A POLITICAL PASSENGER
During the ongoing debate over the introduction of fares for patrons of the “free” Gong Shuttle member for Kiama, Parliamentary Secretary to the NSW Premier Gareth Ward resorted to cynical and divisive measures in an attempt to justify this myopic decision of the Berejiklian administration.
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Mr Ward, a man alleged to have the ear of the premier has, with his failure to act in opposition to the decision to impose fares on the “free” Gong shuttle, been exposed as a political straw man. A politician, “with more front than substance”.
An image which no amount of public denial by the Member for Kiama nor image massaging by his minders will ever alter the public record that he, Gareth Ward, deliberately declined to use the success and commercial benefits derived from the “free” Gong shuttle, to argue the merits for its expansion and replication in other areas of the Illawarra and South Coast.
Instead Gareth Ward claims the “free” Gong shuttle, is a NSW taxpayer-funded NSW Labor exercise of “pork barrelling”. One is left to wonder why the “free” shuttle buses at Parramatta, Newcastle and other places in NSW have not attracted similar eagle-eyed attention from the Member for Kiama?
Barry Swan, Balgownie
PUT UP OR SHUT UP
It is obvious from the latest council discussions on the shuttle bus that their money is not where their mouth is.
Ben Morris, Wollongong
HOLD THE BUS
For what is worth, in December 2015, Sydney consultancy firm Centre for International Economics prepared a report for the NSW government titled “Efficiency of NSW public transport services”.
Reading a public version of the report and in particular, the information contained under the heading, “Benchmarking of Service Costs” the consultants determined (December 2015) the cost per service hour (between 5 am and midnight) running a metropolitan bus, at $57.93
The Transport Minister no doubt is well aware of these facts. The shuttle bus should stay
John Macleod, Berry
SLIPPING AWAY
Regarding the fast train from the Illawarra to Central, if it is to become a reality, we need engineers like the ones who made all this in this video possible. It will never happen as the land around the Northern Suburbs is unstable due to mining in the area.
In the early 50's the land above the railway line at Wombarra slipped, and many homes had to be demolished. Council, in their wisdom, have allowed homes to be built on the slip land. It would be interesting to know if those “new” home owners were ever informed of the history of the land they built their dream homes on.
Alice Scott, Berkeley
IT”S NOT LOVE
In response to the letter by Jane Garcia, "A Vote for Love" (Illawarra Mercury, Saturday November 18, 2017), the recent same-sex marriage survey that saw the "yes" campaign prevail is about justifying the homosexual lifestyle, not about love.
God's wonderful and sacred gift of human sexuality is so (humans) may cooperate with Him in bringing a unique and special person into existence. This is why sexually disordered acts and the pleasure derived from them, is not love. Love is creative, not disordered and against life.
I also remind Jane Garcia and all the "yes" campaigners that a human survey to redefine marriage that God has designed and which is upheld as a Sacrament in the Catholic Church shows contempt for God and human dignity. Making God in our image and likeness to satisfy our immoral behavior, completely contradicts the reality that we (humans) are made in His image and likeness.
Adrian Devlin, Fairy Meadow
