Fw: Thurs.1.7.21 daily digest
  Roderick Smith

----- Forwarded message -----

To:australiantransportnews@... australiantransportnews@...>
Sent: Saturday, 2 October 2021, 09:08:52 am AEST
Subject: Thurs.1.7.21 daily digest


Roderick


 "210701Th-Melbourne'Age'-carparks.jpg" 
"210701Th-Melbourne'Age'-Ringwood-carpark-ss.jpg"

 "210701Th-Melbourne'HeraldSun'-AZ-risk.jpg"
 "210701Th-Melbourne'HeraldSun'-letters-mega.stations.jpg"
 "210701Th-Melbourne'HeraldSun'-station-carparks-a-ss.jpg" 
"210701Th-Melbourne'HeraldSun'-station-carparks-b.jpg"


folio: https://www.escape.com.au/top-lists/19-hilarious-menu-fails/image-gallery/4339985516416e02c6e86739054e4ca5 [the photos are funny; the captions are useless]

brilliant, on the energy crisis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELaBzj7cn14

Thurs.1.7.21 Metro Twitter
Aircraft: No ramp access to platforms until late 2021 (pedestrian-underpass works).
Flinders St: still with a lane closed for tunnel works.
20.26 Westall: No lift access between pfm 2/3 and the overpass (an outage). Passengers from Flinders St for Westall alight at Springvale, and return to Westall on a Flinders St train.  Passengers at Westall speak to station staff for assistance.
Buses replace trains Ringwood - Lilydale from 22.30 until the last train (level-crossing works).


