing it.

If you had to identify the major point of difference between the Greens and the other parties it is we believe whole heartedly there is a future beyond coal, a viable, jobs rich, skilled manufacturing industry based around renewable energy technologies.

The Stern Review and the IPCC both made it clear that we must reduce emissions from coal now, not in ten years time. The renewable energy industry offers a larger and more resilient source of jobs. Each unit of energy generated by wind creates four times more jobs than coal. A planned transition to renewable energy would swamp the number of jobs lost in a phase out of the coal industry and would address high levels of youth unemployment.

Between the mid 1980s and 2004 the coal industry shed 18,000 jobs largely because of technological changes. Based on the experiences in other countries where governments have taken responsibility to ensure a planned transition from coal to renewables, a conservative estimate is that 25,000 additional jobs could be created over the next 10 years.

The Greens are about providing a future, not only for people but for the planet. The impacts of burning coal are changing our world and this region is making quite a contribution to that change. We need to accept some responsibility and provide leadership, the business community needs to be supported in this transition, if we don’t start now, in the next 4 years we’ll miss the boat and the opportunities that were on board it.

Reliable public infrastructure was a big issue. A viable interchange with a bridge to provide better access for all users and an integrated transport plan drew lots of questions.

Whether it’s hospitals, housing, buses or bike tracks, reliable public infrastructure can maintain quality employment, lead to reductions in energy and protect the public interest.

Public infrastructure is vital not only to pick up the pieces that for one reason or another don’t make the corporate cut but to provide services for all people so that everyone can continue to live comfortably and therefore contribute to and feel a part of society.

A strong public sector use to be the prime training ground for apprentices and trainees, with the decline in the public sector we have also seen an increase in the skills shortage. The role of government is to prepare for the future not plunder the good planning of the past.

It has become increasingly apparent the there is a conflict in allowing profit driven corporations to provide necessary public services for example ABC Learning, Child Care Corporation Last year received 44% ( $278 million) of its revenue from taxpayer funded subsidies for child care. The Australia Institute found corporate centres provided poorer quality care than community based centres. ABC Learning staff expressed concerns about low food budgets, onerous cleaning duties and paperwork. Only 15% of ABC staff said their centres hired more staff than the legal minimum, compared with 40% at non-profit centres.

The Greens support

• public funding, ownership and control of public schools, hospitals and transport;
• provision of core government services by government enterprises, not out-sourcing;
  a complete ban on PPPs for essential infrastructure and services including school buildings, roads, transport and prisons;
• public ownership of the NSW electricity industry and water utilities; and
• where possible, a return to public ownership of privatised public services, infrastructure (e.g. motorways) and enterprises.

A regional transport strategy was discussed and the Greens position was to implement the Five Point Plan to improve public transport in the Lower Hunter .

1. Integrate the ticketing between the buses, trains and ferries for everyone, so commuters can buy a single ticket for their entire journey. Currently this is available to some pensioners, so it can be done and it can be expanded to include all commuters.
2. Integrate the timetables between buses, trains and ferries, so commuters can catch the bus to the train station and know that they won’t have just missed the train. This is not rocket science but it does require good planning.
3. Establish a locally-controlled Hunter Transport Authority to look after roads, rail, buses, taxis and ferries. Too often decisions about the transport in our region are made in Sydney. We need local control. If the budgets of the Roads and Traffic Authority, State Rail and the Buses and Ferries were combined into a single authority then we could truly get integrated decision-making.
4. Develop an Integrated Transport Plan for the Future developed by local expertise, encompassing the whole of the Hunter, with the Newcastle rail line as the spine of the system. With a population of 500,000, the Hunter is a genuinely self-contained regional area. The Plan needs to include public transport to the airport from Newcastle and Port Stephens.
5. Set a public transport patronage target of 20% by 2020. The current level is about 5%. The new Hunter Transport Authority would need to develop cost-effective strategies to increase the patronage level by 2020. Especially with the climate crisis we need to make transport more efficient and that means getting more cars off the road. There’s a big benefit in having less cars on the road. It not only saves the individual in petrol, parking and other costs, but also saves the community in lives, health impacts and environmental benefits.