❓ Opposition questions the cost and justification of rebranding Perth's public transport as Metronet, alleging political branding. Minister defends the initiative, highlighting government's mandate and contrasting it with past branding efforts.
AnsweredQoN 665Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
METRONET — BRANDING
665. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the rebranding of Perth's
public transport network under the Labor Party's Metronet banner.
(1) How much is this costing?
(2) How does the
government justify using taxpayer-funded infrastructure for what appears to be
an exercise in political branding close to an election?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please.
Leader of the Opposition, wait until people are quiet.
Mr R.S. LOVE : And, finally —
(3) Can the
minister confirm whether this decision was recommended by her department or
came from the minister herself?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister for Education,
this question is not for you, nor is it for the Minister for Fisheries. We are
just waiting.
665. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the rebranding of Perth's
public transport network under the Labor Party's Metronet banner.
(1) How much is this costing?
(2) How does the
government justify using taxpayer-funded infrastructure for what appears to be
an exercise in political branding close to an election?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please.
Leader of the Opposition, wait until people are quiet.
Mr R.S. LOVE : And, finally —
(3) Can the
minister confirm whether this decision was recommended by her department or
came from the minister herself?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister for Education,
this question is not for you, nor is it for the Minister for Fisheries. We are
just waiting.
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3) I
love the Leader of the Opposition's obsession with Metronet. I love it.
I love the fact that he hates public transport so much that he cannot stop
himself. As a result, he goes out and criticises a rebrand, he criticises a subsidy
and he criticises new routes. I do not know what planet the Leader of the
Opposition is on to come into this house and talk about political brands. I mean,
royalties for regions was a National Party brand that it took into government.
It kept the colours—it kept everything about it—and put it
everywhere. It put bumper stickers on a Transwa bus that had nothing to do with
royalties for regions. It was putting stickers everywhere. There were probably
RforR stickers on the back of toilet doors in the regions, for goodness sake!
It kept the colours; it kept everything. We won government. That is what
happens in a democracy. If you put something to the electors and win the
election, that becomes government policy. Metronet is now a government brand.
The
Leader of the Opposition can promise to take it off—I do not care what
he does. I know he will commit to reducing services and cutting rail
lines. He can change the brand and do whatever he wants, but we are delivering
Metronet, and that bothers the Leader of the Opposition immensely. Look at what
the member for Moore looked like a while ago. There he was with his big cheques
with RforR on them and plaques with RforR. I do not know—policemen were
set up in front of RforR signs. They were everywhere.
As I said, we live in a democracy.
RforR was a policy that the Nationals took to an election. It won the election
and it became a government policy. That is what happened. When we came to
government, we backed in RforR—did we not, Minister for Regional Development?—because
it was government policy. It is still there and we backed it in. We did not
even change the colours. Did we change the colours? I do not think we even
changed the colours.
Several members interjected.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : We changed
the font.
The SPEAKER : Order, please, members. Just wait one
moment. The Leader of the Opposition and the Minister for Fisheries have their
own little debate going across the chamber, which, together with the other
interjections, is not helpful. Minister, can I suggest you bring your answer to
a close, please.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : The criticism
is that we took it to the election. What we took to the election was a particular
brand. We have tweaked the brand to now operationalise it and make it
consistent with Transperth operations. We have changed it, so it is not really
the election brand, but now the Leader of the Opposition is saying that we
should keep the election brand. I do not know; he is having it both ways. We
are very proud of what we are delivering.
Yesterday,
we had a great community cabinet meeting in Byford. It was fabulous. Honestly,
do members remember the member for Darling Range's predecessor?
What a contrast. This member is dedicated to the community; he is into
delivery, not self-promotion. That is what the member for Darling Range very
much is.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : I am glad the
Leader of the Opposition is obsessed with Metronet. It hurts him and it bothers
him. I do not know why. Maybe it is because we like rail and the previous
government shut it down and sold it. Maybe that is why the Liberal–National
government's record has been pathetic over decades. Maybe it is because
when he was in government, a bus got wrapped up—it got a full wrap—to
talk about an Ellenbrook rapid transit bus, but it was never delivered. Maybe
it is because the former government produced the Metro Area Express light rail propaganda—the USB drives—before
it even knew what it would look like. Maybe that is why he is so irritated .
I am not irritated; I am proud that we are delivering Metronet, as all of us
are on this side.
love the Leader of the Opposition's obsession with Metronet. I love it.
I love the fact that he hates public transport so much that he cannot stop
himself. As a result, he goes out and criticises a rebrand, he criticises a subsidy
and he criticises new routes. I do not know what planet the Leader of the
Opposition is on to come into this house and talk about political brands. I mean,
royalties for regions was a National Party brand that it took into government.
It kept the colours—it kept everything about it—and put it
everywhere. It put bumper stickers on a Transwa bus that had nothing to do with
royalties for regions. It was putting stickers everywhere. There were probably
RforR stickers on the back of toilet doors in the regions, for goodness sake!
It kept the colours; it kept everything. We won government. That is what
happens in a democracy. If you put something to the electors and win the
election, that becomes government policy. Metronet is now a government brand.
The
Leader of the Opposition can promise to take it off—I do not care what
he does. I know he will commit to reducing services and cutting rail
lines. He can change the brand and do whatever he wants, but we are delivering
Metronet, and that bothers the Leader of the Opposition immensely. Look at what
the member for Moore looked like a while ago. There he was with his big cheques
with RforR on them and plaques with RforR. I do not know—policemen were
set up in front of RforR signs. They were everywhere.
As I said, we live in a democracy.
RforR was a policy that the Nationals took to an election. It won the election
and it became a government policy. That is what happened. When we came to
government, we backed in RforR—did we not, Minister for Regional Development?—because
it was government policy. It is still there and we backed it in. We did not
even change the colours. Did we change the colours? I do not think we even
changed the colours.
Several members interjected.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : We changed
the font.
The SPEAKER : Order, please, members. Just wait one
moment. The Leader of the Opposition and the Minister for Fisheries have their
own little debate going across the chamber, which, together with the other
interjections, is not helpful. Minister, can I suggest you bring your answer to
a close, please.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : The criticism
is that we took it to the election. What we took to the election was a particular
brand. We have tweaked the brand to now operationalise it and make it
consistent with Transperth operations. We have changed it, so it is not really
the election brand, but now the Leader of the Opposition is saying that we
should keep the election brand. I do not know; he is having it both ways. We
are very proud of what we are delivering.
Yesterday,
we had a great community cabinet meeting in Byford. It was fabulous. Honestly,
do members remember the member for Darling Range's predecessor?
What a contrast. This member is dedicated to the community; he is into
delivery, not self-promotion. That is what the member for Darling Range very
much is.
Mr R.S. Love interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : I am glad the
Leader of the Opposition is obsessed with Metronet. It hurts him and it bothers
him. I do not know why. Maybe it is because we like rail and the previous
government shut it down and sold it. Maybe that is why the Liberal–National
government's record has been pathetic over decades. Maybe it is because
when he was in government, a bus got wrapped up—it got a full wrap—to
talk about an Ellenbrook rapid transit bus, but it was never delivered. Maybe
it is because the former government produced the Metro Area Express light rail propaganda—the USB drives—before
it even knew what it would look like. Maybe that is why he is so irritated .
I am not irritated; I am proud that we are delivering Metronet, as all of us
are on this side.
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