BRUMBY AND KOSKY DISCUSS TIMETABLES

Wednesday, 09 April 2008
Summary: Victorian Premier John Brumby, Minister for Public Transport Lynne Kosky, and Connex CEO Bruce Hughes talk about improvements to the Melbourne metropolitan rail timetable.  Premier Brumby answers questions about the Auditor-General’s report into the Food Bowl Modernisation Project, as well as yesterday’s protest by police officers.

JOHN BRUMBY:    Well, thank you for being with me this morning and I’m delighted to be here with the Minister for Public Transport, Lynne Kosky, and the CEO of Connex, Bruce Hughes, for what is a very exciting announcement for our public transport system.  I think we’re all aware of just how rapidly Victoria is growing.  Over the last year we’ve led Australia in jobs growth, we’ve led Australia in new building approvals, we’ve led Australia in new housing starts and, of course, the City of Melbourne is growing more rapidly than at any other time in our history, and we’re adding up to 1,500 additional people every week. 

And the combination of very strong economic, strong jobs growth, strong population growth and increasing petrol prices is resulting in huge increases in patronage on our public transport system and particularly on our train system.  And so much so, in fact, that if you look at the latest figures, the patronage on our train system this year has reached its highest ever level, 189.4 million trips a year, and I just put that in perspective, because the next highest recorded level we’ve ever had in the system was in 1949-50, when we saw 173.9 million trips.  So, all of those things – strong economy, strong population growth, people choosing the system – has given us unprecedented patronage across the rail system.  And, in fact, as the Minister and I have said to you before, patronage on our train system has grown by 23 per cent over the past two financial years.  Like any figure, that’s an average, so in some lines patronage growth has been higher than that; in fact, in some areas growth has been above 30 per cent. 

Over the last two years, when we’ve seen that growth, we’ve taken a number of steps to manage the growth in our system: we’ve added hundreds of new train services; we’ve abolished Zone 3; most recently, of course, we’ve introduced the free pre-7am Early Bird tickets, and we’ve done that on all of the metropolitan lines; and. in addition, of course, we’ve seen new services and new stations, things like Roxburgh Park and Craigieburn.  Since 1999, the period we’ve been in government, in aggregate, the Government has added, now, more than 1,000 extra weekly train services. 

In the medium and longer term, we’re building on some of these shorter-term measures: we’re buying new trains; we’re upgrading and duplicating tracks; and, of course, we’re planning for further expansion.  But in the short term, the thing that will make most difference of all is a well-planned timetable, and that’s really the key to delivering more services, to improving reliability and to easing the peak-hour squeeze. 

So, today, I’m pleased to announce, with the Minister and with Connex, an overhaul of the metropolitan train timetable system.  It is a major overhaul of the system, and at the outset I’d want to compliment the Minister and Connex, and her department, for the extraordinary work that they’ve put in in what has been a massive undertaking.  This is the biggest change to Melbourne’s train timetable since the completion of the City Loop.  So, just to put it into perspective: 1,000 additional services since we’ve been in government, hundreds of those in the last two years; these changes to the timetable, the biggest changes ever put in place since the introduction of the Loop in the 1980s. 

Minister Kosky will take you through those changes in greater detail, but in summary there are three stages of changes.  Firstly, stage one, which is starting this month, which will see 105 additional services running each week: 55 of them are gonna be in peak periods.  There’s also gonna be, through the use of sprinter trains, a 36 per cent increase in the services for the Stony Point line.  The 55 new peak-hour services will be able to carry more than 8,800 additional passengers every day, so it’s a huge increase in that area. 

Stage two will be in November this year; there’ll be a further 95 extra weekly services, and there’s gonna be the removal of some significant bottlenecks from the system by changing the way that some lines approach and travel around the City Loop.  That’ll mean that the Werribee line trains run direct to and from Flinders Street during peak hour to deliver more reliable services, and it’ll mean running the Epping and Hurstbridge line trains in one direction through the City Loop all day to deliver more services with fewer delays.  The point about all of these changes is they’re all about increased services and they’re about reliability.  The changes on those two lines will improve the reliability of other train lines in the network, benefiting up to 80,000 passengers across the system each day. 

