08/09 state budget announcements

[Omicron]

...your family is from the mid north? if so where abouts? i'm from up that way

Cruise, you are not my father...
My lot are from Peterborough (Former major rail hub!) and surrounds.

I'm from Port Pirie.

also that is a scary quote though, my name being Luke and all

There are about four zillion former Pirie residents who have worked or are still working at my Kmart.

I don't think you are one of them.

[Cruise]

Cruise, you are not my father...
My lot are from Peterborough (Former major rail hub!) and surrounds.

I'm from Port Pirie.

also that is a scary quote though, my name being Luke and all

There are about four zillion former Pirie residents who have worked or are still working at my Kmart.

I don't think you are one of them.

well i don't work at Kmart.

Pirie is a strange place, alot of people grew up there yet spent there best time in Adelaide.

Also PM me who do know who went Risdon primary?

[adam73837]

As Nelson said in The Simpsons Episode Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily: "I feel like punching myself!"
Why, you may ask? I'll tell you why. I feel like punching myself because I said that this budget was well though out and a great thing... yadda...yadda.
Has anyone stopped to think - or rather have Rann and Foley stopped to think that extending trams to AAMI would be a waste of time because if Rann and Foley achieve their goal of having people catch the trams to AAMI, we're talking about 20-odd thousand people cramming into 300-odd seater trams. Now, for that alone, we're talking about approxiamtely 67 trams. Now when the trams FINALLY reach that dump that we call a 'stadium', where are the trams going to go? Are they going to magically teleport back to the city to pick up more people? Or wait! Perhaps we'll just have one so-called 'express' tram running back and forth from the city as to avaoid congestion on the tramlines.
I mean really, where does Rann expect to put all the trams? Max Basheer Reserve?

Now, that shared tram/train corridor is ridiculous. Why? Well on one hand we're going to have trains running express from Woodville or Port Adelaide to the city, yet on the same line, we're going to have trams stopping at every station. This, my friends is an accident waiting to happen.
So what have we done? We've eliminated stations along the line to reduce the risk of an accident... some 'transport revolution'! Did Conlon accept this? No he didn't! How do I know?I was told by one of his advisers (no, it's not me) that his advisers gave him advice on the faults in this project, but HE DIDN'T LISTEN because Rann wanted him to present big things to the public so that he could get us all excited and happy with him as our Premier. Once the hype has died down, so will the scale of this budget's projects.

What about the Northern suburbs that are going to expand due to that Defence Boom, etc. and the NORTHERN EXPRESSWAY? Why? Oh, why did we close that Penfield line? Had we kept it, we could have extended it North to cater for the suburbs that are going to spring up pretty soon. And what about the expanding Southern suburbs? Oh of course! We have land reserved for that kind of extension! Pity it won't get done within the next decade!

Oh! Here's something I read: The Government is going to conduct a study into a possible extension of the Tonsley Line to Flinders. How fortunate we are to have such a brilliant Premier like Media Mike and his guard dog Furious Foley.

What we need is another Playford. But first, we need Rann and Foley out of the picture, because they're the real enemies, not the rest of the Government (Well, Lomax-Smith is... Let's not go down that road...). When you think about it, ministers like Holloway are guys with guts, not Media Mike who sits there getting all the attention for the work that the other ministers do!
Listen Rann, unless you want your Government (that by the way has so much potential) to lose the next election, I suggest you take yourself, your Greens wife, your guard dog Foley and your maid Lomax-Smith out of there so that you can open up the doors for some real men to step in.

[Norman]

I doubt there will be 20 000 people trying to catch a tram from the city to AAMI Stadium.

Currently, 22 or so Footy Express routes provide the service to AAMI. Will they stay? Yes! The trams will complement the existing bus service.

Currently, about 20% of people use the Footy Express to get to AAMI. That's a maximum of 10 000 people using the Footy Express bus at present.

So that leaves, what, about 1000, maybe 1500 people catching the service from the city (Buses leave the city every 10 minutes to AAMI for 2 hours = 12 artic buses = ~1680 capacity).

A train/tram can hold about 250 people. About 2 will still be needed for the Semaphore service, leaving 13 to service the City-AAMI and Glenelg-AAMI corridor. If they go back and forth express, they can transport about 6500 passengers in 2 hours (this is going by 30 minutes City-AAMI express, it's probably less but I allowed for traffic signals and unloading times). This includes the trams going back and forth between the city, this would come to about 5000 or more if some were sent back to Glenelg.

Anyway, there are my calculations, which, IMO, offers a better service. And if we get more train/trams in the future, more capacity will be available.

