IT WOULD appear that it was I that hit a raw nerve (Paul Jenkins, The Courier, July 19).
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Paul correctly points out that the current government is investing in track upgrades and new rolling stock.
But so too did the previous Bracks/Brumby government, and the Cain/Kirner and Thompson/Hamer governments, and many others before I was born.
In fact, governments of all persuasions can list achievements in the rail network, with one exception.
My point was and continues to be that the government which did the least amount for the rail network, was a government in which Paul was a member.
The Kennett government did the rail network enormous harm. They closed lines, ceased investment in rolling stock, removed station staff and sold off the rail networks to private operators.
I did a search of Hansard to discover that in the seven years Mr Jenkins was an MP, he said very little about rail.
He gave two short speeches on a steam train trip to Mildura (ironically a line Mr Jenkins helped close), another speech on the Spencer Street Station Authority and half a dozen 'Dorothy Dixers' ... nothing else.
No mention of the closure of the Ararat, Maryborough, Mildura, Bainsdale or Leongatha services.
No mention of the privatisation of the rail network, job losses and safety issues due to a lack of staff. Not a whisper.
But now, Paul is the great champion of rail and berates the previous government for the shameful act of re-opening lines, and buying new trains and carriages. What hypocrisy.