Stage three will see extra off-peak services delivered by mid-2009, and so in those three stages we’ll deliver hundreds of additional services each week to improve the reliability and running of Melbourne’s trains and, as I say, drive, in a sense, more improvements and allow more passengers to use this system than at any other time in our system, and these changes to the timetable, as I said, are the biggest set of changes we’ve ever made to the timetable since the City Loop was introduced.  And, again, if I could compliment the Minister and her department and Connex for overseeing what’s been a very big project indeed.

Can I now ask Minister Lynne Kosky to go through the changes in some detail?

LYNNE KOSKY:    Thanks very much, Premier.  As John’s outlined, this is a radical overhaul of our timetable and the most radical since we introduced the City Loop, and there’s been a lot of work that’s gone into it.  And it will, if you look at the changes that are being put in place with stage one of this three-stage plan, that will mean an extra 1,000 services that are being provided since we’ve come to office.  So, this is a three-stage plan, prior to the new trains coming into the system, so this is being done with all of our existing stock and it’s being done through timetable changes, and Bruce at a later stage will talk about how we’ve managed some of that.  But it is designed to ease the squeeze that we’re currently experiencing, particularly during peak period, but also that that peak period and the overcrowding is expanding, so this will provide us with significant additional services so that people can travel more comfortably. 

So, there’s three stages to this plan.  The first stage of the timetable plan will be delivered on the 27th of April this year and it will provide 105 additional train services each week: 45 in the evening and evening school peak, and 10 extra in the morning peak; the remaining 50 services are either in counter-peak or they’re in the off-peak times.  New services will provide relief across the system, but where it’s needed most, particularly on the Werribee, the Sydenham and the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines, where patronage growth has been as high as 31 per cent over the past two financial years. 

Pakenham and Cranbourne line we’re expecting to see, with the 30 new services per wee, six per day, to carry an extra 3,200 people during the school and evening peak every day, so that’s a significant change in capacity for that line.  For Sydenham, it’s 25 additional services every week and, as I said, we’re focused on those lines where the overcrowding on the trains has been the most pronounced, and of course these changes that are being announced today stand alongside the changes that were introduced last year.  As the Premier mentioned, Stony Point line has also been experiencing increased patronage in peak and off-peak times, and so through the introduction of modern sprinter trains, we were able to introduce 30 extra services – that’s a 36 per cent increase on that line in services over peak hours and also on Friday evenings and weekends. 

Stage two will be delivered in November, when we will add at least another 95 additional weekly services; details of those will be provided at a later stage – they’re still being finalised.  But to do this, we need to untangle two of the biggest bottlenecks on the network: that relates to the Epping, Hurstbridge line and also the Werribee line.  At the moment, morning inbound Hurstbridge and Epping trains get caught up near Jolimont Station because they cross the path of outbound trains on the same line.  Almost 17,000 people use these lines in the morning peak, so it’s important that we try to improve…the journey for these people. 

I’m gonna try an animation here: here we can see the problem with an inbound Hurstbridge or Epping line train having to pull up short of Jolimont Station and wait for an outbound service to cross its path.  The inbound service then crosses tracks to enter the City Loop and travel in an anti-clockwise direction, ending at Flinders Street.  From November, we’ll fix this conflict by running morning Hurstbridge and Epping trains through the loop in the same direction as the afternoon services, so that Hurstbridge and Epping line trains will run in one direction through the Loop all day.  And, so, here we can see the outbound train travelling through the City Loop in a clockwise direction, crossing the outbound track without conflicting with the inbound service.  The removal of this conflict will reduce delays and allow more services to be introduced. 

The second conflict is more complex and it relates to the northern group of lines.  The current problem that we have is with the Werribee line train crossing three other lines in its journey into the City Loop, so it crosses Sydenham, Craigieburn and Upfield lines to get into the City Loop.  So, if there are any problems or delays to the Werribee train, it has a knock-on effect right across the northern group of lines, and vice-versa.  Almost 7,000 people use the Werribee line in the morning peak, so by removing this conflict, we will improve reliability and punctuality, not only for the Werribee line trains, but for all of the northern group trains. 

