The Land Transport Management (Regulation of Public Transport) Amendment Bill proposed to replace the existing Public Transport Operating Model (PTOM) with a new Sustainable Public Transport Framework.
The legislation would enable councils to bring the delivery of public transport services back "in-house", and it sets new principles that need to be considered when planning public transport services.
Our submission broadly supported the legislation, as we support the delivery of public transport by public entities, rather than contracting out public transport for profit. We support legislation that will better enable public transport to be delivered by the public sector for the public good, rather than being outsourced to private companies to extract wealth from an essential service. We also support legislation that will encourage local government to look wider than simply the financial bottom line.
Our submission suggested ways of improving the legislation, including:
- amending some of the principles to focus on environmental and equity outcomes
- suggesting more safeguards to ensure that public services are only contracted out if they can meet a public interest test
- giving councils greater ability to end non-performing contracts
- suggesting additional considerations to help ensure good forward planning and collaboration between councils.
Related documents
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PSA submission on the Land Transport Management Regulation of Public Transport Amendment Bill Adobe Acrobat PDF file | 346 KB