NSW politicians scuttle the Hills Transport Forum – Election 2011
A letter from the Hill Transport Working Group Chair, James Fiander
Dear Members and Friends,
After the success of the inaugural Hills Transport Forum late last year, we planned a second transport forum for February 24.
The Working Group sent out official invitations to the New South Wales Transport representatives of the Liberal party, Labor party and Greens.
To date, serious questions remain unanswered by all parties about their plans for Transport in North Western Sydney, such as the North West Rail Link funding model, public vs. private ownership, service frequency and more importantly, what initiatives will be introduced to relieve the current transport situation, which is at breaking point.
Just two weeks from the planned Forum date and weeks after the original RSVP date for the major parties, we have been able to confirm a transport spokesperson from only two of the three major parties.
As a community group, we have limited resources and it was our decision from the early stages of planning this event that we were not willing to host a partisan or biased forum. We agreed that if we were unable to get all major parties to attend, we would not go ahead.
For these reasons we have, today, taken the unfortunate decision to cancel the Hills Transport Forum scheduled for Thursday 24 February.
I am disappointed in a political party whose elected representatives are willing to offer lip service from Macquarie Street, but not willing to come to The Hills and consult with the community directly.
We look forward to the next forum and hope that this unwillingness to consult with the community is not a sign of things to come in the next term of the NSW Parliament.
Kind Regards,
James Fiander
In place of the planned forum, over the coming week, the Hills Transport Working Group will publish a report card analysis of the major party’s transport commitments for North Western Sydney.