When the City Loop was established, it wasn’t originally intended to have the Werribee line – it’s not designed to have the Werribee line go through it – but because there was capacity at the time, it was actually included.  So, here we see the inbound Werribee service crossing the path of the Sydenham train to get into the City Loop.  As it travels into the City Loop, it also crosses the path of Craigieburn and Upfield trains, potentially causing delays to all lines.  The system could manage this when demand was not so high and fewer trains were running, but we’ve provided 271 additional services to these lines since 1999, and so we now have quite a significant problem that has to be fixed. 

So, from November, Werribee services will run direct into Flinders Street, rather than through the City Loop, during the peak period.  You can see here that by running Werribee services directly to Flinders Street, none of the services on the other lines are affected by the Werribee trains, and so reducing delays across all four lines and allowing us to provide further timetable improvements in November.

Stage three of the plan, which…will be introduced next year, is to provide for more off-peak services to cater for the growing number of people who are using our train network throughout the day.  And the Werribee line, in particular, in acknowledgment that this will affect quite a number of people, the Werribee line will have a special focus and will receive much improved off-peak services and much better frequency than the 20-minute interval that they currently have.  There’s still work being done on that, but we’re very conscious that for those people on the Werribee line who are affected, and it’s about 50-50 who are affected – some it will benefit, around 50 per cent, but there will be 50 per cent who actually have to make that change. 

So, just in conclusion, we know that these changes won’t solve all of the problems that we’re having with our busy train lines, with the increased patronage.  But, as part of a total plan, as John has mentioned, this makes a really significant difference within our existing number of trains.  And we’ve worked very, very closely with Connex – and I do want to thank Connex – because these are radical changes and we’ll have to introduce and explain them to people who travel on the system, so that they do explain how it’s going to benefit everyone.  They are significant changes and we’re being able to do it prior to the 18 extra trains coming into the system late in 2009. 

And I’ll hand over to Bruce just to add to what’s been said and provide a bit more detail about another change.  Thank you.

BRUCE HUGHES:    Well, thank you very much, Premier, and thank you very much, Minister.  The announcement today is a great example of the strength of the partnership between the State Government and Connex, as Melbourne’s train operator.  The new operating plan outlined today has been conceived and can only be delivered by close cooperation between us.  I’m happy to say that government is rising to the challenge that the renaissance in train travel has presented.  Connex has also applied its resources and expertise to devise a plan that makes the current network work harder for our customers. 

The aim of the plan is to provide our customers with additional, more comfortable, more reliable and convenient services.  We’re not just waiting for the longer-term infrastructure projects to be delivered; we are delivering short- and medium-term initiatives.  We are taking advantage of the improvements we have made to maintenance procedures and the employment of more maintenance staff.  Projects to improve the existing trains also help to keep more of them in service while we prepare for the arrival of the 18 new trains late next year. 

We have also rebuilt the driver resources and have more than 100 drivers in training, as we speak.  This is the most drivers we’ve had on the network for many, many years.  In addition to the new and extended services announced today, I can also say that we have responded to customer feedback about off-peak capacity.  About half our lines currently have three-car trains operating between the peaks.  Given the dramatic patronage increases, this is no longer appropriate or adequate.  I’m happy to say that from the 28th of April, six-carriage trains will operate right across the network, from early morning to at least 7pm and later where required.  This complements changes that we made a few months ago to extend six-car operation to weekends for the same period.  This will greatly enhance the comfort of an increasing number of off-peak customers. 

Finally, I’d just like to close by referring to the excellent report delivered last week by Sir Rod Eddington.  It is worth noting that the key part of the plan we have outlined today to start to untangle the operation of the City Loop will actually deliver some of the benefits of the proposed Melbourne metro rail tunnel, such as boosting capacity, making room for further extensions and ensuring that the rail network remains the principle means of accessing the central city.  Obviously the tunnel would deliver the full benefits, but we can’t and we are not waiting.  By working in partnership with the State Government to deliver our new operating plan, we are confident that at least part of Sir Rod’s vision can be realised early.  Thank you very much, and I guess it’s over to questions.

