Janet Rice
News
Thursday 29 July 2010 at 08:37 am
Greens Senate candidate and candidate for the state seat of Footscray, Janet Rice is pledging to travel sustainably in her election campaigning and is challenging other candidates to join her.
Janet, who is now full time on the Senate election trail, plans to undertake the overwhelming majority of her election campaigning by bike, public transport and walking.
‘Obviously there will be some circumstances when I have to drive – people are often surprised to learn that I do own a car and drive! But they will be the exceptions – when it’s pouring with rain or I have to carry some large equipment", Janet said.
“This week for example I have ridden to Sunshine for a street stall, and to railway stations to hand out fliers with our candidate for Gellibrand Rod Solin. I’ve covered 35 km, and only 6km has been by car. “
"I am keeping a logbook of my travel and will report back to people as the election campaigns progress."
“I challenge other candidates to do the same. Walking, cycling, and catching public transport keep you fit and healthy, are good for the planet and cut the cost of living.”
"Transport is a huge issue in both the state and federal campaigns."
“The rail meltdown this week is stark evidence of the mismanagement of public transport by the Brumby government. It adds to other recent transport stuff ups such as the regional rail link fiasco.”
The Greens would end the failed experiment of privatised public transport and establish an independent transparent authority to run our trains trams and buses."
“We want to see money spent where its needed – on upgrading and expanding our public transport so we can have reliable and safe trains, trams and buses every ten minutes throughout Melbourne.”
“Instead of wasting $5 billion on the Westlink tunnel and freeway we would invest money in efficient and affordable public transport including to the growing outer suburbs to get people out of their cars – and ease congestion that way. “
"This is also a federal election issue. Greens propose that the federal government should fund projects such as a train to the airport, high speed rail from Melbourne to Sydney and freight rail lines and intermodal freight hubs to get trucks off our streets, instead of more freeways and tunnels."
Janet is second on The Greens Senate ticket. The Greens lead senate candidate Dr Richard Di Natale is tipped to become Victoria’s first Greens Senator.
"I’m proud to be a support candidate for Richard in this election. He has an excellent chance of winning and along with Greens Senators from other states, of holding the balance of power in the Senate after the election. Richard too is a keen cyclist – he recently did a tour of regional Victoria by bike and train to talk about health."
Tuesday 08 June 2010 at 2:22 pm
I've been preselected as The Greens candidate for the seat of Footscray at the state election in November this year. And I'm campaigning to
win!
Here's the media release that's been issued today
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Thursday 15 October 2009 at 8:05 pm
For a sombre and completely up to date reminder of what’s really driving transport policy today , beyond the platitudes of transport plans, have a read of the independent panel report assessing the Environmental Effects Statement on the Frankston bypass
First let’s remind ourselves that the go ahead for this road was given by the Premier prior to the Environmental Effects Statement being completed. It highlights that once a road is on the agenda, preordained, not only will nothing stand in the way of it being built, but that the power of the road building industry, feeding and catering as it does to our society’s car dependency, is sufficient to overturn democratic and theoretically objective checks and balances in the system.
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Monday 13 July 2009 at 12:40 pm
I had a great deal of respect for Al Gore. He brought the attention of the world to climate change. He said in his speech at the launch of
Safe Climate Australia this morning that he was a recovering politician. Sorry Al, you’re not. You are as much a politician as ever. The climate is changing a lot, but in Mr Gores world, it’s the politics that have undergone the step change since An Inconvenient Truth. Obama is now in the Whitehouse, and in Australia Kevin Rudd is PM. These people are from Al Gore’s side of politics. That means whatever they are doing is the best that can be done. He told us that Rudd and Australia were showing global leadership on climate action. Never mind our inadequate targets, never mind our fatally compromised Carbon Polluters Rewards Scheme, or that his hosts at breakfast, Safe Climate Australia, aim to prepare a plan that shows how we can reduce carbon emissions to zero.
Al Gore said he was being apolitical. That’s bunkum. Gore was being deeply political in buying into the Australian debate as to whether what is being proposed by our Labor government should be supported. Every word that Al Gore uttered this morning about the need for emergency action on climate change was silenced and negated by his politics. Whilst he spoke of the need to take action like never before he gave support to the incrementalism that is spelling doom for a safe climate future.
His pronouncement that what Rudd is doing the best that can be achieved in the current political climate is a powerful attack on those who say we should and can be going much further at far greater speed. What’s more it’s wrong.
Kevin Rudd had a mandate to act on climate change. He has the support of the Australian community for strong action. He has scientific consensus that emergency action is needed. He has Greens and an independent in the Senate who will support real action. The political challenge he could have set himself is to achieve the one extra vote he needs in the Senate for strong action. Or to face the community at a double dissolution election on a platform of real action and genuine global leadership on climate change.
I came away from breakfast feeling deeply depressed. But then I reminded myself. No-one said it was going to be easy to beat the vested interests, the resource industries, the coal industry who currently are dictating policy. We know strong grassroots action is needed and it’s abundantly clear that the only way we are going to get it is through strong Green politics. I’m happy for the Gores, the ACF’s of the world to keep scratching backs and thinking they can reform the ALP from within. I wish them luck but to me I see absolutely no evidence that working that way is going to deliver results.