Costs blow out on Coalition parking projects funded without full scoping. Farrah Tomazin July 1, 2021
The Morrison government paid $42 million up front for four train station car parks in the key Liberal-held seat of Deakin in Melbourne’s east before any of the projects had been properly assessed.
The payment was made to Maroondah Council last year but construction is yet to begin on three of the four, and the estimated cost of delivering them has already blown out by almost $20 million. It is more than a year until most of the projects are likely to be completed.
The existing carpark at Ringwood station, one of several sites chosen for upgrades under the federal government’s controversial congestion fund.CREDIT:PAUL JEFFERS
The commuter car parks in Ringwood, Heathmont, Heatherdale and Croydon are in the marginal Liberal electorate held by Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar, and are part of a program slammed by federal Auditor-General Grant Hehir for failing to award funds based on merit.
In a scathing report this week, the Australian National Audit Office found that projects under the $4.8 billion federal Urban Congestion Fund program had been green-lighted by Prime Minister Scott Morrison the day before he called the 2019 election, and the money mostly went to Liberal-held or marginal seats.
Mr Sukkar was one of several Coalition MPs at risk of losing his seat at the time. His margin going into the election was more than 5 per cent, but he faced a backlash in Victoria for his role in the political coup against Mr Morrison’s predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull. Mr Sukkar won the seat on a reduced margin.
The Auditor-General revealed that on the eve of the election the government negotiated a deal with Maroondah Council to deliver the projects at a cost of $15 million each. However, the government agreed to pay the council 70 per cent, or $42 million, up front. The payment was made “prior to any of the four projects being fully scoped”, the documents reveal, and the remainder of the costs were to be paid on completion.
Sandbagging Deakin: Scott Morrison with Michael Sukkar during the 2019 election campaign.CREDIT:DOMINIC LORRIMER
“The approach taken by the department in establishing delivery timelines and milestone payments did not address the risks,” Mr Hehir said in his report. “Rather, 70 per cent of the total Australian government funding committed to these projects was paid around seven to 10 months in advance of the expected construction start dates.”
The payment plan is the latest example of dubious processes in administration of the Urban Congestion Fund, in which the Coalition promised to build 47 commuter car parks across Australia, including 29 in Victoria that had been announced without consulting the state government.
Some of those proposals were on sites where the state was already building projects of its own, while others, such as a proposal for a new car park at Balaclava Station in East St Kilda, were made even though the Port Phillip Council had earmarked the site for social housing a year earlier.
The decision not to undertake proper assessments has also resulted in budget blowouts. The proposed car park at Ringwood, for example, is now expected to cost taxpayers almost $30 million – double the original price, with $14.7 million of additional funding provided in the latest federal budget. The project is expected to start construction in late 2021 and be finished by mid-2022.
Construction at Heathmont is estimated to start and finish at the same time, but the project has already blown out to almost $19 million, with another $4 million provided in the last budget.
The projects announced in a number of seats in Melbourne’s east and south-eastern suburbs are politically contentious because some came at the expense of road and rail investment in the Labor-dominated north-western suburbs, which infrastructure experts said were more congested and in greater need of upgrades.
Labor MP Andrew Giles referred the fund to the Auditor-General earlier this year amid concerns of widespread pork-barrelling.
“What we’ve seen here is a desperate attempt to save a marginal seat when this money should have been spent to support hard-working commuters on the basis of evidence and need,” Mr Giles said.
“The more we find out about these car rorts, the worse it looks.”
The government has defended the scheme, with Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher saying this week that “all infrastructure investment decisions made by the Australian government are made based on an identified need in the community”.
As The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald revealed this week, a fifth proposal in Mr Sukkar’s Deakin electorate, for a commuter car park in Mitcham, was also allocated $15 million by the government simply by issuing a press release along with five other Liberal MPs saying it would happen. But the project on state government land was cancelled in April.
Mr Sukkar declined to comment and the Maroondah Council did not respond to calls.
RELATED ARTICLE Prime Minister Scott Morrison with Michael Sukkar (centre) and then-urban infrastructure minister Alan Tudge (at right) at a campaign event in Mr Sukkar’s electorate during the 2019 federal election. ‘Really bad practice’: Car park project chosen by Morrison press release
<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/costs-blow-out-on-coalition-parking-projects-funded-without-full-scoping-20210701-p585zb.html>
* Nothing compared to the unnecessary level crossing removal. With fewer people working at the office neither is needed.
* I have never heard of a government-funded project that did not have a dramatic cost blow out after commitment and sign-off. It seems to be a law of nature. As such, it invites a scientific study exploring the underlying mechanism.
* $200,000 per car space! Astounding waste of public money. Imagine the public transport powered by renewable energy made possible..... So many jobs & industry created...... But Morrison thinks $200,000 per space is better value.
* The photo of Sukkar smiling away while public money is being used to try and buy his way into staying in power is nothing less than sickening to the stomach.
* at least one of the projects has been delivered - the car park at Croydon - is nearly finished!
* Meanwhile, over at the Herald Sun; 'Scotty solving commuters car parking woes with generous upgrades to outer suburban railway stations'. Boomers and retirees will vote these LNP clods back in again next election
* Victoria is an expert in managing Infrastructure Projects badly.
* Great with money. Great at spending other people's money, the same money that they say will run out of Labor spends any.
* Just the usual lies from the increasingly incompetent Morrison. Nothing to see here!
* Federal ICAC can't come soon enough. Sadly Scott Morrison is too frightened to implement one through simple fear of what carnage it would produce on the LNP. No doubt Labor as well.
* And still the mere 30% of what's left of the rusted ons will still vote Liberal and the religious anti-Labor bloc will still preference the Liberals.
* Well Sukkar is remarkable for getting the PM to make announcements in his marginal electorate b4 election and then nothing happens (the PM does NOT hold a shovel either) until the next round of announcements just b4 the next election.
