Tag: peak oil

Eastern Transport Coalition – State Candidates Forum at Maroondah

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The Eastern Transport Coalition is a council initiated advocacy group, covering Melbourne’s seven outer eastern Councils; Greater Dandenong, Knox, Manningham, Maroondah, Monash Whitehorse and the Shire of Yarra Ranges.

As part of its advocacy campaign, the Eastern Transport Coalition is holding a series of candidate forums, throughout each of the member councils. The evening was attended by representatives of each of the three major parties, the Australian Labor Party, the Victorian Liberal Party and the Victorian Greens.

I provided the introduction to tonight’s forum to highlight the current public transport deficiencies within Maroondah. The speech is available within this entry:

Welcome candidates and the community to the Maroondah City Council Eastern Transport Coalition Public Transport Forum.

Maroondah City Council, in the spirit of reconciliation, acknowledges that we are meeting on the land for which the Wurundjeri people have been custodians for many centuries, and on Land which the indigenous Australians have performed age old ceremonies.

We are fortunate tonight to have secured Mr Clay Lucas as our independent moderator. Clay may be well known to some of you as he is part of The Age’s city team having worked The Age and The Sunday Age since 2005 as a city reporter. This role sees Clay reporting on a range of topics across the transport sector, including roads, public transport, planning and development. In 2009 Clay won a Quill for transport reporting with Age investigative reporter Royce Millar.

Before I hand over to Clay to get the evening underway I just want to provide a quick overview of the public transport issues that Maroondah sees as important to the community and help set the context of public transport in the east.

Regional Perspective

The eastern region is an established area experiencing significant economic and population growth.
This growth is mainly occurring through infill and consolidation of existing residential, commercial and employment areas.

The network is struggling to keep up with demand and provide services that the community require to carry out their day to day activities as viable alternatives to the motor vehicle.

The Victorian Transport Plan – Does not deliver for the east

To keep pace with the population and economic growth the current public transport system needs to expand.

The Victorian Transport Plan does not adequately consider or respond to the needs of the East and greater investment is still required, if the eastern suburbs are to continue to be liveable and met the State’s land use and transport plans as outlined in Melbourne @ 5 million.

The high household car ownership in the City of Maroondah is evidence of the public transport systems inability to provide a service that allows our community to undertake their daily activities. The ETC and Maroondah City Council call on the government for the development of a long term regional public transport strategy for the Eastern region.

Ringwood Station Upgrade

Ringwood is identified as one of six Central Activity Districts which will offer CBD type services in suburban locations. In recent MTF public survey, Ringwood Station was voted as Melbourne’s second worse station, after Richmond.

The current Ringwood Station is difficult to access with steep ramps to station platforms that fail the State Government’s Disability Discrimination Act requirements.

The footpath access from each side of the station is not safe, particularly for people in wheel chairs and there is not direct wheel chair access to the car park which is located at the bottom of a steep stairway.
There has been no significant upgrade to the station in more than 50 years and it is desperately needing to be modernised.

For Ringwood Station to be truly accessible to all and permit convenient transferring between transport services, it is imperative that it is clean, comfortable, accessible and safe and secure.

Triplication for the Belgrave/Lilydale line

As Central Melbourne will continue to be a major location for employment, the arts, culture, sport and leisure, central Melbourne should be conveniently accessible by public transport for all Melbournians.
The demand on the Belgrave/Lilydale lines, with approximately 93,000 daily boardings, make these lines one of Melbourne’s most highly patronised rail corridors.

The patronage of both lines is reaching capacity with overcrowding a regular passenger experience. To facilitate more efficient and comfortable commuting for those passengers coming from beyond Ringwood Station, the triplication of the line between Box Hill and Ringwood is required.

Better Buses

Buses are the largest public transport option available to residents within Maroondah and the neighbouring municipalities. Bus patronage is growing, particularly on services with long operation and high frequency of service, i.e. the SmartBus Routes.

The recently conducted Metropolitan Bus Service Reviews was a step in the right direction with identifying inadequate service and generating regional specific solutions. However, very few of the recommendations have been implemented and they have only been small route extensions or minimal frequency and duration improvements.

Bus services in Maroondah remain poor with limited out of peak services and long wait times between services throughout most of the day. Improving bus services in coverage, service frequency and duration will provide real alternatives to the private vehicle and enable the community of Maroondah to have real choice in transport.

Conclusion

The provision of a more equitable, accessible public transport will reduce the detrimental effects of poor access to public transport in the eastern region, such as, social isolation, high car dependency, reduced financial freedom or the inability to access services.

A truly integrated and accessible transport network will also reduce the regions vulnerability to changes in the environment, such as climate change and peak oil.

I thank you for your attendance tonight and look forward to hearing how the candidates respond to your issues.

I’ll now hand you over to Clay to get the evening underway.

