Transport for NSW warns of heightened risk of ‘failures' on rail network
On May 30, after months of negotiations in the Fair Work Commission, the state government reached an agreement with the rail unions. A proposed enterprise agreement would win 13,000 employees a 12 per cent wage increase over three years, plus back pay. The Electrical Trades Union has sought to block the vote because of concern over the agreement's categorisation of maintenance and engineering employees.
A Transport for NSW spokesman said there was 'no outstanding safety-critical preventative work'. He said the maintenance backlog had decreased by 92 per cent to 53 outstanding work orders as of June 9.
'It is no secret that industrial action and severe weather have had detrimental impacts on reliability in recent years,' he said.
'A lot of work has already gone into improving Sydney Trains' reliability. The Rail Repair Plan, completed in June 2024, resulted in passengers spending 35 per cent less time in train delays caused by infrastructure failures.'
RTBU NSW secretary Toby Warnes called on Transport for NSW to take responsibility for the 'decades of neglect of our transport system', saying Labor and Coalition governments over the preceding decade had not 'prioritised commuters or the network'.
'The fact is, none of the recent issues have been caused by protected industrial action,' said Warnes.
'Transport for NSW's tangential blame of protected industrial action for the Strathfield incident was directly and immediately debunked by the premier. These continued claims are simply untrue.'
Opposition transport spokeswoman Natalie Ward said: 'While the government has found its scapegoat, the reality is commuters need performance over promises for our rail network.
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Sky News AU
a day ago
- Sky News AU
A Fair Work Commission ruling on a WFH dispute could have massive impact on working parents
A Sydney father must return to the office following a ruling by the Fair Work Commission, after he asked for a compromise to his work schedule to care for his children - in a ruling that could affect other Australian working families. Paul Collins, a technical specialist at global software company InterSystems Australia, lodged an application with Fair Work seeking flexible working arrangements after attempts to reach a compromise with his employer failed. He submitted a request in January to work from home every Wednesday and Thursday to care for his 8- and 10-year-old children and the need for a work and life balance. Until late 2024, Mr Collins had been working remotely on both these days under a hybrid working model adopted by InterSystems following the Covid-19 pandemic. In November that same year, the company announced it was ending this arrangement and staff would need to return to the office five days a week from February 2025. Mr Collins' WFH request was denied, but InterSystems offered an alternate arrangement of one work-from-home day per week. This was rejected and Mr Collins escalated the dispute to the FWC. In her judgment on Monday, FWC deputy president Lyndall Dean said she was not satisfied Mr Collins had established the 'requisite nexus' between his responsibility as a parent and the change he was seeking in his work arrangements. She said his written request 'merely expressed a preference to continue with a pre-existing pattern of remote work' and did not specify how working from home twice a week 'specifically supported or related to his parental responsibilities'. The judgement comes as companies attempt to get people back into the office full time following the end of COVID restrictions. During the federal election campaign, then opposition leader Peter Dutton wanted public servants in Canberra to return to the office, but walked the policy back following a backlash from the Albanese government and trade unions who believed the policy would negatively impact women. Newly appointed opposition leader Sussan Ley has endorsed full time working from home arrangements for some working families if the need arises.