* We shouldn’t be surprised at these sort of revelations. Scooters government only does things where it benefits them. There is no thought about the rest of the country they were elected to govern. Watch how much money is thrown at Queensland and NSW at the next election.
* Every governments infrastructure works blow out of budget due to:
1. It's our money and no accountability.
2. No resource or experience to scope the projects ( only managers with little experience).
3. No real independent overview of the project scopes.
4. Experience with local knowledge are retired or left the industry.
5. Most projects are for political point scoring rather than long term gain.
6. No training of people for long tern investment.
7. Due to lack of resources within governments, outsourcing is rampant and usually cost more.
8. No defined government assets for long term maintenance and it takes longer to get work done.
9. Too many project manager lacking in specialised knowledge.
* Good government starts......soon?
* And there's Michael Sukkar's name yet again.
Micheal needs a calculator that works to do budget projections, as Assistant Treasurer
Michael needs a calculator that works to do the counting for Mr Dutton's spill
Michael - there are at least 3 of the $2 shops within a 10 minute drive of your Mitcham electorate office......
* This mob can't build a quarantine centre in 18 months, what makes you think they would be any better a building a couple of car parks?
* I'm a resident near Heathmont station. There is a need for more parking but it should be met by expanding the current carpark on the south side of the station - in coordination surely with Metro and the state government via a co-funding arrangement. Council was gifted the money unawares so far as I can tell - it was not requested - and has stupidly purchased new land for the carpark that is completely inappropriate for a carpark. And don't get me started on the outright and obvious pork barrelling - Sukkar is totally shameless. Can't wait for Deakin voters to give him the boot - not just for this but for a host of reasons.
* Meanwhile the MSM cheer squad treat these liberals with kid gloves
* Morrison is a big man with other peoples money and announcements.
* Build some public housing? Far too rational!
* Human nature being what it is the people outraged by this kind of thing (including me) are the people who do not live in Deakin. I imagine that the average Deakin voter will continue to vote for Michael Sukkar (unfortunately) so they can continue to enjoy his largesse.
* Establish the federal ICAC . It’s needed on many levels to look into messes like these and give accountability to government so we can have a level of confidence about where our taxes are spent.
* Australian government are made based on an identified need in the community”. Yep and that would be the political need to keep their snouts in the trough.
* Michael Sukkar is doing an remarkable job in getting things for the constituents in his electorate. Pity about everyone else.
* Getting the government to ignore proper process for deciding where taxpayers money should be spent isn't remarkable.
* Hendo hasn't done nothing.
* Interesting. The people I know who work in the city and commute from the outer north and outer west desperately juggle family time and start work time just to get one of these precious car parks. But the LNP seems only interested in projects that relate to Melbourne's outer east. We've hit a shameful place in public life in Australia, where everything is done for political return.
* And you are surprised?
* I would not call it public life but rather a shameless Liberal government intent in staying in power and nothing else. Exhibit 1 Morrison's vaccine stuff up.
* How good is it to set fire to $700m taxpayer money for non existant car parks and another $300m for unneeded sports facilities? At least Labors schools hall funding resulted in school halls being built. Liberals good money managers...pppff!
* Labor built school halls at all schools including the ones that already had them or didn’t need them. No matter what the party it seems somehow we need to remove decisions how to use our taxes away from politicians ............. come to think of it can we remove them all somehow?
* Like the $1 Billion Labor paid to NOT build a road? Or the $1.3 Billion we paid for the worst train ticketing system in world? Yep, Labor's waaaay better with money than the Libs.
* LNP better economic managers? Mere propaganda. Baseless nonsense. LNP are experts at squandering the tax they over-acquire from Australia's workers!
* Money managers? No, more like money allocators. Why does all this remind me of my primary school days? Remember how near the end of the class day the teacher made you leader so you got to choose who left first, one at a time? How we all sat straight and erect, hands folded oh so piously at the end of arms extended as straight as a field gun's barrel ...? And if you didn't choose your 'friends' first, the gasps of exasperation? You knew what was coming when it was their turn to run an organised class exit. And so I present Australia's current federal parliamentary system- run along similar lines. Oh the indignity and embarrassment of it all.
* Indirect middle class welfare
* This is just what the Coalition do. Do nothing and cost us in the process. Sukkar has to go.
* Pork barreling at its finest!
* Parliament could stop this. Ask yourself why it doesn't.
* We obviously need to create more swinging Federal seats in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Come on train-commuting Lib voters, vote Lab. It's in your interests.
* Rowville and Doncaster rail will never be built if the electorates remain safe liberal seats. And then again won’t be built if state labor government has its way. The residents been waiting for over 50 years!
* The Liberals can stump up money for car parks, seemingly at will, but fail to do proper costings and consultation with either the State or local governments. Aren't this mob 'the party of responsible fiscal management'??? Looks like Sukkar will join the long list of former MPs after the next poll which can't come soon enough. Perhaps he could morph into someone who is employed to recruit new members for his party. One must feel for the folks the north-east of Melbourne's metropolis who wait for any kind of rail or road investment from the Morrison government. Scomo and his mob seem stuck in the Abbott mentality that 'passenger rail is a State responsibility'.
* Morrison will give him a jet and staff to fly around looking for his next job if he looks like losing his seat.
* We badly need a Federal ICAC to examine rorts like this. With sports rorts and this carparking rort the LNP is clearly showing that they are willing to use our funds for their own selfish political advantage.
* Rubbish. We need Parliament to do its job
* Don't forget the Badgerys Creek scandal.
* Just another day and another PR disaster for the inept Morrison rabble!
* Just like the westgate tunnel, a bottomless pit created by the Cfmeu and the Andrews Government
* When is Sukkar being sacked. Wasn't his branch stacking using the religious right enough for his electorate to put up with.
* Without full scoping? There was full scoping. Is it a swing / Liberal electorate to throw the money to? Thats the only scoping SloMo the spin guy is interested in.
* Better economic managers?