Transition Towns Maroondah Transport Group

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Transition Towns is a community based movement that aims to empower communities to respond to the challenges of peak oil and climate change.

Transition Towns aims to promote thinking globally and acting locally, through localised groups. Maroondah has a transition towns organisation that has established several working groups exploring strategies in developing a future that is resilient to climate change and peak oil.

This morning I met with the transport working group of Transition Towns Maroondah to discuss how council and the group can work together in promoting sustainable forms of transport.

Transport is Australia’s fastest growing source of greenhouse emissions and improvements to sustainable forms of transport, such as walking, cycling and public transport, are required to reduce car dependence and costs associated with the rising cost of petrol.

Transition Towns Maroondah aims to work collaboratively with Council and other community organisations to raise awareness and mitigate the challenges of climate change and peak oil.

Eastern Transport Coalition – Final Meeting as Maroondah’s delegate

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The Eastern Transport Coalition (ETC) is a Council based advocacy group seeking to improve public transport within the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Member councils include the City of Maroondah, the City of Greater Dandenong, City of Knox, City of Manningham, City of Monash, City of Whitehorse and the Shire of Yarra Ranges.

Each year councils determine the Councillor representation on committees. While I had been Maroondah’s representative on the ETC since being elected in 2006, I felt it was now time to provide another Councillor with the opportunity to represent Maroondah on this committee to expand the knowledge and expertise on public transport issues within Council.

As a result, I’m pleased to announce that Cr. Michael Macdonald will now be Maroondah’s representative on the Eastern Transport Coalition. Michael has expressed an interest in public transport issues and it is great to see that the need for public transport improvements is recognised within Council.

I attended tonight’s meeting to assist with introducing Michael to the group and to provide some background on the priorities of the Eastern Transport Coalition. I am confident that Michael will be a great asset to the ETC and public transport advocacy.

Despite no longer being on the Eastern Transport Coalition I will continue to advocate for public transport improvements. As Mayor I have refused the mayoral car and will be continuing to use public transport to attend council and community commitments. Furthermore I will continue advocating for improvements to bus and train services as well as the much needed redevelopment of Ringwood Station.

2010 promises to be an exciting year for the Eastern Transport Coalition and I look forward to Michael’s involvement in the committee, as well as Maroondah’s continued advocacy for public transport improvements.

Maroondah Transition Towns Public Meeting

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Transition Towns is a community-based movement that aims to strengthen local communities  and encourage them to meet the challenges faced by climate change and peak oil.  While Transition Towns is an international concept, each local community develops its own resources as part of the program.

This evening the newly formed Maroondah Transition Towns group convened a public meeting to discuss the concept and how members of the community can become involved within the project.

Two speakers discussed their experiences as part of the Castlemaine Transition Town project and spoke about the impact that climate change and peak oil will have on our local communities.

I was invited to act as the Master of Ceremonies for the evening and assist in the facilitation of the event.  The evening included a mixture of presentations and workshops aimed at raising awareness of these environmental challenges.

Transition Towns is an ongoing movement and the Maroondah group will be meeting on a regular basis to plan community activities and discuss how our local community can adapt to these challenges.

Maroondah Leader: Transport Coalition aims for changes

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The State Government is undertaking review of bus services across Metropolitan Melbourne with the latest series exploring routes within Maroondah, Knox and the Yarra Ranges.

The Maroondah Leader has reported on the upcoming reviews, including the public workshop which will be held this Thursday.

Coalition Deputy Chair and Maroondah councillor Alex Makin called for a two-tier service with frequent, direct services on main roads and a second tier of local bus routes to connect passengers to the main services.

A two-tiered bus network would significantly reduce travel times and ensure that Maroondah’s main roads are are provided with frequent and direct bus services.

“The average bus route in Maroondah tends to go down a lot of different side streets and that adds a lot of time to the journey,” Cr Makin said.

The success of the Ringwood to Frankston SmartBus demonstrates that people will use public transport when it is frequent, direct and readily available.

Cr Makin said residents raised several complaints about bus services at a public forum on January 29.

“People brought up issues about the frequency of the bus routes, the fact that the average bus finishes at 8pm or 9pm on a weekday and that buses are failing to make connections with other buses and with the train network,” Cr Makin said.

Given that the majority of Maroondah’s residents live beyond walking distance to the rail network, it is critical that the municipality is provided with a comprehensive bus network that enhances the mobility of our community.

“Unfortunately it’s all too common an occurance when the bus pulls up at a station, only for people to find that the train has already left.”

The feedback from council’s workshop will be used to assist council’s submission to the State Government. In addition community members should attend one of the State Government’s workshops to provide a further opportunity for input.

Improvements to bus services will help ensure an accessible municipality and reduce Maroondah’s greenhouse emissions.