Gore finished his speech by acknowledging that we are still lacking political will for strong action, but that at least political will is a renewable resource. I look forward to a hasty renewal of that political will when the old parties discover, maybe at the next election , maybe the one after, that they need Greens support to form government. Till then I’ll keep on campaigning.
Wednesday 08 July 2009 at 1:19 pm
I've given two presentations over the last fortnight on the above topic, outlining the sorts of changes that are needed in how we run our transport systems if we are to achieve sustainable, equitable, economically efficient and workable transport for a growing city.
The attached slide show hasn't got much text but I think you'll be able to read between the lines to get some of the gist of the presentation and the great discussion that it generated at both sessions. I'm happy to give it again - give me a hoy if you're interested
Sunday 28 June 2009 at 10:33 pm
The freeway, the bandicoots and frying and dying. How Mr Brumby and Lester help us learn to stop worrying and love the bomb.
Once upon a time Mr Brumby and his government decided to build a big shiny new freeway to make it easier for them to get to their seaside holidays on the Mornington Peninsula.
Mr Brumby says ‘Don’t worry. We will do an Environment Effects Statement to show how the new freeway can be built without destroying the environment. We are so confident that we can do that that we don’t even need to wait until the EES is finished before announcing that the freeway will be built!.
Now, even though Mr Brumby has already said that the freeway will be built, we still get to play the EES game. So, the EES is written. People get to put in submissions. Aren’t they lucky to be able to spend their weekends doing such fun things like that!
Then comes the really fun bit of the game. This involves three lovely gentlemen getting together as a Panel. Their job is to say how well the EES has done in its quest of saying that we can build a freeway and protect the environment and reduce carbon pollution and create world peace.
The Chair of the Panel is a bloke called Lester who lives in Brunswick (Lester used to be seen as a bit of a greenie. Not any more.)
Lester and his Panel say ‘Mmmm, The EES says traffic is increasing. Congestion is a problem. Population is increasing ( but not too much) . And what do you know! There is land that has been set aside for the freeway for a long, long time – almost back to when time began. Magic Freeway Land!
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Wednesday 15 April 2009 at 1:09 pm
Voting has now opened for the Victorian Greens lead Senate candidate. with voting closing on 22 May. My nomination statement is printed below, or if you prefer, it's also available as a pdf. The statements from my four nominators are available here, and supporting statements from Greens members and others are here.
Janet for the Senate
Authentic, experienced,
with a passion for change.
Authentic.
All my adult life I’ve worked passionately
for change. Taking action on climate change has been a huge priority for me since
studying meteorology at university more than twenty years ago. It’s the most
important issue facing us. Now, it’s an emergency. I’m asking for your support
to become our Senator so together we can use the power of that position to lever
real change on climate, as well as biodiversity, greening the economy, and the
other urgent issues we face.
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Tuesday 07 April 2009 at 09:04 am
I resubmitted my letter to the Age regarding public transport to the airport yesterday after they ran an article quoting the transport minister saying there wasn't any demand for a airport rail link! They pubished it today:
No demand? Really?
LYNNE Kosky's spokesman says "there doesn't appear to be much demand" for an airport rail link (The Age,
6/4). I've got an idea for the Transport Minister — she could determine
demand for reliable and affordable public transport by providing it.
Currently,
in addition to the $16 each way Skybus service, there is a cheaper
option — a bus service from Broadmeadows station to the airport. It
takes 20 minutes and is covered by a Met ticket. The problem is it runs
only every two hours. An improvement would be to run an express bus
service from Broadmeadows so that it meets every train. It would also
service workers in the airport precinct, for whom a return trip on
Skybus every day is out of the question.
The new 401 bus
service from North Melbourne to the hospitals and university has shown
how successful services can be when they are fast, frequent and direct.
Run the Broadmeadows trains and buses every 10 minutes and I reckon the
Transport Department would have another success story — something it
sorely needs.
Janet Rice, Footscray
Tuesday 31 March 2009 at 10:51 am
I've just written a letter to the Editor at The Age reflecting on the cost of parking at the airport which has just been found by the ACCC to reflect a monopoly! Surprise, surprise! Here's the letter:
It’s no surprise that
the price of parking at Tullamarine has been found to be ‘consistent with airports having a monopoly position’ because that’s exactly what
exists. Not only are there no convenient alternatives for parking, but the
option of not driving is just as expensive – $16 for a skybus trip and over $50
for a taxi trip from the city.
There is however a little known cheaper
option of the bus service from Broadmeadows station to the Airport. It only
takes 20 minutes and is covered by a Met ticket – the only problem is it only
runs every two hours!
A modest but highly effective public
transport improvement that would break the parking monopoly would be to run the
bus service from Broadmeadows so that it meets every train. It would also
service the huge numbers of workers in the airport precinct, for whom a $25
return trip on skybus every day is out of the question.
The new shuttle bus service from North Melbourne to the Hospitals
and University has shown how successful bus services can be when they are fast
frequent and direct. Run the Broadmeadows trains and buses every 10 minutes
throughout the day and I reckon the Department of Transport would have another
success story on its hands – something it sorely needs.
Wednesday 18 March 2009 at 1:59 pm
Totally confused by the Rudd Government's so called Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme? Help is at hand! I've just finished writing a
piece summarising the problems with the scheme. This paper will be the basis for the talk I am giving tonight at the Fire and Water Forum in Footscray, organised by WeCAN - Western Community Action Network (see
www.wecan.collectivex.com).