‘Really bad practice’: Car park project chosen by Morrison press release. Katina Curtis and David Crowe July 1, 2021. 107 comments
Prime Minister Scott Morrison authorised the use of $15 million taxpayer funds to upgrade a commuter car park simply by issuing a press release along with five other Liberal MPs saying it would happen.
The project, one of 47 funded in a program slammed by the auditor-general for being opaque and failing to award funds based on merit, has since been cancelled.
Former Finance Department deputy secretary Stephen Bartos said the use of a press release to allocate money was “appalling governance”, even though it was within the law.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison with Michael Sukkar (centre) and then-urban infrastructure minister Alan Tudge (at right) at a campaign event in Mr Sukkar’s electorate during the 2019 federal election.CREDIT:DOMINIC LORRIMER
Mr Morrison and then-urban infrastructure minister Alan Tudge used the $660 million commuter car park program to promise new car parks and upgrades near train stations at 47 sites in the lead-up to the 2019 election.
Labor damned the program as a “rort” and vowed to use Parliament to investigate how the money was spent.
The projects were overwhelmingly in Coalition-held or marginal Labor seats and the government could not demonstrate they were chosen on merit, the Australian National Audit Office said.
In the case of the planned park and ride at Mitcham train station, in suburban eastern Melbourne, the auditors couldn’t find any documented approval for it to go ahead in the Infrastructure Department’s records.
The Mitcham car park was one of five chosen in the electorate of Deakin, held by Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar despite a small swing against him at the 2019 election.
ANAO asked for “evidence of the authority to select this car park site” and the department offered a press release from Mr Morrison, Mr Tudge, Mr Sukkar and fellow Liberal MPs Tony Smith, Jason Wood and Tim Wilson.
“Michael Sukkar, Tony Smith, Jason Wood and Tim Wilson have all called for congestion-busting investments to help local families and businesses,” Mr Morrison said in the press release.
Auditors also could not find documented reasons why the Mitcham site was chosen, apart from those suggested in the press release.
The department told auditors there was precedent for a media announcement by the Prime Minister forming the basis of authority to progress a project.
Mr Bartos said ministers could issue decisions by letters and could do so through press releases as well, but he said that did not mean it was a good approach to managing public funds.
“There may be enough authority for it because it falls within the appropriation but it’s terribly bad practice,” he said.
“There has been a prolific number of grant programs where dodgy criteria have been used, so it is not surprising.
“But it is really bad practice to do project selection by media release.”
There was $15 million allocated to the Mitcham project, but it was cancelled on April 15, 2021.
Three other projects were also cancelled in April: at Balaclava station in the electorate of Labor MP Josh Burns, and at Kananook and Seaford stations in the electorate of Dunkley, which Labor’s Peta Murphy won from Liberal Chris Crewther.
Mr Morrison approved funding for 27 of the 47 projects the day before the federal election was called.
Labor had also proposed park and ride projects in the lead up to the 2019 election, with the ANAO report noting the government’s reasons for choosing four of the projects explicitly stated it was because they had been “committed to by federal Labor”.
However, then-leader Bill Shorten’s announcement of Labor’s plan in mid-2018 said “local and state governments will be asked to demonstrate that a car park is the best solution and most cost-effective way to use available land” before being given any grants.
( State    Car Park location    Total Project Cost ($m)    Total Aus Gov Funding ($m)    Electorate    Current MP    Status
VIC    Ferntree Gully    15.0    15.0    Aston (Liberal)    Alan Tudge    In planning
VIC    Belgrave/Lilydale Lines - Boronia    20.0    20.0    Aston (Liberal)    Alan Tudge    In planning
NSW    Panania    TBD    7.5    Banks (Liberal)    David Coleman    In planning
NSW    T8 East Hills Line - Revesby    32.0    12.5    Banks (Liberal)    David Coleman    In planning
NSW    T8 East Hills Line - Riverwood    41.0    10.5    Banks (Liberal)    David Coleman    In planning
NSW    Hurstville    TBD    7.5    Banks (Liberal), Barton (Labor)    David Coleman/ Linda Burney    In planning
VIC    Northern Lines (Craigieburn, Hurstbridge)    TBD    70.0    Calwell (Labor), McEwen (Labor), Scullin (Labor)    Maria Vamvakinou/ Rob Mitchell / Andrew Giles    In planning
WA    Mandurah Station Parking Bays    32.0    16.0    Canning (Liberal)    Andrew Hastie    In planning
VIC    Belgrave/Lilydale Lines - Heatherdale    15.0    15.0    Deakin (Liberal)    Michael Sukkar    In planning
VIC    Belgrave/Lilydale Lines - Heathmont    15.0    15.0    Deakin (Liberal)    Michael Sukkar    In planning
VIC    Croydon    18.0    18.0    Deakin (Liberal)    Michael Sukkar    In planning
VIC    Mitcham    15.0    15.0    Deakin (Liberal)    Michael Sukkar    Cancelled
VIC    Ringwood    15.0    15.0    Deakin (Liberal)    Michael Sukkar    In planning
VIC    Frankston Line - Frankston    24.5    24.5    Dunkley (changed Liberal to Labor)    Peta Murphy    In planning
VIC    Frankston Line - Kananook    7.0    7.0    Dunkley (changed Liberal to Labor)    Peta Murphy    Cancelled
VIC    Frankston Line - Seaford    7.0    7.0    Dunkley (changed Liberal to Labor)    Peta Murphy    Cancelled
QLD    Coomera Station commuter car park, Coomera    TBD    15.0    Fadden (LNP)    Stuart Robert    In planning
QLD    Beenleigh Station commuter car park, Beenleigh    30.0    15.0    Forde (LNP)    Stuart Robert    In planning
QLD    Loganlea Station commuter car park, Loganlea    TBD    15.0    Forde (LNP)    Stuart Robert    In planning
VIC    Sandringham Line - Elsternwick    9.1    9.1    Goldstein (Liberal)    Tim Wilson    In planning
VIC    Sandringham Line - North Brighton    6.9    6.9    Goldstein (Liberal)    Tim Wilson    In planning
VIC    Sandringham Line - Sandringham    3.1    3.1    Goldstein (Liberal)    Tim Wilson    In planning
VIC    Bentleigh    9.1    9.1    Goldstein (Liberal)    Tim Wilson    In planning
VIC    Hampton    4.0    4.0    Goldstein (Liberal)    Tim Wilson    In planning
VIC    Belgrave/Lilydale Lines - Camberwell    20.0    20.0    Kooyong (Liberal)    Josh Frydenberg    In planning
VIC    Belgrave/Lilydale Lines - Canterbury    15.0    15.0    Kooyong (Liberal)    Josh Frydenberg    In planning
VIC    Belgrave/Lilydale Lines - Surrey Hills    15.0    15.0    Kooyong (Liberal)    Josh Frydenberg    In planning
VIC    Glenferrie Station    15.0    15.0    Kooyong (Liberal)    Josh Frydenberg    In planning
VIC    Berwick Railway Station    15.0    15.0    La Trobe (Liberal)    Jason Wood    In planning
VIC    Pakenham Line - Beaconsfield    4.7    15.0    La Trobe (Liberal)    Jason Wood    In planning
VIC    Pakenham Line - Narre Warren    15.0    15.0    La Trobe (Liberal)    Jason Wood    In planning
VIC    Pakenham Line - Pakenham    15.0    15.0    La Trobe (Liberal)    Jason Wood    In planning
NSW    Emu Plains    33.4    15.0    Lindsay (changed Labor to Liberal)    Melissa McIntosh    In planning
NSW    T1 North Shore, Northern and Western Line - Kingswood    20.0    20.0    Lindsay (changed Labor to Liberal)    Melissa McIntosh    In planning
NSW    T1 North Shore, Northern and Western Line - St Marys    33.8    33.8    Lindsay (changed Labor to Liberal)    Melissa McIntosh    In planning
NSW    T8 East Hills Line - Campbelltown    22.1    22.1    Macarthur (Labor)    Mike Freelander    In planning
NSW    T8 East Hills Line - Macarthur    15.0    15.0    Macarthur (Labor)    Mike Freelander    In planning
VIC    Sandringham Line - Balaclava    15.0    15.0    Macnamara (Labor)    Josh Burns    Cancelled
VIC    Doncaster Park and Ride    6.0    6.0    Menzies (Liberal)    Kevin Andrews    In planning
VIC    Eltham Station    6.0    6.0    Menzies (Liberal)    Kevin Andrews    In planning
QLD    Commuter Car Park Upgrades    30.0    15.0    Petrie (LNP), Ryan (LNP)    Luke Howarth/Julian Simmonds    In planning
NSW    Gosford    TBD    30.0    Robertson (Liberal)    Lucy Wicks    In planning
NSW    Woy Woy    TBD    5.0    Robertson (Liberal)    Lucy Wicks    In planning
Source: Department of Infrastructure
RELATED ARTICLE Prime Scott Morrison visits the Mulgoa Road Corridor with Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne and Candidate for Lindsay Melissa McIntosh in Penrith, Sydney on April 12, 2019 Morrison funded 27 car parks just one day before he called the election
RELATED ARTICLE Just two of the 47 commuter car parks meant to be built at rail stations have been completed. Multibillion-dollar federal fund didn’t award money on merit, audit finds
<www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/really-bad-practice-car-park-project-chosen-by-morrison-press-release-20210630-p585nd.html>