BRUMBY:    Well, thank you very much to Bruce, and happy to take questions.  And I think, as you can see from the outline today, that this is about…that these are huge changes, they’re changes that’ll make a difference and it’ll make a difference for the better: 200 new services across the system; as Bruce has said, working the system harder, working it more efficiently, working it smarter.  That’s essentially what it’s about: working the existing train stock smarter by working the routes better, the signalling better, the timetable better, and generating 200 new services as a consequence. 

Happy to take questions.

REPORTER:    Why have you taken so long to work the plan out?  There haven’t been changes since the 1980s [inaudible].

BRUMBY:    Well, I’ll have a go at that first.  These changes that we’re talking about today, I know when I became Premier last year, when Lynne and I discussed what we could do to make further improvements in the system, work was starting on these changes then, but they are exceedingly complex.  They’ve taken months and months and months to work through, they are a response to the unprecedented patronage that you’re seeing in the system, and as the Minister said a few moments ago with the animation, if you take the Werribee line, for example, when the Werribee line, when the decision was made to put that in to the Loop, it didn’t matter that it crossed three other lines because patronage levels in the system were way, way lower than they are today.  So, it didn’t matter that you’ve got trains coming across Sydenham, Upfield and Craigieburn line.  But when you’ve got the system running at absolute full capacity, if that line coming across is a minute late or two minutes late or three minutes late, it blocks up all of the trains coming in through the other system. 

So, this is about driving the system harder; it’s about driving it more efficiently; it’s about doing more with the rolling stock that we’ve already got.  But they are big, big changes, they are the biggest changes since the Loop was complete, they have taken a lot of time, and I think you’ll see the benefit of them flowing through over the next few months,

KOSKY:    We, as you would remember, we’ve actually introduced timetable changes previously, so in 2004 and then last year to provide for extra services.  Now we’re making these more radical changes, taking conflicts out of the system, which will obviously mean that some people will have to change some of their travel patterns.  So, we’re now at a point where we have to do this, and we’ll be working hard with all of those people who have to change their travel patterns so that they understand how it will improve the services for them as well as for many other people.

REPORTER:    Premier, [inaudible]?

BRUMBY:    Well, I’d make two points from that: if you’re looking at the transport system, you’ve gotta make some short-term decisions, and we’ve made a number of those – the extra services, the timetabling changes last year, the Early Bird; I’d put them in the short-term category.  But you’ve also gotta make medium- and longer-term changes, and they go to the grid itself, to the network infrastructure and to issues such as those recommended by Rod Eddington. 

But I think it would be quite remiss to say that these changes today are not significant changes; these are huge changes which are the equivalent, you know, of adding dozens and dozens of new trains to the system; that’s the equivalent, in terms of new passengers that will be carried by these peak services; the vast majority of people using the service will get improved services as a result.  But, as we’ve said today, you know, there’ll be some people who can’t get off at the station they always used to in the past, there’ll be, you know, a minority of people who…the service will change, but it’s gotta change for the better of the system as a whole.  But these are big changes – you know, they’re all about using our existing rolling stock as efficiently as possible; that’s what we’re doing – and they’ll make a difference to the people who use our train services every morning.

REPORTER:    If this is as productive as the train system [inaudible] gonna happen in a couple of years’ time before major infrastructure projects [inaudible]?

BRUMBY:    Well…you’ve obviously got more trains that are coming online, significant new trains which are coming online in 2009, and as Bruce and the Minister have said, a whole range of other measures put in place: improved maintenance schedules, which are improving the efficiency of the system; the benefits of that will continue to run through in the years ahead; the training of additional drivers, tackling things – we’ve seen big problems in other states – things like absenteeism, been a big problem in other states, not so much in our state, and that’s because of the steps put in place, and these will drive further improvements in the system. 

But Lynne might want to add.

KOSKY:    Well, I think John’s really covered.  We’re obviously looking, also, at a lot of the infrastructure works which relates to duplication and triplication of lines.  We’re looking at stabling and how we can stable the trains closer in, so that some of the trains can start closer into the CBD rather than travelling to actually start, so we’re looking at a whole range of changes.  As well, we’ve obviously got the 18 additional trains on order, and they’ll be progressively rolled out from the end of 2009, and we’ll see timetable changes at that point as well.

REPORTER:    Is this gonna be as productive as the [inaudible] system [inaudible]?