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
Dollar dazzler designs no silver bullet for housing woe
Slick housing designs costing less than an ice cream are being deployed to get more homes built, but detractors have dubbed the promotion a "thirst trap". The "pattern book" of low-rise designs including terraces, townhouses and manor houses could be ticked off for construction in 10 days. The designs, whipped up by internationally renowned architects as part of a NSW government competition, will be available for $1 for the first six months. They then rise to $1000, still well below the going rate. The government estimates the designs would typically cost upwards of $20,000 if commissioned from an architect. Premier Chris Minns has repeatedly blamed a sluggish planning system for poor progress on nationally agreed housing targets. NSW has produced six houses per 1000 people each year compared with Victoria's eight and Queensland's 10, he said. "Ask anybody for the last 20 years in NSW how frustrating it has been to get approval for a family home, they'll all say the same thing, it is impossible," Mr Minns told reporters on Wednesday. "We are falling behind when it comes to new development completions, alongside the fact that we are one of the most expensive cities on earth." The NSW scheme will have wider availability and lower up-front fees than a Victorian strategy which was limited to a single council area, Mr Minns said. But acting Opposition Leader Damien Tudehope said the pattern book plans were governed by "glossy brochures". "(It's) almost like a thirst trap," he told reporters. "We have scantily clad people as part of the brochure." Mr Tudehope questioned the claimed 10-day approval but said councils should tick off all types of housing faster. The state remains behind its target to build 377,000 new homes by July 2029 under a national housing agreement. The premier acknowledged in an address to the McKell Institute on Wednesday getting 75,000 homes off the ground each year remains a tall order. But he didn't mind the challenge. "It puts pressure on the government, and therefore pressure on local councils and pressure on developers and the Reserve Bank and everything to really start thinking," Mr Minns said. The design plans coincide with the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing an increase in construction starts in the first three months of 2025. More than 47,000 new home builds commenced in that time, a 17 per cent increase on the same period in 2024. University of NSW architecture professor Philip Oldfield lauded the "high quality architectural designs" as a step towards expediting approvals. But he warns governments need to be more ambitious and holistic to overcome "structural and endemic" issues stemming from tax policies and complex regulations. "Everyone's looking for a silver bullet rather than actually planning for the future," he told AAP. "The cost to build a home and the cost of the land is quite high ... so it's short-sighted to expect the private development model to solve all our problems." The NSW government has allocated billions in recent budgets to build and refurbish social housing as well as helping private developers meet pre-sales targets and secure finance to build apartment buildings. Building designers backed the release of the pattern book but called for more formal involvement in future iterations, saying architects design fewer than five per cent of residences in NSW. "(Building designers) deliver the vast bulk of housing in NSW ... their input is essential," Building Designers Association of Australia chief executive Chris Knierim said. Slick housing designs costing less than an ice cream are being deployed to get more homes built, but detractors have dubbed the promotion a "thirst trap". The "pattern book" of low-rise designs including terraces, townhouses and manor houses could be ticked off for construction in 10 days. The designs, whipped up by internationally renowned architects as part of a NSW government competition, will be available for $1 for the first six months. They then rise to $1000, still well below the going rate. The government estimates the designs would typically cost upwards of $20,000 if commissioned from an architect. Premier Chris Minns has repeatedly blamed a sluggish planning system for poor progress on nationally agreed housing targets. NSW has produced six houses per 1000 people each year compared with Victoria's eight and Queensland's 10, he said. "Ask anybody for the last 20 years in NSW how frustrating it has been to get approval for a family home, they'll all say the same thing, it is impossible," Mr Minns told reporters on Wednesday. "We are falling behind when it comes to new development completions, alongside the fact that we are one of the most expensive cities on earth." The NSW scheme will have wider availability and lower up-front fees than a Victorian strategy which was limited to a single council area, Mr Minns said. But acting Opposition Leader Damien Tudehope said the pattern book plans were governed by "glossy brochures". "(It's) almost like a thirst trap," he told reporters. "We have scantily clad people as part of the brochure." Mr Tudehope questioned the claimed 10-day approval but said councils should tick off all types of housing faster. The state remains behind its target to build 377,000 new homes by July 2029 under a national housing agreement. The premier acknowledged in an address to the McKell Institute on Wednesday getting 75,000 homes off the ground each year remains a tall order. But he didn't mind the challenge. "It puts pressure on the government, and therefore pressure on local councils and pressure on developers and the Reserve Bank and everything to really start thinking," Mr Minns said. The design plans coincide with the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing an increase in construction starts in the first three months of 2025. More than 47,000 new home builds commenced in that time, a 17 per cent increase on the same period in 