Well this proves it for good, Sydney may as well give up now.
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This has definitely motivated me to accelerate my travel plans to Melbourne.
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You canāt beat this. Best stadium in the world IMO not just in Australia.
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SFS loos are so 1980ās. Think itās an OK viewing ground although my view of it can be clouded after attending a Monday Night game when it was as cold as the hearts of those opposed to same sex marriage. Felt the seats high up in the Olympic Stadium give a worse view than equivalent seats in other stadia, and it was never a good oval ground.
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Peter FitzSimons thinks his petition to keep the Sydney Football Stadium and Stadium Australia is having an impact.
Surely a renovation is a better use of public money than knocking them both down.
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Agree, the MCG just finished 2 years ago upgrading and renovating the Southern Stand which was completed in 1992. There is also plans underway for Etihad (Docklands Stadium) to go under a massive upgrade, which was completed in 2000. Both Stadiums should see another 10 - 15 years.
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The other thing the staged renovation meant was that the MCG was almost always in a usable state and still one of if not the largest venue in the country despite whole stands being out of use - where would Sydney hold massive events if both SFS and ANZ were undergoing a total rebuild - an NRL grand final at the SCG?
Ethiad doesnāt feel to me like it needs a massive upgrade - unless they could somehow do something about how much the roofās internal beams obscure the view in some of the seats on the upper level?
That is the plan in 2020, the first GF at the cricket ground since 1987.
The FairWork Commission makes a correct ruling. Sydney is important.
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Yes, very important
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I agree, it was absolutely the right decision to ban the strike.
The Union obviously thinks they are more important than the rest of Sydney.
Iām not against some forms of action like overtime bans, which may result in reduced services in off peak hours, but to cripple the service totally for a full workday is utterly āunexceptableā (to use a Nine News Brisbane word).
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Why though? Thatās what a strike is - action taken to demonstrate to the public the importance of their jobs and to bring greater pressure to corporate and government bodies to act.
Strike action being unworthy just because of economic importance is a very dangerous precedent indeed.
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Rmemeber the Metro Trains strikes in Melbourne a year or so ago?
It did happen, but media went so OTT, traffic congestion was actually no worse and many areas quieter, scared heaps off.
And the regular timetabling of Sydney trains shouldnāt depend on regular overtime either. The judge thinks an overtime ban alone would endanger the welfare of the population. If thatās the case, then perhaps the the rosters shouldnāt necessitate overtime.
I support industrial action only because of the overtime situation. A timetable that relies on drivers working overtime is a problem, and Iād imagine itās to the detriment of these driversā family/social lives.
One thing that Sydney Trains might think about is retraining some guards to become drivers, and removing the guard position on some (not all) services in exchange for it.
The guard position is such an outdated job anyway. You donāt need guards to flag trains anymore.
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Guards do not flag trains.
There will always be a need for overtime due to employee turnover. But yes there is a heavy need for it with the new timetable.
Despite the (ongoing) rhetoric from the unions it doesnāt appear that they have made any attempt to address the issue of Sydney Trainsā over-reliance on overtime.
Itās all just money money moneyā¦where is the request for a commitment to employ/retrain more drivers, place caps on overtime or bring in a new timetable etc?
It is important to remember that train drivers are not compelled or required to work overtime if they donāt want to. The reality is that they love doing it because it is so profitable for them. They are not going to do anything that could result in a hit to their fortnightly pay cheque.
So, while I think itās a slippery slope to erode the negotiating power of workers by overturning their right to strike, I do think that in this case specifically the workers are being unreasonable in their actions. Iām not familiar with the relevant legislation but ideally there should have been a mechanism to allow for the strike to be postponed until after the deal reached on Wednesday could be properly assessed by the membership and then voted on. Basing the decision to proceed with such crippling action on the basis on just TWO responses supporting it is not right.
Personally, as someone often a passenger on a train, Iād like the train driver to be well paid and well rested.
I donāt care much about the mechanics of that - but if youāre in control of thousands of passengers, Iād rather youāre not doing really long days back to back 7 days a week.
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And itās not an easy job either. Most train drivers in the job long enough have the unfortunate experience of dealing with a fatality. This takes its toll on everyone.
Politics aside, the disruptions over the last month are to my mind a window into the future of Sydney. A choked, hot megalopolis with a broken transport system- if it isnāt already. Iām planning my exodus.
It seems the author of this following article has the same idea as you, by moving away to Adelaide.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/why-im-leaving-sydney-the-city-that-actively-punishes-people-for-living-in-it-20180219-h0w4s5/