Government by the people, for the investors

Public transport in my fair city is a mess. So a recent report of an Eminent Dude saying that the rail operator, Connex, “should be sacked and management of Melbourne's suburban trains brought back into public hands” was music to my ears.

Hear, hear, Eminent Dude!

Unfortunately, there’s little likelihood that our so-called Government will act on this very sage advice.

Why? I think it’s because Governments generally have realised that, if they outsource problem areas to the private sector (no doubt for a premium), they can set up a buffer between themselves and the public.

Take…I don’t know…public transport, for example.

Public transport was privatised in Melbourne a while ago, ostensibly to increase competition and, thereby, increase efficiency and decrease cost (of course, this reasoning effectively went the way of the dodo long ago – there is now one train provider (Connex) and one tram provider (Yarra Trams)). Unless you live opposite a train station and a tram stop, I doubt there’s much competition going on. Plus you should probably move.

Anyway, despite the fact the original benefits put forward in favour of privatisation seem to have evaporated, privatised public transport remains.

But here’s the thing: when people complain about the operation of public transport these days, they complain to, or about, the private operators.

The Government can even join in!

It has effectively sidestepped a potentially damaging electoral issue.

Prisons are another one. What the hell is a Government doing outsourcing the process of the punishment of crime to the private sector?!? And then I remembered some of the scandals which can occur with jails, including prison escapes (sorry: Prison Breaks), corruption, mistreatment of prisoners, or even the opposite: prisoners getting it too good.

Again, the Government can blame the private operator if any of these things happen, but it’s ‘not their fault’. There’s no votes in prisons, so get rid of them.

What I’m saying is: our Government has no balls.

PS Prisoners get it too good.