A New Hand Takes The Helm
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday May 20, 2008
What is the public to make of the appointment of Brian Langton to run Sydney Ferries? Even the Transport Minister, John Watkins - who can normally be relied on to put the absolute best face on things - sounded a little perfunctory yesterday about the appointment of the former transport minister, who was forced to resign a decade ago after the Independent Commission Against Corruption found he had acted corruptly. "He's a good man, he knows transport, he knows Sydney Ferries, and I think he's already doing a good job there," he said yesterday, after the Herald revealed Mr Langton's new job. Quite capable then. Nothing special.
At the very least, the appointment shows the Government no longer pays much attention to what ICAC thinks. Time was when an adverse finding - even if, as in Mr Langton's case, the Director of Public Prosecutions subsequently decided to take the matter no further - would end a politician's career in public office. No longer. It is another pointer to the regrettable decline of ICAC's authority under Labor.There are two possibilities with this appointment. The first is that Mr Langton, a long-serving Labor member with excellent contacts, has simply been looked after - as the Opposition has suggested. That would be outrageous at any time, if true - but particularly now, as the Government considers whether it should privatise the ferry service. It would imply that the Government has given up on Sydney Ferries, and is prepared to see continue the lamentable practices there, set out last October in the report by Bret Walker, SC. Simply put, management can be easily sidelined in any dispute with workers as the relevant union appeals over its head to the minister. The same cosy relationship between transport unions and Labor ministers elsewhere (CityRail is the obvious example) has been accompanied by a gradual rise in costs and a decline in the services they effectively run. That is why the Treasurer, Michael Costa, quite rightly wants future public transport projects run by private companies. The second possibility is that Mr Langton is an administrator in the Costa mould, put at the top of Sydney Ferries in order to cajole the unions along as the organisation is either prepared for sale, or transformed into a state-owned contractor to provide ferry services to a set standard and price, as Mr Walker recommended. That would make him a worthwhile appointment. Let us hope the second possibility proves to be correct.
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald
Share This