[No Clever Alias]

Did Conlon accept this? No he didn't! How do I know?I was told by one of his advisers (no, it's not me) that his advisers gave him advice on the faults in this project, but HE DIDN'T LISTEN because Rann wanted him to present big things to the public so that he could get us all excited and happy with him as our Premier. Once the hype has died down, so will the scale of this budget's projects.

Did we all watch The Hollwmen episode on Wednesday night!?! This is exactly how it worked! Rann wanted a coast-to-coast tram to be his "centrepiece"! That show is so close to the mark you wouldn't believe... unless you work in the public service that is... in which case you sit and watch, nodding your head, cringing as it hits too close to home, laughing knowingly!

[AtD]

...rant

Except, West Lakes is a destination in its own right. Even if AAMI vanished overnight, West Lakes could still justify a tram line.

[Will]

...rant

Except, West Lakes is a destination in its own right. Even if AAMI vanished overnight, West Lakes could still justify a tram line.

And to further add to what Adam has said, the state government has earmarked West Lakes as a future TOD site. Thus in a couple of years, we will see many more high-density residential developments down at West Lakes.

[Ho Really]

...rant

Except, West Lakes is a destination in its own right. Even if AAMI vanished overnight, West Lakes could still justify a tram line.

And to further add to what Adam has said, the state government has earmarked West Lakes as a future TOD site. Thus in a couple of years, we will see many more high-density residential developments down at West Lakes.

That's an even better reason to get rid of AAMI Stadium at West Lakes and build more homes for people around a nice park and community facilities.

Cheers

[adam73837]

Too true! THE SANFL is sitting on so much money down there that it's not funny!

[monotonehell]

Too true! THE SANFL is sitting on so much money down there that it's not funny!

Then they'd have a pile of cash and no oval...

[AtD]

SA Govt to scrap some capital works
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008 ... 390355.htm
The South Australian Government says it will have to scrap some non-essential capital works programs to keep its good credit rating.

The Treasurer, Kevin Foley, says the State's balance sheet has now lost about $2 billion.

He says to keep South Australia's triple-A credit rating, some projects will have to be postponed, while others will be cut altogether.

"It is the appropriate and proportionate response to a rapid deterioration in our state's balance sheet due to the financial crisis, which is seeing stockmarkets crumble and economic activity slow at an alarming rate," he said.

Foley outlines global hit for SA
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008 ... 390810.htm

Treasurer Kevin Foley has outlined to State Parliament some of the cost to South Australia of global financial instability.

Mr Foley says the government organisation which invests state superannuation funds has been hard hit, with an investment loss from July to September of $627 million.

He says there will also be a $150 million hole in the Budget because of an increase in superannuation liabilities.

Mr Foley again made clear that options would be drawn up to defer or cancel capital works projects that were not considered essential.

"These are extraordinary times. When this financial crisis will end, how it will end and the changed financial landscape we will have to adapt to are completely unknown," he told Parliament.

"It is therefore vital that the Government prepares an appropriate and proportionate response to the financial challenges facing the state."

Mr Foley says housing sales are down 19 per cent in the past six months, which will cost the state about $100 million of tax revenue.

The Treasurer says bad debts in the global banking and finance sector will also cut into South Australia's Budget surplus.

"The 2008-09 Budget contained significant Budget surpluses across the forward estimates to provide a significant buffer against unforeseen pressures," he said.

"The global financial crisis has significantly drawn down this buffer and so, over the coming weeks, I will be working through a range of options to Treasury and Finance to ensure the ongoing strength of the state's finances."

SA Opposition leader Martin Hamilton-Smith says the Government should have been prepared for tougher times.

"For the last seven years of bouyant economic times the money's been rolling in," he said.

"You should have been making hay while the sun was shining."

Mr Foley says the SA Government will do whatever is needed to maintain the state's AAA credit rating.

[crawf]

The new prisons and PT upgrade must not be scrapped or postponed.

SA Opposition leader Martin Hamilton-Smith says the Government should have been prepared for tougher times.

Coming from a person who was planning to spend hundreds of millions on a new stadium.

[Will409]

If the PT injection was to have some of the fat trimmed, may I advise that the West Lakes, Port Adelaide and Semaphore tramlines and rollingstock get the chop? Unlike the planned work on the heavy rail system, these are 'expendable' projects. As for the City West to Entertainment Centre tram line, the doctor is still out since this project is currently active albeit in it's early days.

[muzzamo]

If the PT injection was to have some of the fat trimmed, may I advise that the West Lakes, Port Adelaide and Semaphore tramlines and rollingstock get the chop? Unlike the planned work on the heavy rail system, these are 'expendable' projects. As for the City West to Entertainment Centre tram line, the doctor is still out since this project is currently active albeit in it's early days.

I reckon they are waiting for federal money for all this anyway.. So there is a good chance it would survive...