Dr MARJORIE O'NEILL (Coogee) (16:22:42): I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I note that more than five Liberal members of Parliament have not even bothered to turn up to the Chamber and stand here and defend what is happening to their community—
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Coogee will direct her comments through the Chair.
Dr MARJORIE O'NEILL: Those members are not able to stand here and defend what their Government is doing to the people in their communities who signed this petition. I stand here and support the thousands and thousands of community members who have turned up and signed our petition. They oppose the privatisation of our great public buses in Sydney. On 24 October the transport Minister announced the privatisation of regions 7, 8 and 9, which includes the eastern suburbs bus services in my electorate. This is despite the fact that the Premier said on 20 March 2019 that there would be no further privatisation. We know this is a lie. She has outright lied to the people of New South Wales. When asked about this in question time on 24 October 2019 her response was, "Wakey-wakey, New South Wales—we have been doing it for eight years!" What disdain the Premier has for the people of New South Wales. What arrogance.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Coogee will direct her comments through the Chair. The member for Newcastle will come to order.
Dr MARJORIE O'NEILL: Since that announcement more than 20,000 people have signed our petition to reverse that decision, many of whom are from my community. The signatures continue to come in. My office has received thousands of emails, letters and phone calls from local residents, small business owners and disability advocacy groups—all furious about losing their buses.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for North Shorewill come to order.
Dr MARJORIE O'NEILL: I thank the thousands of community members who have signed this petition and are out there advocating for these public services. They include the Rail, Tram and Bus Union and Unions NSW. I thank them for the great work they have been doing in fighting to save these vital bus services. Many of the members are here today. The reason why Labor and the community oppose this decision is because we know when public assets are privatised it always ends up worse for the community—and privatisation of the last remaining public buses will be no different. We know the moment public assets are privatised profits come before people—shareholders trump passengers. We know this because it is embedded into the Corporations Act. We on this side of the Chamber believe that public services are for the public good and that not all public services exist to make money. That is why we have things like cross-subsidisation. I ask that the Treasurer become familiar with that. We know that when services are privatised it always ends up worse for the community. As the member for Newcastle said, Newcastle has seen a 19 per cent reduction in services.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Newcastle has had an opportunity to contribute to the debate.
Dr MARJORIE O'NEILL: In the inner west there has been the removal of 53 bus stops since privatisation and the private service has never once met on‑time running targets.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I call the member for Oatley to order for the first time.
Dr MARJORIE O'NEILL: If the public want further proof about the implications of privatisation they should look to the other side of the House at the members representing the electorates of Drummoyne, Wakehurst and Pittwater. I note that the member for Drummoyne in a private member's statement last week clearly voiced his concerns and articulated all of the problems he and his community are experiencing as a result of the privatisation of ferries. The Minister for Health and Medical Research, the member for Wakehurst, and the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, the member for Pittwater, are well known for their advocacy of public buses. The member for Wakehurst was quoted in a local newspaper as saying "generally the local bus system and drivers were doing a good job" and that he was "completely opposed to tossing the baby out with the bath water".
What those Government members and all the Opposition members know is that it will be the local routes, taken by everyday people, that will be really under threat. These are the bus services that take people to the doctors, supermarkets, libraries and hospitals. Privatisation puts at risk these essential, much‑loved and important services. One of the greatest tragedies for us in the east is that, in addition to the implications of privatisation, the Liberals are committed to further cuts to services when the final part of its light rail opens. Documents from Transport for NSW leaked earlier this week show the proposed changes to bus services as a result of the light rail.
The Government plan is to cut 16 bus routes: 302, 314, 317, 373, 376, 377, 393 394, 395, 397, 399, L98, M10, M50, 891 and 893. There is not a person in my electorate who is not impacted by those cuts. Why is the Government doing this? It is doing it to force people onto the light rail—another privatised public transport operator that is failing to meet community expectation and needs—and to streamline region 9 before it sells it off to the highest bidder. The eastern suburbs once had the best bus services in New South Wales but the services have been slowly decimated by those ideologues on the other side. I said it when I was made the candidate for Coogee and I will reaffirm it now: I am committed to fight to ensure my community and all communities have access to the public services they need. [Time expired.]
