Category Archives: Governance

Seven things O’Farrell should do in the first 100 days

Posted on 29 March, 2011 by Alex

There is no doubt that Mr O’Farrell and his party scored an emphatic victory in the NSW election, rewriting the record books in the process. While the main factor in the result was the electorate’s obvious dissatisfaction with the performance of … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Growth, Infrastructure, Local Government, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Transport, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Toll-road lessons from the “Clem7 lemon”

Posted on 21 September, 2010 by Alex

Recent news that Brisbane’s Clem Jones* (Clem7) road tunnel which opened only a few months ago is now on the verge of financial collapse has a familiar ring, confirming a pattern of losses in a string of privately-owned toll roads and … Continue reading →

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Sydney, population growth – and the rise of “mega-councils” (part 5 – conclusions)

Posted on 14 September, 2010 by Alex

In the first four posts in this series I looked at the distribution of Sydney’s forecast population growth across local government areas and in particular the projected increase in the number of councils with populations over 200,000, from two in … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Growth, Infrastructure, Local Government, Planning, Population, Statistics, Sydney metro area, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sydney transport inquiry – final report released

Posted on 5 June, 2010 by Alex

Well, it’s out. The final report of the Sydney Morning Herald’s Independent Public Inquiry into Sydney’s public transport, chaired by Mr Ron Christie, was published by the Herald earlier this week. The report follows the release of the Preliminary Report … Continue reading →

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Paul Mees puts the case for better-connected public transport

Posted on 2 May, 2010 by Alex

On today’s ABC National’s Public Interest (Sunday 2 May), Dr Paul Mees, a well-known Melbourne-based transport expert,  makes one of the most eloquent summaries of the case for a better-planned, better-managed and better-connected public transport system that I have ever heard. … Continue reading →

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Transport Public Inquiry final report nears completion

Posted on 2 May, 2010 by Alex

A lot has happened since the SMH Transport Inquiry released its preliminary report in February. Shortly after its release the State Government announced that it was dumping the CBD and West Metros, aspects of which were criticised in the Inquiry … Continue reading →

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Western Sydney a winner in Transport Inquiry interim report

Posted on 16 February, 2010 by Alex

In my last post I outlined the governance arrangements outlined in the interim report of the Independent Public Inquiry into Sydney’s public transport which I had a small role in developing. Now I’d like to summarise the Inquiry’s proposals for … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Growth, Infrastructure, Planning, Population, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Transport, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Independent inquiry’s report will shape Sydney’s transport debate

Posted on 16 February, 2010 by Alex

It’s finally out – the interim report of the Independent Public Inquiry into Sydney’s public transport.  The Inquiry’s report was prepared under the guidance of Mr Ron Christie, former NSW Coordinator General for Rail and former head of the RTA, … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Infrastructure, Planning, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Transport | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Paris and peripheral cities

Posted on 26 January, 2010 by Alex

In December I was a participant in an international roundtable on peripheral cities held in Paris. This was part of a seminar organised by FALP (an acronym from the French for “Forum of Local Authorities of the Periphery”) in conjunction … Continue reading →

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SOAC addresses cities in Perth

Posted on 18 January, 2010 by Alex

In November the 2009 State of Australian Cities Conference brought together academics, researchers, planners and many others involved in urban design and management at the University of Western Australia in Perth to discuss the current status and direction of our … Continue reading →

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