KOSKY:    As we see the infrastructure changes coming on board, there will be more opportunities to be more productive, so…  But this three-stage plan is really focused on what we can do at the moment, and the maintenance operations have made a huge difference, so it’s what you can do within the current system.  But, of course, we know the Early Bird saver has made a big difference, the North Melbourne bus now has around 2,000 people travelling on it per day, so we’re looking at a range of those different measures.  So, yes, there’s extra capacity, but this is a major change to the timetable, a major overhaul to the timetable.

REPORTER:    How many people do you think [inaudible] won’t be able to get off at the stations that [inaudible] now?

KOSKY:    Well, it’s around – we’re predicting, obviously – but it’s around 50 per cent of people who travel.  So, if you look at the Werribee line in the morning, it’s around 7,000 people who use the Werribee line in the morning peak [inaudible] about 50 per cent of those people will have to change trains.  Now, some people already do that on the Werribee line, but about 50 per cent.

REPORTER:    [Inaudible] you talk about untangling the network: is the current split of responsibilities between the state and private operator the best way of running a major system, and in an optimum structure, would you have more or less power?

HUGHES:    I’m sorry.  I missed the end of that question.

BRUMBY:    A good thing, too.

REPORTER:    [Inaudible] would you have more or less power, in terms of running the system?

HUGHES:    Oh, look, I think the spread of responsibility and risk associated with running this network’s quite adequately spaced at the moment.  We have our input to the planning, and we’ve had considerable input to this planning, as has been mentioned here.  That’s why it’s taken so long: this wasn’t an easy decision; we didn’t leap to this; lots of work, lots of input has been taken. 

At the end of the day, I guess, over the years, and it’s a question of the capacity of the network previously, we’ve tried to look after the interests of our customers generally, both governments and the train operators of the day, have added more express running to the network, added more services where there was capacity, to the extent now that, really, to enable us to go on into the future and for the enabling projects that will give us more capacity short of the major investments to occur, we have to take some hard decisions.  And we’ve had to take some hard decisions here.  But, no, I think the spread of responsibility and ability to actually implement these changes is quite adequate.

REPORTER:    If 50 per cent of people are immediately affected, as the Minister said before, is this really such a great idea?

KOSKY:    Well, it’s only…it’s 50 per cent of people on the Werribee line, but remember that these changes will actually improve the punctuality and reliability of their services as well.  So, they will get significant improvements: they are getting an extra peak service through the changes in April; they will get additional services in November, and in addition to that, as I said, we’re looking at increasing the frequency of their services in the off-peak period.

So, there are major benefits that people on the Werribee line get as a result of these changes, which would not be possible if we didn’t actually, really, work to the original plan of the City Loop, which was not to have the Werribee line running through the system.  And remember, of course, the knock-on effect to all of the northern group lines: there are major, major benefits for punctuality and reliability for all passengers right across that northern group line as a result of these changes.

BRUMBY:    I think it’s a really important point to make, because if you just remember that animation before, where you had that Werribee line just crossing all of the others, so as I said before, every time in the morning, for whatever reason, you know, a train might be late or delayed or whatever, it’s blocking the trains coming through on Craigieburn, Sydenham and Upfield lines, so you’ve got many trains running each hour, coming down there in the morning, and it blocks them and it holds them all up. 

And then, you know, you have the other issue, of course, with Epping and Hurstbridge.  So, the overall benefit here, you know, far outweighs the minor disadvantages that may be experienced by some people.  And, as Lynne has said, they’re outweighed, I think, on those lines – we looked at this very carefully – by the addition of new peak services and the addition of new off-peak services. 

Ashley, can I just go to your question before about the system?  These are, you know, these are the biggest changes you can make.  But there’s always room for further continuous improvement, going forward, and I think Lynne’s example of the North Melbourne bus is a great example, where there’s about 2,000 students using that; you know, they used to have to go into the city and then back to Parkville – they can now go straight across.  My kids to go Melbourne Uni – it’s a fantastic service; saves ‘em 10 minutes – so it’s quicker and it’s cheaper and it’s taken 2,000 people out of the peak and congestion.  So, there’ll always be room for innovative solutions like that. 