2024. University of NSW architecture professor Philip Oldfield lauded the "high quality architectural designs" as a step towards expediting approvals. But he warns governments need to be more ambitious and holistic to overcome "structural and endemic" issues stemming from tax policies and complex regulations. "Everyone's looking for a silver bullet rather than actually planning for the future," he told AAP. "The cost to build a home and the cost of the land is quite high ... so it's short-sighted to expect the private development model to solve all our problems." The NSW government has allocated billions in recent budgets to build and refurbish social housing as well as helping private developers meet pre-sales targets and secure finance to build apartment buildings. Building designers backed the release of the pattern book but called for more formal involvement in future iterations, saying architects design fewer than five per cent of residences in NSW. "(Building designers) deliver the vast bulk of housing in NSW ... their input is essential," Building Designers Association of Australia chief executive Chris Knierim said. Slick housing designs costing less than an ice cream are being deployed to get more homes built, but detractors have dubbed the promotion a "thirst trap". The "pattern book" of low-rise designs including terraces, townhouses and manor houses could be ticked off for construction in 10 days. The designs, whipped up by internationally renowned architects as part of a NSW government competition, will be available for $1 for the first six months. They then rise to $1000, still well below the going rate. The government estimates the designs would typically cost upwards of $20,000 if commissioned from an architect. Premier Chris Minns has repeatedly blamed a sluggish planning system for poor progress on nationally agreed housing targets. NSW has produced six houses per 1000 people each year compared with Victoria's eight and Queensland's 10, he said. "Ask anybody for the last 20 years in NSW how frustrating it has been to get approval for a family home, they'll all say the same thing, it is impossible," Mr Minns told reporters on Wednesday. "We are falling behind when it comes to new development completions, alongside the fact that we are one of the most expensive cities on earth." The NSW scheme will have wider availability and lower up-front fees than a Victorian strategy which was limited to a single council area, Mr Minns said. But acting Opposition Leader Damien Tudehope said the pattern book plans were governed by "glossy brochures". "(It's) almost like a thirst trap," he told reporters. "We have scantily clad people as part of the brochure." Mr Tudehope questioned the claimed 10-day approval but said councils should tick off all types of housing faster. The state remains behind its target to build 377,000 new homes by July 2029 under a national housing agreement. The premier acknowledged in an address to the McKell Institute on Wednesday getting 75,000 homes off the ground each year remains a tall order. But he didn't mind the challenge. "It puts pressure on the government, and therefore pressure on local councils and pressure on developers and the Reserve Bank and everything to really start thinking," Mr Minns said. The design plans coincide with the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing an increase in construction starts in the first three months of 2025. More than 47,000 new home builds commenced in that time, a 17 per cent increase on the same period in 2024. University of NSW architecture professor Philip Oldfield lauded the "high quality architectural designs" as a step towards expediting approvals. But he warns governments need to be more ambitious and holistic to overcome "structural and endemic" issues stemming from tax policies and complex regulations. "Everyone's looking for a silver bullet rather than actually planning for the future," he told AAP. "The cost to build a home and the cost of the land is quite high ... so it's short-sighted to expect the private development model to solve all our problems." The NSW government has allocated billions in recent budgets to build and refurbish social housing as well as helping private developers meet pre-sales targets and secure finance to build apartment buildings. Building designers backed the release of the pattern book but called for more formal involvement in future iterations, saying architects design fewer than five per cent of residences in NSW. "(Building designers) deliver the vast bulk of housing in NSW ... their input is essential," Building Designers Association of Australia chief executive Chris Knierim said. Slick housing designs costing less than an ice cream are being deployed to get more homes built, but detractors have dubbed the promotion a "thirst trap". The "pattern book" of low-rise designs including terraces, townhouses and manor houses could be ticked off for construction in 10 days. The designs, whipped up by internationally renowned architects as part of a NSW government competition, will be available for $1 for the first six months. They then rise to $1000, still well below the going rate. The government estimates the designs would typically cost upwards of $20,000 if commissioned from an architect. Premier Chris Minns has repeatedly blamed a sluggish planning system for poor progress on nationally agreed housing targets. NSW has produced six houses per 1000 people each year compared with Victoria's eight and Queensland's 10, he said. "Ask anybody for the last 20 years in NSW how frustrating it has been to get approval for a family home, they'll all say the same thing, it is impossible," Mr Minns told reporters on Wednesday. "We are falling behind when it comes to new development completions, alongside the fact that we are one of the most expensive cities on earth." The NSW scheme will have wider availability and lower up-front fees than a Victorian strategy which was limited to a single council area, Mr Minns said. But acting Opposition Leader Damien Tudehope said the