Maroondah Journal: Petrol, housing costs 'hitting eastern suburbs'

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Griffith University academics, Dr Jago Dodson and Dr Neil Sipe recently released Unsettling Suburbia: The new landscape of oil and mortgage vulnerability in Australian cities. The report further explores the VAMPIRE index (Vulnerability Assessment for Mortgage, Petroleum and Inflation Risks and Expenses) whereby the costs borne by rising petrol prices and mortgages are compared across suburbs.

Perhaps unsurprisingly the report finds that Melbourne’s outer suburbs, including the eastern region, is more vulnerable to rising petrol prices compared to the inner or middle suburbs.

Cr Alex Makin, spokesman for the Eastern Transport Coalition of seven municipalities, said the report highlighted the “dire need” of improvements to outer east transport.

Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs are vulnerable to rising petrol prices due to the lack of readily available public transport. This results in higher levels of car dependence and thus a higher proportion of income being vulnerable to rising petrol prices.

“The rise in oil prices affects the mobility of the community and it is critical for action to be taken now.”

While petrol prices have decreased slightly in recent weeks, trends are continuing to show further increases. It is therefore imperative that Melbourne’s outer suburbs are provided with transport choice, through the provision of frequent, reliable and readily available public transport.

Council has an important role to play in advocating for public transport improvements, particularly since the State Government will be undertaking a review of Maroondah’s bus services towards the end of this year. This review will provide the opportunity to request higher service frequencies, increased operating spans and new routes to cover areas such as Canterbury Road, Mount Dandenong Road and Warranwood which lack much needed bus services.

In addition, Council must strengthen its advocacy for the upgrade of Ringwood Station. The State Government can no longer be allowed to ignore the dire state of Ringwood Station, a facility that is perceived to be unsafe by our community and fails to meet accessibility standards.

While a number of municipalities including the City of Knox are currently considering a Peak Oil Policy, some of my colleagues on council are unfortunately reluctant to consider such action despite the economic, social and environmental consequences for Maroondah.

Active Communities = Active Advocacy : Communities for Public Transport featured at the Sustainable Living Festival

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Communities for Public Transport is unique in that it places communities first and foremost in its advocacy efforts.

Communities for Public Transport, the public transport advocacy group established to represent and empower local communities, will be featured at Melbourne’s Sustainable Living Festival on Sunday the 17th of February at 10am.

The Sustainable Living Festival, an annual event held at Federation Square, aims to showcase organisations that inspire and promote sustainable communities.

I have been invited to deliver a presentation on Communities for Public Transport with the aim of providing advice on community advocacy and to highlight the key issues facing the campaign for public transport improvements in Melbourne and Victoria.

The ongoing inaction over public transport is emerging as a key issue within metropolitan Melbourne and now is the time for local communities to speak up and demand much needed public transport improvements. Rising petrol prices are adding severe financial pressures to many households, particularly those living in the outer suburbs where public transport is not readily available.

Public transport is also required to ensure an equitable Melbourne, where people of all abilities are able to participate in society. The State Government must accelerate disability compliance works to ensure that it exceeds the required milestones established under the Federal Government’s Disability Discrimination Act of 1992

The State Government must demonstrate that it is serious about making public transport improvements a priority. Traffic congestion is creating a severe impost on the economy with severe inflationary pressures undermining Melbourne’s productivity. In addition, Victoria’s greenhouse emissions are continuing unabated due to heavy car dependence.

Local communities know the public transport improvements they require and are best placed to advocate for the public transport improvements that will provide for a sustainable future. It is time for local communities to demand action and to find their voice. Melbourne and its outer suburbs must no longer tolerate poor train reliability, infrequent buses, a lack of nearby stations, inaction over tram extensions and an ongoing list of broken promises over rail extensions.

I encourage you to attend the presentation Active Communities = Active Advocacy at 10am in the design tent at the Sustainable Living Festival, Federation Square.

Delegates' report: Peak Oil and Climate Change

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On the 27th of June I attended the Peak Oil, Petrol Prices and Climate Change Conference convened by the Victorian Council of Social Services, Environment Victoria and in partnership with the Victorian Government.

Peak Oil is the situation that occurs when the supply of oil is unable to meet demand. It was first hypothesised by Marion King Hubbert who successfully predicted the peaking of US oil supplies in the 1970s.

This conference provided a wealth of information on the repercussions of rising petrol prices and therefore the implications of peak oil on Melbourne and Victoria more broadly. This has a number of consequences for Maroondah since rising petrol prices can create increasing financial strain on household budgets.

In fact one of the speakers at the conference, Dr. Jago Dodson, has investigated the vulnerability of Australia’s cities in regard to rising petrol prices. The report found that outer eastern Melbourne, including Maroondah is definitely susceptible to the resulting increased financial strain, due mainly to the under provision of public transport services.