Plus, of course, in the medium term, we’ve got a budget, which is coming up in May and, you know, there may well be some further initiatives for public transport in the Budget and, of course, we’ve then got our response to Eddington.  So, you’re gonna continue to see a strong positive focus on addressing these challenges which we’ve got in our transport system. 

REPORTER:    Premier, did you overestimate the amount of water savings from the Food Bowl Modernisation plan when you first released it?

BRUMBY:    Well, I don’t believe so.  And you know my views on this, and I could point you to dozens of examples across Australia and across the world where huge savings have been made out of water infrastructure projects.  So, if you look, in our own case, if you look at the Woorinen Pipeline scheme, if you look at Macalister River down in Gippsland, you look at the work which has already occurred in the Goulburn Valley in the Central 124 project, you look at Coleambally in New South Wales, you look at what they did in Los Angeles in California, there are huge savings.  Have a look at last week’s Weekly Times, too: two farmers there, young farmers, changed their open channel system to a pipe system; they’re getting twice the productivity off half the water by using a pipe system. 

And, so, there is no doubt these savings are there.  And we know they’re there because we know how much water is released from the Murray and Goulburn system – you measure it coming out the gates – and we know how much is delivered on farms, and the gap is 700 to 800 billion litres – one and a half Sydney Harbours – every year.  And even in the last two years, when they’ve been the two driest years ever in the history of the Murray-Darling system, the savings are still in the 500 to 600 gigalitre level. 

So, what we’re talking about in Food Bowl One and Two is savings of 400 to 450 gigalitres.  So, there is no doubt in my mind those savings are there.  There’s no doubt...that’s why people like Barry Steggall, you know, the former Deputy Leader of the National Party, is on the board implementing these savings, because his electorate was Swan Hill, he was the member there for over a decade, he saw the shocking waste of water which occurred in that area, and he wants to do something about it.  Tony Plowman, former Shadow Minister for Water for the Liberal Party, again, wrote in support of this project because he’s seen projects, in Australia and overseas, that have saved huge quantities of water that is wasted in the system. 

So, the key point, I think, the Auditor-General makes is that, perhaps, the Government moved too quickly in developing the water plan for our state – I don’t apologise for that at all.  You know, we’ve gone through the two years of the driest intake ever, the lowest intake ever, for the Goulburn Murray system in the last 100, and in those circumstances, I think Victorians would expect their Government to respond quickly rather than slowly, and that’s exactly what we did with the water plan.  So, I don’t apologise for that.  I believe it’s the appropriate thing for us to do, and I believe that, on all of the measures, the Government has acted appropriately to take the steps which are necessary to secure Victoria’s future.

REPORTER:    Could you have done some more research or more consultation?

BRUMBY:    Well, I think there’s been a huge amount of research.  I think some people would say that there could have been more consultation, and I think, you know, had we had more time I know that we would have liked to do more consultation.  But, again, you have a dry year that hits us and the scientists say, ‘Well, that’s one in 100 and it’s unlikely to recur because it’s one in 100’, and, lo and behold, next year the same thing happens again, so you’ve had two years out of 100, which should be one in 100 events, each of them.  So, you know, we had to act, and act quickly, and act responsibly, and I think that was the right thing to do as a government.

REPORTER:    Do you agree, though, with the Auditor-General when he says there were inadequate levels of rigour applied to estimating the cost and benefits of the project?

BRUMBY:    Well, again, if you read the Auditor-General’s report…we always value the reports from the Auditor-General, and in terms of the recommendations he’s made, we’re agreeing to all of the recommendations.  But if you read the report, there’s quite a debate at the front of the report between the Secretary of the Department of Sustainability and Environment, who’s responsible for water programs, and the Auditor-General; they have a difference of view about those matters, and I think the Secretary of the Department is adamant that all of the appropriate steps were put in place. 

But, again, I’d say, from our perspective, you know, here we are with the driest decade on record, the last two years, which are the driest on record, the public of Victoria – here we are in the Garden State – would want us as a government to address that issue and to secure additional water supplies.  And what we’re really doing with water, we’re creating new water, which is the desal, we’re saving water through things like our household savings programs, water tanks, recycling and the Food Bowl project, and then we’re sharing those water resources across the state to areas which need them most, and I think that’s a good plan, going forward.

