Waewick wrote:rubberman wrote:claybro wrote:Federal government funding is subject to being matched by state funding in most large infrastructure projects. If the state government withholds funding (postpones) a project, I would think the FEDS are well within their rights to remove their funding, and give it to a state that actually has a live proposal on the table. I don't see this as the FEDS hanging SA out to dry or breaking a promise.
Reasonable if true. So, you'd think that the Murdoch press would be all over that if it were true.
If it were true. IF it were true. IF.
Those two newspaper reports clearly state that Federal funding was withdrawn. They don't say that State funding was withdrawn.
The Feds broke a promise.
So, a Federal promise to fund a tram system would not be worth the paper it was written on.
So this is the orignal post with the link from way back when.
viewtopic.php?p=110648#p110648
This is just after the state government broke it's promise and delayed the Gawler line,
Unfortunately the link to the Senate paper discussing how amateur your beloved state government is doesn't work.
The Gawler line was a state promise, which after years of delay the feds put it's money else where, likely to a government who could actually do its job.
I'll try, when I get a pc, to find the Senate paper on the topic.
So on short, a promise is worth it,if you keep your end of the bargin.
You can stop trying to rewrite history now.
Waewick,
90% of all major projects worldwide are delayed for some reason or other. That's 90%.
That's independent of politics. Projects can be delayed legitimately for all sorts of reasons, from weather, contractual, to contractor underperformance, to unforseen ground conditions. It is thus everywhere, and for governments of all persuasions.
So, if a delay is apparently a reason for the Feds to withdraw funding, then 90% of projects are vulnerable.
So, we have a major project delayed. As 90% of projects are at some stage. Fact.
The Federal government cynically removes funding. Fact.
The project has to be stopped. Fact.
Of course, now the State government is in a quandary. There are other major projects that have a promise of Federal funding.
However, if the State government accepts the Federal funding, then, because project delays have a 90% chance of happening, there's a corresponding 90% likelihood that the Feds will again take the funding.
What State government would accept that?
So we have the situation where we have a Federal government cynically offers money for projects, but has no intention whatever of honoring its promises, because it will rip the money away if there's a delay. And there's always delays.
Cynical politics at its worst.
Oh, and please do provide a link to what the Coalition Senators said. I'm up for a laugh. Especially as you seemed to think that the Adelaide now report reporting the Feds betrayal was written by a Labor staffer. (A Labor staffer being allowed to write for the Murdochracy, yeah like anyone could believe that).
Getting back to the point of all this.
Because the tram system proposal is a major project, there's such a huge likelihood that it will be delayed. If the Federal government cannot be trusted in any funding promise, then it will have to wait till the State has sufficient funds of its own.
That leads me to suggest that the only way that could happen is perhaps for the State government to levy a special land tax on properties in the tramline catchments. That extra levy to be repaid to taxpayers if the Feds ever did put in some money. That way, the State government could remind people at each election why they are paying extra tax, without having to actually rely on Canberra keeping promises.
