On the eve of the Matildas opening game at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Sydney’s train network is again in chaos with commuters forced to pay for union industrial action in the lead up to this year’s election.
The Labor Government’s Train Review1 released earlier this year concluded the cause of the significant increase in the backlog of infrastructure inspections and maintenance was due to ongoing union industrial action in 2022.
With a sold-out crowd of over 80,000 fans descending on Homebush tonight, Shadow Minister for Transport, Natalie Ward is calling on Minister Jo Haylen to guarantee that Sydney Trains will provide safe and reliable transport.
In an unbelievable move, the Minns Labor Government has appointed Josh Murray, a former Labor staffer and Party member, to become the new Secretary for Transport.
Mr Murray has no experience in operating or managing any public transport system, with his main qualification for the role seemingly being a former Chief of Staff to a Labor Premier.
Shadow Minister for Transport Natalie Ward commented:
“The complete destruction of Sydney Trains’ reliability under the new Labor Government is a joke. Sydney is on the world stage for the Women’s World Cup, and the Transport Minister can’t get the trains to run on time.
“These maintenance repairs are only required because the trade unions prioritised political industrial action in the lead up to an election ahead of regular maintenance, and commuters are now paying the price.
“The Transport Minister chose a PR spinner over qualified candidates to lead Transport for NSW, if this is the level of reliability under Labor, Sydney will grind to a halt.”