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Politics and activism Toxic Custard newsletter

Election day!

Some photos from election day… The seat of Bentleigh is marginal, so we’ve been getting a lot of attention. The booth I usually vote at leans towards the Liberals (or at least did in 2010), so we had Labor politicians galore: local candidate Nick Staikos, along with Federal Labor leader Bill Shorten, and Labor luminary  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Yes, train punctuality has increased – thanks to timetable padding

One day until the state election. They do great work, and it’s rather good to see the ABC’s Fact Check unit looking at Victorian issues just before the election. A couple of days ago they did a segment on train punctuality: The claim: Denis Napthine says his Government has “improved train punctuality”. The verdict: With  ... [More]

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Bentleigh Politics and activism Toxic Custard newsletter transport

Where’s the community’s focal point? It’s the railway station.

Two sleeps until the election. Apart from trying to get citizens out to a public meeting, where in the neighbourhood is the best place to meet as many people you can, face-to-face? Judging from what the politicians and lobby groups have been up to, it’s the railway station — on weekdays, at least. I’ve lost  ... [More]

Categories
Politics and activism transport

Online state election advertising

Only a few days until the state election, and the campaign is heating up. Here’s something interesting I’ve noticed: apart from posting and advertising on Facebook, the Liberals have paid for Google Adwords advertising — that is, links to appear above search results on Google. They’ve covered the names of a number of Labor candidates  ... [More]

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Photos Toxic Custard newsletter

Photos from the past week

A few photos from the past week or so… Sunday afternoon in Bentleigh. Has either major party pledged to fix the 703 Smartbus? No, neither of them has. The sign closest the camera is telling you to check the timetable… this is because part of the route doesn’t run at all on Sundays. On the  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt on the 822

Incumbent Elizabeth Miller has gone strong on “saving the 822“, promoting via Facebook and an ad the front page of the local Leader newspaper last week, apparently trying to imply that Labor is proposing to scrap the route completely. Having put the claim out there on Facebook, the Liberals have done nothing to quell people’s  ... [More]

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Toxic Custard newsletter transport

Tram extensions: Not as expensive as some claim #VicVotes

The Greens have policy going into the State Election for 17 smallish tram extensions. Mostly they make a lot of sense — extending many tram routes from their current outer termini in the middle of nowhere (a hangover from when trams and railways competed) to a more logical point such as a nearby railway station  ... [More]

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General Sydney 2014 Toxic Custard newsletter transport

Sydney day 4, and wrap-up

Backdated. Posted 17/11/2014. Day 4 — Sunday Not much to report. Breakfast at Darlinghurst’s Jekyll & Hyde — which was a bit meh. M’s order came with unwanted eggs, which I adopted. Afterwards I realised it was one of the breakfast places I’d ruled out because some of its Urbanspoon reviews didn’t sound that great  ... [More]

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Sydney 2014 Toxic Custard newsletter

Sydney trip day 3: Saturday

Backdated. Posted on 16/11/2014. Saturday! The weather was warming up — have I mentioned how I’d jetted in on Thursday, a day after a huge storm passed through the city? Good timing (well, luck) is essential to any holiday, even a short one. After breakfasting at The Bunker in Darlinghurst, we caught the train across  ... [More]

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Toxic Custard newsletter transport

Sydney’s Opal card

(Backdated. Posted 14/11/2014.) During the Sydney trip I tried out Opal card, and M got one as well to try. It’s worth remembering that although the system is provided by Cubic, who built London’s Oyster system, its cost is not insubstantial — $1.2 billion over 15 years. It’s not quite as expensive, but is in  ... [More]

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Sydney 2014 Toxic Custard newsletter

Sydney trip day 2: Friday

Posted 12/11/2014. Backdated to 7/11/2014. On the morning of day two in Sydney, after a sleep-in, we breakfasted. I’d looked at UrbanSpoon and concluded that every venue reviewed has its share of whingers — it’s a matter of identifying who is complaining about Real Stuff and who is complaining about trivia or a freak bad  ... [More]

Categories
Sydney 2014 Toxic Custard newsletter

Darlinghurst’s lovely old fire station

I couldn’t help but hum Paul Kelly’s “Darling It Hurts” almost constantly while walking around Darlinghurst on our short break in Sydney. Likewise “From St Kilda To Kings Cross” came to mind when in the Cross, and Australian Crawl’s “Restless” when catching sight of the Manly Ferry and Circular Quay. In the middle of Darlinghurst,  ... [More]