pattern book plans were governed by "glossy brochures". "(It's) almost like a thirst trap," he told reporters. "We have scantily clad people as part of the brochure." Mr Tudehope questioned the claimed 10-day approval but said councils should tick off all types of housing faster. The state remains behind its target to build 377,000 new homes by July 2029 under a national housing agreement. The premier acknowledged in an address to the McKell Institute on Wednesday getting 75,000 homes off the ground each year remains a tall order. But he didn't mind the challenge. "It puts pressure on the government, and therefore pressure on local councils and pressure on developers and the Reserve Bank and everything to really start thinking," Mr Minns said. The design plans coincide with the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing an increase in construction starts in the first three months of 2025. More than 47,000 new home builds commenced in that time, a 17 per cent increase on the same period in 2024. University of NSW architecture professor Philip Oldfield lauded the "high quality architectural designs" as a step towards expediting approvals. But he warns governments need to be more ambitious and holistic to overcome "structural and endemic" issues stemming from tax policies and complex regulations. "Everyone's looking for a silver bullet rather than actually planning for the future," he told AAP. "The cost to build a home and the cost of the land is quite high ... so it's short-sighted to expect the private development model to solve all our problems." The NSW government has allocated billions in recent budgets to build and refurbish social housing as well as helping private developers meet pre-sales targets and secure finance to build apartment buildings. Building designers backed the release of the pattern book but called for more formal involvement in future iterations, saying architects design fewer than five per cent of residences in NSW. "(Building designers) deliver the vast bulk of housing in NSW ... their input is essential," Building Designers Association of Australia chief executive Chris Knierim said.
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Perth Now
One thing in the way of young people's happiness
NSW Premier Chris Minns says young people being locked out of the housing market is 'standing in the way of their happiness', as he cheekily hitout at the WA 'petro-state' in a post-budget address. The Premier told the McKell Institute panel at the NAB headquarters in Sydney's CBD on Wednesday afternoon that young people in NSW were being stopped 'from living a good life' because they could not find a 'decent home'. It comes after the NSW government formally launched its low-rise Housing Pattern Book, a selection of eight architecturally-approved townhouses and terraces, designs for which will be sold for the first six months for $1. The Labor government hopes the project will join other existing initiatives in boosting housing supply, a key issues Mr Minns said was standing in the way of 'fairness' and young NSW residents being able to find a home. 'If you care about fairness, you have to start with the biggest problem of all, and that is housing,' he said. 'A single problem that also undermines social mobility, makes people work longer and harder for less reward, and even in its most acute forms, can threaten faith in democracy and our system of government.' Mr Minns said 'because of our failure on housing policy' NSW residents were being forced to move further away from friends and work. NSW Premier Chris Minns said were being stopped 'from living a good life'. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia He told the progressive institute Labor differed from the Greens because they 'understand the reality that there is a massive role in for the private industry, supporting government planning decisions, putting their own capital on the line, (and) building homes for the next generation. 'It's where we differ from other political parties in NSW as well, who seem to want to preserve Sydney as if it was a national museum, while also adding another street to the western fringe of Sydney every other week,' he said. 'My ultimate aim is that other political parties join us in a bipartisan change to the planning Act that we can push through the parliament. 'But, if it's only going to be us, that's fine too, because we will take it to the election campaign and earn a mandate for major change in NSW when it comes to planning for the most expensive city on Earth.' Housing has been a key sticking point for the NSW government, with the Premier lamenting the number of young people leaving the state. Despite defending the Commonwealth Government housing targets, which are set to missed by a considerable margin, Mr Minns 'not against picking a fight with Canberra or whoever stands in the way of it (planning reform)'. The Premier addressed McKell Institute on Labor's housing plans on Wednesday. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia 'I just think that we had to get our own house in order before we started picking fights or two fights with everybody else about housing,' he said. Reflecting on planning regulation under previous state governments, Mr Minns accused them of having replaced an 'an actual decision … with either blaming the Commonwealth, or immigration, in particular, Sydney's full and other rhetorical devices, or blaming councils and saying, well, not speeding up developments now.' Mr Minns also made a gentle swipe at WA, who Treasurer Daniel Moohkey has also singled out over the GST carve up. Speaking on WA's budget surplus, Mr Minns said the state was 'one of the richest states in the world'. 'Almost like a Petro state in the Middle East, and for largely the same reason,' he said. 'They just dig stuff out of the ground and sell it off to Asia.' States currently receive at least 75c per dollar of GST. WA pushed for the floor to be introduced when its GST share plummeted after the 2012 mining boom, but the economy is booming again.
