"Here in Australia, we have rich and proud history of leaders who have set aside their political interests to take decisions in the long-term national interest"
Really, maybe they did at one time, but does that still hold true? I don't think so! In my opinion politicians these days are incapable of thinking beyond the next election. 5 year plans are something only the Chinese can contemplate.
Just to remind you, this is the same speech where he slagged off our closest allies, with this comment.
So if politicians can think long term, why did the Victorian government make the decision to install timber sleepers on the railway track to Seymour. Long term thinking or short financial gain? The latter of course.
Wooden Sleepers cost $65 and last 20 years, while the concrete alternative are more expensive @ $110 they last three times as long, 60 years. So for a saving of $1.25m the government opted to go with the cheaper wooden sleeper. But in the long term, those sleepers will have to be replaced twice, if this replacement is also done with wooden sleepers, it would cost $3,3m , plus the install costs as well which run into the millions, and of course the inconvenience of people having to travel by bus instead of train** or it could have been done for $2.75m now with concrete sleepers. Long term thinking - not here
While this is only a small amount in terms of the overall economy it shows how our government thinks.
Also what makes it worse, for those have a Green bent, besides trees being cut down, is that a wooden sleeper emits 9 Kilo-tonnes of Carbon each year, while a concrete sleeper only emits 1.5 Kilo tonnes. So the wooden sleepers emit 6 times more carbon (I wonder if they are paying the Carbon Tax ?)
Other examples are the Ring Road and Monash Freeway, why weren't these built with future needs in mind, instead of having to put us through the inconvenience of years of upgrades, and $000,000,000's (billions)
in extra funding. Again short term thinking. How much would have been saved if the ring road had been built with 3 lanes, from the start. Having recently travelled on the ring road during peak hour, I can tell you that it is a complete mess.
So next time you are voting in an election, ask what has my Local Member done for my area, and is he/she a long term thinker or short term, because at the end of the day you vote them in to do the best for your constituency (I will talk more about this at a later date).
Politicians these days are only interested in doing whatever will help them extend their "political career", and are incapable of thinking beyond 4 years
** That is of course if they do it right the first time, look at the debacle that occurred just a bit past Seymour. The upgrade between Seymour and Albury, which cost $500m, was declared unsafe when it was finished. Thats right Unsafe, after spending $500m it was a complete and waste of money, causing the line to be closed for another year. (See picture below of the top quality building standards). It was so bad Trains where actually decoupling. Ask my Mum how happy they were with this, 2 years of travelling to Melbourne on a much slower bus because the government failed to hire someone who could actually build a railway line.
.
Wooden Sleepers cost $65 and last 20 years, while the concrete alternative are more expensive @ $110 they last three times as long, 60 years. So for a saving of $1.25m the government opted to go with the cheaper wooden sleeper. But in the long term, those sleepers will have to be replaced twice, if this replacement is also done with wooden sleepers, it would cost $3,3m , plus the install costs as well which run into the millions, and of course the inconvenience of people having to travel by bus instead of train** or it could have been done for $2.75m now with concrete sleepers. Long term thinking - not here
While this is only a small amount in terms of the overall economy it shows how our government thinks.
Also what makes it worse, for those have a Green bent, besides trees being cut down, is that a wooden sleeper emits 9 Kilo-tonnes of Carbon each year, while a concrete sleeper only emits 1.5 Kilo tonnes. So the wooden sleepers emit 6 times more carbon (I wonder if they are paying the Carbon Tax ?)
Other examples are the Ring Road and Monash Freeway, why weren't these built with future needs in mind, instead of having to put us through the inconvenience of years of upgrades, and $000,000,000's (billions)
in extra funding. Again short term thinking. How much would have been saved if the ring road had been built with 3 lanes, from the start. Having recently travelled on the ring road during peak hour, I can tell you that it is a complete mess.
So next time you are voting in an election, ask what has my Local Member done for my area, and is he/she a long term thinker or short term, because at the end of the day you vote them in to do the best for your constituency (I will talk more about this at a later date).
Politicians these days are only interested in doing whatever will help them extend their "political career", and are incapable of thinking beyond 4 years
** That is of course if they do it right the first time, look at the debacle that occurred just a bit past Seymour. The upgrade between Seymour and Albury, which cost $500m, was declared unsafe when it was finished. Thats right Unsafe, after spending $500m it was a complete and waste of money, causing the line to be closed for another year. (See picture below of the top quality building standards). It was so bad Trains where actually decoupling. Ask my Mum how happy they were with this, 2 years of travelling to Melbourne on a much slower bus because the government failed to hire someone who could actually build a railway line.
. 
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