NSW Premier, Moris Iemma, today marks one year since his Labor government's NSW re-election. It has, by any measure, been an "annus horribilis".
The year has been marked by political and criminal controversies.
- Former Minister, Milton Orkopolis has been convicted on child sex and drug charges. The questions about who else knew what, and when remain unanswered, and will haunt the government, and some individuals, for some time.
- The "Paul Gibson" affair, where allegations of domestic violence against a former lover were ultimately dropped due to lack of evidence.
- The allegedly revenge allegations aabout his replacement, former Fire Commissioner Phil Koperberg, also failed due to lack of evidence, but caused him sufficient health problems to resign as Minister.
- The Lane Cove Tunnel has caused traffic chaos, as not as many people aare using the private tunnel, and more want to use the now single-lane public road.
- Health, and Minister Reba Meagher, have had their own problems: Royal North Shore emergency dept; Bathurst Hospital Project bungling; not one, but two enquiries into hospitals; Central Coast Hospital emergency response times are no alleged to have been changed to meet Health Dept "requirements"; there are, or will be more.
- The T-Crad (public transport) Project was finally put to rest. It was supposed to have been operating before the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
Morris Iemma had been looking for "good-news" stories: in the last two weeks, they came in the form of proposed water storage in disused tunnels under St James Station; and the north-west metro rail line. Uh-oh! Problem! Despite Deputy Premier John Watkins saying they are diferent tunnels, it seems that they are one and the same tunnel under St James Station. Just another case of left hand-right hand syndrome.
Really, it was just another stuff-up from Morris Iemma's NSW Labor Government.
Just another day in NSW politics.
John
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