Following the ‘State of the State’ address in parliament yesterday, RTBU Secretary Byron Cubit has today called on Premier Jeremy Rockliffe to abandon any considerations to privatise Metro Tasmania.
“This is an admission the Tasmanian Liberal Government has no real answers to issues of its own creation and has abandoned governing the state," Mr Cubit said.
“Metro is owned by the people of Tasmania and is operated for the people of Tasmania.
“Public transport needs to stay in public hands.”
Mr Cubit says that this government has no mandate for asset sales.
“When Tasmanian voters went to the polls last year there was not a whisper around asset sales," Mr Cubit said.
“Instead, this government has deliberately harpooned Metro’s funding for over a decade, which led to the bus driver shortage.
“The government is now looking for a scapegoat for its own budgetary and policy failures."
Mr Cubit said privatising Metro will not work.
“It would lead to service reductions and cost increases for passengers,” he said.
“It would also lead to reductions in pay and conditions for workers during a bus driver shortage, creating a major risk to the overall viability of the public transport system in Tasmania.
“Keep your hands off our Metro!”
Contact details:
Byron Cubit 0400 783 022 / [email protected]