24th Feb 2020, 4:05 PM – Senate Motions - Public Transport - Privatisation

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Tasmanian Senator Anne Urquhart (Labor), which means it was successful. Motions like these don't make any legal changes, but they are politically influential because they represent the will of the Senate.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) recognises that:

(i) the impending privatisation of buses in Sydney will be a disaster for commuters and transit staff,

(ii) the Rail Tram and Bus Union of New South Wales (NSW) which represents the staff of the bus networks is adamantly opposed to the privatisation plans,

(iii) the recent bus privatisations in the Inner West and Newcastle have resulted in reduced on-time running, cut routes, closing stops and poorer working conditions, and

(iv) tens of thousands of Sydney residents have already signed petitions and rallied against privatisation;

(b) calls on the NSW Government to:

(i) protect the jobs and working conditions of the around 35,000 workers who are due to have only three years of job security under this reckless scheme,

(ii) scrap this reckless privatisation scheme, and

(iii) invest in better publicly run and publicly funded transport services; and

(c) supports the work of the Rail Tram and Bus Union NSW Branch and Unions NSW in the fight for better public transport services and better working conditions for its members.