The conference on peak oil reinforced the need for strong advocacy in regard to public transport. It is therefore encouraging that Maroondah has recently appointed a full-time sustainable transport officer to strengthen our advocacy for public transport improvements.

There were a number of sustainability related events over the course of the past month, including the Croydon Conservation Society Film night on the 28th of June. This film night included screenings of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and the End of Suburbia, a film that further explores the concept of peak oil.

An Inconvenient Truth which features former US Vice-President Al Gore, explores the growing evidence surrounding climate change and the growing need for worldwide consensus and action. The film draws an interesting comparison between the controversy surrounding climate change and the debate that surrounded CFCs approximately two decades ago.

At the time there was much controversy surrounding the environmentally harmful effects of CFCs, however a worldwide treaty banning their production was signed in 1987. As a result of this definitive action the ozone hole over the Antarctic improved, demonstrating the merit of effective worldwide action. It would appear that similar action is required in regard to climate change. While there is still much debate surrounding the magnitude of climate change, effective action is required to mitigate its increasingly dire effects.

Croydon Conservation Society Film Night: An Inconvenient Truth and the End of Suburbia

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Urban sustainability and the environment have continued to remain at the forefront of the Maroondah community with the Croydon Conservation Society holding a film night, showcasing Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and the End of Suburbia.

An Inconvenient Truth is a documentary surrounding former US Vice-President Al Gore’s presentation on climate change. Through the presentation Al Gore explores the impact of climate change on ocean levels, the polar ice caps and the migration trends and habitat of wildlife. In particular Al Gore stresses the need for immediate action to curb greenhouse emissions and draws a comparison between the worldwide action that resulted in the agreement to phase out CFCs. The phasing out of CFCs came into force in 1989 through the Montreal Treaty of 1987 and has often been hailed as one of the most successful international treaties in regard to its commitment and implementation.

It is interesting to note that at the time there was much controversy surrounding the effects of CFCs and the needs for a treaty, a situation that appears to have repeated itself in regard to climate change and the Kyoto treaty.

The second documentary, The End of Suburbia explores Peak Oil and the ramifications that rising petrol prices and the end of cheap fuel will have on suburbia. Peak Oil, where the supply of oil is unable to cater to rising demand, has risen in prominence within Australia due largely to overall trend of rising petrol prices. In particular the film explores why alternative fuels cannot simply substitute the current dependence on oil meaning that sustainable forms of transport such as public transport will be need to be improved. Hydrogen is a net energy loser (since it consumes more energy in its production than it actually provides) and biodiesels, such as ethanol, would currently require all agriculture land currently used for food production to be diverted to fuel production, obviously leaving a chronic shortfall in food sources. Evidence of this is already seen within a number of developing countries that have experienced rising food prices due to the increase of biodiesel production at the expense of food production.

While debate may still surround climate change and peak oil, the discussion is shifting from one of doubt to one of questioning the magnitude of when these events will occur. In this regard it seems imperative to begin mitigating the risks associated with both climate change and peak oil.

Peak Oil, Petrol Prices and Climate Change Conference

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Peak Oil and the impacts of climate change have risen in prominence this week with both the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) and a coalition of community groups led by the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) organising conferences on these issues.

I attended the Peak Oil, Petrol Prices and Climate Change conference which was organised by the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA), Environment Victoria and the Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) and held at the DOI Theatrette at Nauru House.

Peak Oil, whereby the supply of oil is unable to meet demand, was first theorised by Marion King Hubbert in 1956. Despite the constant crticisms throughout the reminder of Hubbert’s career, he successfully predicted the peaking of US domestic oil supplies. On a world-wide scale peak oil it is predicted that peak oil will occur somewhere between 2010 and 2020, the exact figure being difficult to determine due to the uncertainty surrounding the actual level of oil reserves within the Middle East.

The conference attracted prominent speakers such as Professor Peter Newman, one of Australia’s leading urban transport academics, Dr. Jago Dodson, who investigated the vulnerability of Australia’s cities in responding to rising petrol prices and Dr. Ian McPhail the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability, who recently highlighted the State Government’s poor performance in regard to public transport and land use planning.

Areas of vulnerability to petrol prices within Melbourne

Areas of oil vulnerability within Melbourne (darker areas represent a higher vulnerability to rising petrol prices)

Regardless of the actual date of peak oil, it is clear that petrol prices are continuing to rise due to the demand for oil from countries such as India and China. Rising petrol prices place an increased financial burden on car dependent households, such as those located in Melbourne’s outer suburbs. These suburbs are dependent on car travel largely due to State Government neglect in providing fast, frequent and readily available public transport.

While Maroondah Council’s 2007/2008 Budget approved the hiring of a new full-time Transport and Sustainability Officer and the recently adopted Pedestrian Strategy will assist in focusing council on improving and increasing the level of walking within the municipality, we are still lacking any clear leadership from the State Government towards improving public transport.