The Victorian State Election has been somewhat more low profile than other elections and in ways it has taken a backseat due to the Federal election hangover and the interest rate rise bank bashing session which dominated the media last week.
Campaigning has only recently begun and the Victorian public are not yet sure what each politician stands for. Recent election campaigning between Labor and Liberal has become as much about trashing the opposition as it has been about promoting their own policies. Have the time I see them in the media they spend have the time trashing the opposition and the other half avoiding questions regarding their party’s policies and opinions.
So what should Ted Baillieu and the Liberals use as failed policies against John Brumby and the Labor party in an effort to lead Victoria into the next term. The first and biggest has to be Myki the new ticketing system for Melbourne tram, train and bus services. The project has blown out is a massive way and has become a target the Liberals have consistently aimed for. So why has Myki become a one of the biggest blunders in the history of Victorian State Governments
Myki – Myki was and still is a massive waste of tax payers money. Myki is the name for the system that is to run the Melbourne public transport network. The system it is replacing is the Metcard system which itself had many problems associated with it when it was released in 1998 at a cost of $ 350 million.
The Myki project has blown out in every way possible costing an extra $ 350m and taken three years longer than planned – the whole Myki system has so far cost a whopping $ 1.35 billion of Victorian taxpayers’ money. The whole problem with Myki is not that a new system wouldn’t benefit Melbourne but moreso at what cost. The way in which Myki was though up, tendered, and implemental was a disaster from day one.
Why did Myki create its own technology when similar systems already operate in countries around the world. Singapore has a touch on system and so does Hong Kong, in fact, there are many countries around the world using similar technology. Instead of creating Myki from scratch, customisation to existing technology should have been done which would have save millions.
How are tourists going to use Melbourne’s public transport system. Each car costs $ 10 and that doesn’t include any trips. You have to order a myki card onine so how are tourists going to use the system. It won’t look very good in the tourists eyes when a simple task of catching public transport becomes a hassle.
The system has been delayed so many times due to new errors or things not working and each time it needs to be fixed it costs more. Every week a new story comes to light of a Myki stuff up – the Liberals need to attack Myki and the massive waste of money it was. Baillieu has said that he may scrap Myki but in my opinion that would be stupid, after $ 1.35 billion surely it can be used.
Whether Myki becomes the nail in the coffin for the Brumby and the Victorian Labor Party is yet to be seen but there is no doubt it will be in the minds of many come election day.