From WhatsApp to William Bligh: The story behind the Archives battle Angus Livingston July 1, 2021
It started with a newsroom discussion about the Prime Minister’s use of Facebook, and it ended with the National Archives getting $67.7 million to save Australia’s crumbling history.
The federal government confirmed on Thursday it would pump the money into the National Archives to cover a fast-track digitisation of documents at risk of turning to dust.
Pitcairn Island registers of inhabitants and births deaths and marriages are at risk of decaying before they can be digitised.CREDIT:NATIONAL ARCHIVES
But that decision only followed a series of articles that ranged from Prince Charles and the Bounty mutineers to decaying images of Italian POWs held across Australia during World War II.
And those articles started because of the way Scott Morrison occasionally posts important policy announcements on his Facebook page – but which fail to make it to his official pm.gov.au website.
Shane Wright, the senior economics correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, and political reporter Katina Curtis started looking at the arrangements surrounding the PM’s Facebook posts. It became obvious that social media posts were not the only issue that needed investigation.
Ministers use encrypted messaging systems such as WhatsApp and Wickr to keep in contact with their counterparts and to communicate with their senior public servants. Those messages are not being passed onto the Archives despite the legal requirements.
While they burrowed away at this issue, the National Archives fronted a parliamentary committee. Archives director-general David Fricker mentioned in passing the problems the institution was having protecting the documents it already held.
Curtis and Wright decided to ask the Archives – what documents were at risk?
A few days later they had the answer. Recordings of war time speeches by John Curtin, documents from the Stolen Generations royal commission and even a births, deaths and marriages register of descendants of the Bounty mutineers were crumbling away.
That prompted the story that marked the beginning of a series of articles about the plight of the Archives. After running this story they thought – does the Archive have images of some of these at-risk documents?
Some of the deteriorated negatives, prints and scans of Italian prisoners of war in Australia held by the National Archives. CREDIT:NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF AUSTRALIA
A picture truly is worth a thousand words, so with distorted and discoloured images of some long lost Italian POWs, they told the story of what was really at risk.
Historians and readers rallied with concern. An email to a representative from the Pitcairn Islands revealed anger that a priceless piece of history tied to the most famous mutiny of all time might be lost.
The federal budget failed to deliver extra cash for the Archives, which soon after put out the begging bowl for public donations.
A fortnight later a letter appeared in The Times of London, written by the chairman of the Commonwealth Heritage Forum, Philip Davies. A globally recognised architectural historian who also happens to know Prince Charles, he expressed concern about the situation facing the Pitcairn Islands register.
Amanda Stoker, the Attorney-General’s assistant minister, was confronted with this news during a late night Senate hearing. She said it was business as usual for the Archives to deal with disintegrating records, sparking further outrage.
By now, even senior cabinet ministers, unaware of what had been occurring at the National Archives over the years, were conceding the government’s handling of the entire issue had been poor.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, acutely aware of the importance of the Archives’ role after it had helped save him during the section 44 citizenship crisis by unearthing vital records about his mother’s arrival in Australia, was among those saying money had to be found.
This week, the cash was unearthed.
RELATED ARTICLE Recordings of the wartime speeches of prime minister John Curtin are at risk as the National Archives races to digitise the 384km of material it holds. ‘Destroying our historical records’: Historians fear Australian stories could be lost forever
RELATED ARTICLE The disintegrating image of Italian prisoner-of-war Leo Antonini. He served out the war in a West Australian camp. His image is one of potentially thousands slowly disintegrating as the Archives battles for more funding. The end of history: How time is eating away the soul of Australia
<www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/from-whatsapp-to-william-bligh-the-story-behind-the-archives-battle-20210701-p585v2.html>


