I sincerely believe John Brumby is an idiot. How is increasing the number of lanes on the freeway supposed to help people get to Tullamarine airport? Cars trying to exit bank up hundreds of metres onto the freeway in the morning already — regularly flying to work in Sydney has made me acutely aware of this, as I have to factor it in to my taxi trip time estimate. Increasing the number of lanes will help people going elsewhere get around the traffic jam, but it will do nothing to help people who need (or want) to fly. Busses might help mildly, but they would contribute to the congestion. Melbourne busses have a pretty dismal reputation, and my experience with them has been awful, so I’d still get a taxi. Why don’t you just bite the bullet and run a railway line under the terminals? It’s worked wonders in Sydney, and most people pay the extra $12 over a normal rail fare rather than catching a cheaper bus out of there.
Blaming Kevin Rudd for sliding popularity is also undeniably idiotic. You can’t blame Rudd for trains that run late (if at all) and break down, blowing the budget on unreliable and inadequate myki, mismanagement of the water shortage, the Eastlink toll backflip, failing to deliver on promised rail network expansion, rampant corruption, wasting money of F1 and Tiger Woods, and all the while just saying things like, “Victoria’s the place to be, and Melbourne’s the most liveable city in the world, mate!” Let me tell you, the better rail service, more accessible airport, desalinated water and generally more helpful police make make me less frustrated when I’m in Sydney.
It’s too bad the opposition has nothing to offer — Victoria is in a truly sorry state.