Where are our NSW buses coming from?

Today in parliament, Abigail supported a call for papers to review the NSW Government's bus procurement practices, urging transparency and accountability to ensure local manufacturing, sustainable jobs, and the elimination of modern slavery in NSW's transport infrastructure.

Abigail said:

On behalf of The Greens, I indicate that we support this call for papers. We still have buses in circulation in New South Wales that transported people to the Olympics in 2000. For years, the New South Wales bus network has been in desperate need of newer, more sustainable buses that are built and maintained here. Unions in New South Wales have been campaigning for more than 15 years for buses to be built in New South Wales, by New South Wales workers, for the people of New South Wales. Twelve years of Liberal rule in this State decimated our local manufacturing capability. Labor promised buses manufactured here; the Liberals criticised that policy.

Labor has since proceeded with an overseas procurement model once again, following in the footsteps of the Liberal Party. Labor promised that by 2027 buses procured from Foton Mobility Distribution will be manufactured with 50 per cent local content. It is universally acknowledged that this is not enough, but I have some sympathy for the Government that it is starting from a standing start. To be honest, I am not sure it is really trying hard enough, and there has been an unusual amount of secrecy around Bus Panel 4.

That is why we are keen to see these documents—to check under the hood and see how Labor is going towards the policy of local content, local manufacturing, local maintenance and high-quality local jobs. Everyone in this space stands against slavery, and any allegations of exploitative labour conditions should be thoroughly investigated. The Government needs to review the procurement practices of Transport for NSW, and the Parliament deserves the ability to oversight that process as well. The onus must be placed on Transport for NSW and the Government to ensure beyond doubt that any supplier receiving taxpayers' money to provide transport infrastructure does not engage in modern slavery. We support the motion.

Read the full transcript in Hansard here.

19 March 2025

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

No matter who you are or what you do, everyone has the right to share in the wellbeing of our country.

But at the moment the essentials so many of us need – a place to call home, food on the table, and everyday essentials like electricity, internet, medicine and water – are simply out of reach.

Instead of supporting us, our government is choosing to prop up huge corporations with massive subsidies, and to give away our collective wealth through record tax cuts for the wealthy. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left to live paycheck to paycheck or trapped in the dehumanising bureaucracy of our existing welfare system.

Now, in the midst of a pandemic, and following quickly on the heels of the bushfire crisis, more of us than ever before are experiencing what it’s like to lose our jobs, be without a home, or worry about where the food for our next meal will come from.

It’s time for us to choose to prioritise the wellbeing of everyone.

And that’s exactly what the Universal Wellbeing Payment will do.

It’s a regular payment made to each of us to ensure our minimum standard of wellbeing. No means testing, no bureaucracy, no strings attached.

It’s the amount you’re owed simply for being a participant in our society.

It means you are free to live your life and contribute to society as you see fit, whether you’re a carer, an artist, a student, a parent, an entrepreneur – you can get on with what you need to do, knowing that you will always be supported regardless of your income.

It means that we’re choosing to structure our economy for the benefit of all of us, not using our collective wealth to prop up the interests of big business and the wealthy few.

It means you will always have what you need to live a good life, no matter what.

The Universal Wellbeing Payment is for everyone. Help us make it happen.

For more information, head to universalwellbeingpayment.com.au

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Where are our NSW buses coming from?

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

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