Union claims Brisbane bus drivers forced to work in lockdown or not get paid. Jocelyn Garcia July 1, 2021
Brisbane bus drivers are being forced to work during the three-day lockdown out of fear they would not be paid, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union claims.
RTBU assistant state secretary Tom Brown said workers were previously stood down during lockdowns.
Bus drivers are working during the lockdown.CREDIT:MICHELLE SMITH
“This time they haven’t been stood down with full pay and have had to excuse themselves by using their own sick leave or if they don’t have it they’re forced to take their own holidays or work,” he said.
“There is a highly infectious strain out there and the bottom line is [the Brisbane City Council] should have sent them home at the start of this.
“BCC are not responding and are avoiding our calls.”
Councillor Ryan Murphy, the chair of the public and active transport committee, said if any staff believed they were “considered vulnerable and unable to work during the state government’s three-day lockdown, they are encouraged to provide a medical certificate or access leave”.
Mr Brown said his members were growing furious that the council had changed its procedures with minimal communication.
“The fact that our members, and there are over 250 bus drivers, know at least 6000 council workers have been sent home on full pay and our guys, [who] have been deemed essential, have been treated worse,” he said.
“The ones that don’t have enough leave and can’t afford to not get paid are forced to be out on the roads right now.
“BCC should’ve sent home all employees, essential or not.”
Cr Murphy said all employees were classified as essential workers.
“Public transport is an essential service and continues to operate,” he said.
“To restore confidence and keep people safe on our buses, ferries and CityCats, we’re continuing to allow back-door boarding, require cashless payments and conduct deep cleaning our public transport fleet.”
Bus driver Wendy Irving said she was worried she would not be paid during the lockdown as she had no leave left to use.
“During the first lockdown last year, I had left my husband and all of a sudden I had to survive on my own,” she said.
Bus driver and Rail, Tram and Bus Union delegate Wendy Irving.
“I had breakdowns and used my sick leave, normal leave and long service leave.
“Council paid me a standard week’s pay as part of the COVID-19 payment, which got me through.”
Ms Irving said this lockdown was different.
“I had to go to my doctor and get a medical certificate but I don’t know whether I’m going to get paid this time,” she said.
“I do everything to keep myself safe but I’m halfway through my COVID-19 vaccination.
“My GP told me I would have to go to lockdown for health reasons as I’m classified as high-risk but we have to request to council to go home and take it to management.
“As I understand it, everyone driving over the age of 70 will get paid during lockdown but I’m 59.”
Ms Irving said the council needed to change its policy.
“They need buses on the road. We pick up nurses, doctors, radiographers and physiotherapists because our buses service the main hospitals,” she said.
“But we are at risk too, and lockdown situations are going to be a regular occurrence for a long time and it’s not going away.
“I do not need the uncertainty of not knowing if I pay my rent next week.”
Comment was sought from lord mayor Adrian Schrinner.
<www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/union-claims-brisbane-bus-drivers-forced-to-work-in-lockdown-or-not-get-paid-20210701-p5860j.html>
* just get on with it, plenty of retail, health workers who have to front up to work.
* Bus drivers are essential workers and should be vaccinated and wearing masks. What next, letting doctors not come to work?
* There is a very good reason for bus drivers to be given priority for vaccination. If they are vaccinated then there is no argument on the issue - they can then go to work without issue. Similarly with Shop Assistants. These are front-line workers
* Welcome to everyone else’s world. There are countless people who aren’t getting paid during the lockdown, it’s ridiculous they got paid for not working before!
* Well good on you, weren't you lucky.