REPORTER:    [Inaudible] what’s your view on two things: Christine Nixon, does she have the Government’s full support, and the survey in the Herald Sun today that criticises the number of police on the beat, amongst other things?

BRUMBY:    Well, you know, I was asked about this yesterday, and the answer’s exactly the same.  We’ve put 1,400 additional police into the system; we’re spending $1.6 billion this year – that’s the highest police budget ever; we’ve committed to a further 350 police over this term in government.  So, you know, you think back to the 1990s, when the former Kennett Government took 800 police out of the system, 1,000 police out of the system, we’ve put 1,400 back in, we’ve got a 23 per cent reduction in crime, making us the safest state in Australia, and out of the EBA last year, the agreement with the Chief Commissioner and the Police Association was that we would see a further reduction in crime, a further 10 per cent reduction in crime over the next five-year period. 

So, these are all great outcomes for our state; I think they’re fantastic outcomes for our state.  So, there are always grizzles you get, you know, if it’s health, if it’s education, police – of course, some people would always like additional resources, and we tend to address these things through budgets.  But I think we’ve got a good story to tell – the lowest crime rate in Australia, and in terms of the Chief Commissioner – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – she enjoys the full confidence of me and the Government.

REPORTER:    Premier, given that Paul Mullett now appears to be back on the scene [inaudible] more difficult for your Government and Christine Nixon to deal with the Association?

BRUMBY:    Well, we’ve said, in relation to Paul, I’ve answered questions about Paul before, so the Government’s not in a position where it’ll be meeting with Mr Mullett.  If the Association has matters which it wants to discuss with the Government – that’s a legitimate thing to want to do – and if they have matters they want to discuss with the Government, I know the Police Minister would be prepared to meet them, but we’re not prepared to meet with Mr Mullett.

REPORTER:    Was yesterday’s rally more of a power struggle than a genuine protest?

BRUMBY:    Well, I think you often see rallies and, you know, I think someone remarked to me last night, I think every police commissioner we’ve had for the last 30 years has had a motion of no-confidence from the Police Association at one stage or another.  So, there are some issues here, I think, within the Police Association itself and the force, but I think, overall, we’ve done the right thing, I think, by the people of Victoria in terms of the investments we’ve made in police.  We could have put more into education, could have put more into health.  I think we got the balance right, we’ve invested in all of those areas, and the additional police have been able to bring down the crime rate to a level we’ve, you know, we’ve not seen before, and that’s a good thing. 

And I might say, generally, we’ve got an attrition rate in the police force today which is the lowest on record, so, you know, there must be a few things right in the service – people are happy to work there – and we’ve got, literally, hundreds of people who would like to join the police force because they think it’s a good career.

REPORTER:    Did the internal DoI advice [inaudible], did that sideline your Transport Minister?

BRUMBY:    On the what, David?

REPORTER:    On the streamlining of planning processes--

BRUMBY:    Yep.

REPORTER:    --did that sideline your Transport Minister?

BRUMBY:    Well, I said to you yesterday I haven’t seen the advice and, you know, there’s lots of advice – I think it was advice last year – but what I made very clear in that speech to the UDIA is that we’re putting a stronger focus on the provision of transport and services in those outer-suburban areas.  And the Minister and I have been, I think, very active in this space in terms of creating additional services in outer-suburban areas, including Roxburgh Park – the new station there – Craigieburn – the new station there – the huge roll-out of bus services in the outer suburbs, and there won’t be any change to the arrangements which are put in place in the future in terms of how we put new transport, new schools or new health arrangements in place.  They’ll still continue to work through the cabinet structure of government, including through the Expenditure Review Committee, and wait ‘til the Budget.

REPORTER:    So the proposed involvement of the Planning Minister plan wasn’t sidelining the Transport Minister?

BRUMBY:    Well, have a look at…to the speech that I made this morning at ACOSS, and it talks about the 32 new plans that we’re developing.  Those 32 new plans involve all of the relevant ministers across our government, and they’re about building structure plans, which are about making sure we’ve got the schools, we’ve got the preschools, we’ve got the transport, we’ve got the community facilities in place.  So, there’s no change to those arrangements.

Alright, thank you very much.