Four new Queensland COVID cases, one worked at airport check-in counter. Felicity Caldwell July 1, 2021
<www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/four-new-queensland-covid-cases-one-worked-at-airport-check-in-counter-20210701-p585tt.html>


JULY 1 2021 Check In CBR app to be mandatory for all retail, public transport from July 15 Kathryn Lewis
...Under the new rules, all retail settings and public transport including rideshare services must use the app.
...That requirement will be extended to all retail settings including supermarkets, department stores, petrol stations, takeaway services, public transport and ride share services, from July 15.
<www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7322223/check-in-app-to-be-mandatory-for-all-retail-transport>
* What about all the people who don't have smartphones? Can't catch the bus, buy groceries or put petrol in the car without risking a fine. The Barr Government clearly lives in a bubble where the poor don't exist. Not to mention the people who opt out of certain types of technology. Shame.
* Funny that the ACT government can't handle its present systems in the hospitals etc with all the technology at its disposal, but expects older pensioners and the frail to jump to their whims immediately.
* And what about people who don't have a mobile phone? The ACT government needs to make sure people without a phone are allowed into places and not discriminated against.
* My wife mostly doesn't have her phone with her, and like a lot of other folk who are technology deficient, wouldn't know how to use it even if she had the app on her phone. This is ridiculous - it's going too far. Some people especially older ones don't even have a mobile of any sort let alone a smart phone.
* So the buses are going to have sign in sheets for those without expensive phones? That will make the bus trip much slower. Given we all use e-cards for the bus, why not just track their use? Smarter to use the technology already there than to expect bus drivers to police this ridiculous idea.


JULY 1 2021 National Archives to receive $67.7 million boost to digitise at-risk documents. Doug Dingwall & Alex Crowe
Senator Amanda Stoker said the funding will protect the precious resources. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong
The National Archives of Australia will receive $67.7 million in government funding to save at-risk records after warnings from an expert review that precious historical items could be lost forever.
Assistant Attorney-General Amanda Stoker says she is optimistic the spending will save all historically important records after a government expenditure review committee agreed to the funding on Wednesday.
But the government is yet to release its full response to the Tune review, including a recommendation to spend $167 million overhauling the IT systems of the National Archives and improving how government preserves records.
The funding announced on Thursday will accelerate the race to digitise records at risk of becoming obsolescent or decaying, after the Tune review released in March recommended $67.7 million in spending to protect the items.
It follows years of warnings from National Archives director-general David Fricker that records were at risk of perishing within years without additional funding.
Historians and advocates for the Archives have also heaped public pressure on the government, urging it to help digitise the precious items with more funding.
The federal government on Thursday said the funding would let the Archives preserve about 270,000 of its most at-risk records, including ASIO surveillance material, scientific research and Indigenous language recordings.
Senator Stoker, who is responsible for the National Archives, told The Canberra Times the $67.7 million would fast-track digitisation of at-risk records, ahead of the 2025 deadline by which the institution says items will be obsolete.
However some items appear likely to be lost despite the funding boost.
Senator Stoker said deterioration was part of the natural passage of time with the records.
"There is always going to be a process of degradation over time and this process doesn't really ever come to a stop," she said.
"The investment we have here is based on working with the Archives and the department to identify all of the significant records that are at risk and making sure they are all appropriately preserved.
"I'm optimistic that will represent a complete preservation of the matters that are of historical importance.
"That doesn't mean we can save every piece of paper, it doesn't mean we can save every microfiche, but it's a process of working with the people who know best to determine that which is historically significant and making sure that remains part of Australia's national story for the long-term.
"This funding delivers completely on that mission."
Senator Stoker said the Archives will receive additional staff and improved cybersecurity through the $67.7 million announced on Thursday.
It will also address backlogs for applications to access Commonwealth records, and provide improved digitisation on demand services.
"This is about investing in the organisational improvements that are necessary to effectively support that digitisation process so people don't just have the records preserved but they're able to be accessed and used by Australians."
The National Archives' plight came under the spotlight when it asked the public for donations to support it in digitising at-risk records, after the federal budget did not include $67.7 million recommended by the Tune review for the task.
Senator Stoker said the government had waited before announcing the funding to consider how to undertake the digitisation project.
"The reason there has been some time taken to do this is that the Archives is at a really important cross roads," she said.
"It's got a number of challenges that come from it being established as a paper agency moving into a world where the vast majority of data it receives is digital and it has an understandable need to be assisted in building that capability to be able to manage that shift.
"Part of the reason we took the time was to make sure we did it right."
Archives director-general David Fricker has previously warned that without additional funding important records would be lost forever.
The records include paper-based files such as maps and plans, photographs, motion picture films, tapes and digital files.
Formats that are particularly susceptible to deterioration and loss include tapes and audio visual records, as well as photographic and film records.
The Tune review also recommended $167.4 million in upgrades to the Archives IT system, however the government is yet to respond to that recommendation.
READ MORE:
'Lamentable': Archives should not have to plea for help, historians say
Help on personal quest 'shows why Archives funding needed'
'Beyond our reach': Archives boss says records are being lost
<www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7321337/national-archives-to-receive-677-million-boost-to-digitise-at-risk-documents>


Surprise as Melbourne named world’s best at working from home. Ian Royall July 1, 2021. 44 comments
We may have lost the mantle for World’s Most Liveable city, but after four stringent lockdowns Melbourne has picked up a new title.
video: Working from home: a survival guide. Want to work from home? Here are some handy tips!
Melbourne is the best place in the world to work from home, according to a new global study of 75 cities.
Dubai was rated second and Sydney third in the rankings which assessed a range of factors including costs, infrastructure, legislation and liveability. The Estonian capital of Tallinn was fourth and London fifth.
Melbourne, which has endured four hard lockdowns during the pandemic forcing many people to work from home, scored well on liveability indicators such as safety, healthcare, culture, leisure activities and remote working infrastructure.
The study, by European housing website Nestpick, identified the cities best prepared to attract a new breed of “digital nomads” from around the world.
Work from home habits are expected to have lasting impacts on the city.
Nestpick chief executive Omer Kucukdere said the pandemic had prompted many people to reassess their personal priorities, such as the benefits of remote working flexibility and were asking “is it really possible to work from anywhere?”
“High-earners are leaving business-focused cities to live in places that offer better day-to-day lifestyles, taking their purchasing power with them.
“This trend will only become more popular as time goes on, so we believe that we will see more and more cities adapting to these new working conditions, and benefiting from the economic boost that these workers inject into their economies.”
Rio de Janeiro had the most affordable home office space, followed by Saint Petersburg, and Istanbul, while Las Palmas on the Canary Islands had the best overall weather.
American cities scored well on Covid-19 vaccination rates with Boston having the highest percentage at 63.3 per cent, from Honolulu 58.9 per cent and Seattle 54.9 per cent.
Christopher Ong working from home … with help from daughter Ava, 2. Picture: Tim Carrafa
“The increasing prevalence of remote working has opened up new possibilities that mean employees don’t necessarily have to choose between the place they desire to live in and their dream job, which is likely to increase employee satisfaction and retention going forward,’’ Mr Kucukdere said.
One of employers’ biggest fears was that there would be a drop in productivity, he said, but studies have shown the opposite.
“Giving employees the freedom and flexibility to work remotely actually increases output.
“It’s been so successful that many major companies have decided to adopt a ‘work-from-anywhere’ policy either part or full time, and only a minority are planning to obligate their employees to return to the office permanently.
“The location-centric approach to working is increasingly becoming a thing of the past.’’
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/surprise-as-melbourne-named-worlds-best-at-working-from-home/news-story/587c7f432e398afd3205a01fa9581f9a>


Show full size
210701Th-Melbourne'Age'-carparks  |  600W x 672H  | 275.79 KB |  Photo details
Show full size
210701Th-Melbourne'Age'-Ringwood-carpark-ss  |  640W x 427H  | 281.45 KB |  Photo details
Show full size
210701Th-Melbourne'HeraldSun'-AZ-risk  |  400W x 609H  | 144.2 KB |  Photo details
Show full size
210701Th-Melbourne'HeraldSun'-letters-mega.stations  |  200W x 396H  | 91.49 KB |  Photo details
Show full size
210701Th-Melbourne'HeraldSun'-station-carparks-a-ss  |  525W x 480H  | 279.49 KB |  Photo details
Show full size
210701Th-Melbourne'HeraldSun'-station-carparks-b  |  600W x 1005H  | 487.96 KB |  Photo details