Ben Lever

Electric locomotive hauled train, with a sign on it: First electric passenger train between Melbourne and Traralgon March 14th 1956. Source: Public Record Office Victoria. VPRS 12800/P0001 https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/63FCDE06-F7DD-11E9-AE98-6D39FED49D19/content?image=1

The spike in fuel prices reminds us that Victoria once had electric regional trains, Melbourne to Traralgon 1956-1987.
Planning and funding electrification for V/Line, starting with the busiest lines, would help protect against future cost spikes, help cut emissions, and improve air quality.🚆⚡

this is a big unsolved problem! There's no universally accepted signal for this, and there should be!

This fact alone means the NACC is not fit for purpose. If it hasn't 'investigated' claims by the people it was supposed to be investigating, a course recommended by a very senior judge who heard the claims, it's not an investigative body nor a watchdog, it's just a dictation-rearranging Pomeranian.

Screenshot of part of the article which reads: Morrison was the cabinet minister responsible for both Social Services and Human Services matters, and if he was a "junior" minister in the Coalition government, then he was also seen as its biggest conservative rising star, fresh from having so infamously "stopped the boats" with a stop-at-nothing approach to border security. He was a man on the make in private and championed as such in most of the mainstream press. Campbell had a preternatural talent for managing politics. It's what made her so effective at the job and her own survival. In any event, what transpired was that both Morrison's and Campbell's career prospects took off after robodebt. Campbell was promoted to lead the senior policy department in DSS and then, by Scott Morrison himself as prime minister, handpicked to lead the Department of Foreign Affairs in a move seen as cronyism and widely considered to have been a disaster. One does not need to prove beyond doubt that these could be conceived as rewards for her loyalty and fervour, only to recognise the mind-boggling folly of a deputy commissioner of the NACC writing — in ink! — that the potential rewards for Campbell in her hypothetical reconstruction of motive "could never have been more than an unprovoked hope" that this "junior minister" of another department could "determine, and be able, to secure the public servant's career advancement". His motives aside, that is in fact exactly what happened. For Kilgour to argue in this manner casts serious doubt over the rest of her findings.

I mean, come on. www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/13/n...

The NACC robodebt report: A heartbreaking work of staggering incompetence Rick Morton wrote the book on robodebt. He delivers a damning verdict on the NACC's long-awaited robodebt report, which exonerated Scott Morrison and Kathryn Campbell.

The NACC report is astonishing for just how many non-sequiturs, excuses and naive assumptions can be packed into 455 pages. The deputy commissioner who authored it is not a judge, unlike Catherine Holmes. And it shows. www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/13/n...

I agree, building passive provision for infill stations makes sense and will make things a lot cheaper & easier in future.
But I have to keep banging the drum of building passive provision for *longer* stations too. Eventually, 4-car trains will not be enough, and we need to be able to extend them!

SA State Election 2026 Public Transport Scorecard, showing support for People for Public Transport's proposals from the 4 main parties

People for Public Transport have released their scorecard for the upcoming state election here in SA.

i thought the Labor incumbent gov't response was really disappointing.

do you agree with the scores given? there's more details on their website: peopleforpublictransport.com/2026-State-E...

“Kilgour displays a naive understanding of the real-life behaviour of senior public servants, wondering aloud in her official report how or why such officials could ever do the wrong thing while at times finding they did just that.” @squigglyrick.bsky.social slams NACC’s “baffling” robodebt report

The NACC robodebt report: A heartbreaking work of staggering incompetence Rick Morton wrote the book on robodebt. He delivers a damning verdict on the NACC's long-awaited robodebt report, which exonerated Scott Morrison and Kathryn Campbell.

Writing exclusively for Crikey today, Rick Morton tears into the NACC's long-awaited robodebt report that exonerated Scott Morrison and Kathryn Campbell.

www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/13/n...

The Victorian Greens have selected Adam Pulford, a Merri-bek councillor and former mayor, as its candidate for Brunswick at the state election

Pulford will be running to succeed Greens MP Dr Tim Read, who announced his retirement from politics after revealing a cancer diagnosis

Scoop: Three months into Australia's ban, new data given to Crikey suggests that most teens who were on social media pre-ban are still on those platforms.

While it's just one data point, it adds to early evidence suggesting that there's widespread flouting of the ban.

www.crikey.com.au/20...

Photo of Ed Sheeran and the XPT train he caught from Sydney to Melbourne

Happy World Sleep Day! 😴
Although you can't sleep while driving, you can on PT (T&Cs apply). Fatigue is a major cause of road crashes, particularly in rural and regional areas. Be like Ed - leave the driving to a professional and get some shut eye. Sleeper train optional. worldsleepday.org/

The difficult truth Writing exclusively for Crikey, Grace Tame reflects on the prime minister calling her 'difficult', the media storm following her pro-Palestine chant, and which social causes do and don't ignite…

Opinion | Writing exclusively for Crikey, Grace Tame reflects on the prime minister calling her "difficult", the media storm following her pro-Palestine chant, and which social causes do and don't ignite public support.

www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/13/g...

Wait, so we could have just had these extra rail and bus services the whole time?
Maybe the bridge would have lasted longer if more public transport options were in place so people didn't feel forced to drive in the first place..

Install underground Wildlife Crossing along Banyule Creek at Yallambie - Petitions - Parliament of Victoria

Victorians! Until North East link I'd never seen a dead roo near home.

I've lived here, knowing where a local mob live, for nearly 20 years. I have seen 3 dead recently.

Please remind North East Link and #SpringSt they promised a wildlife tunnel.

www.parliament.vic.gov.au/get-involved...

This is exactly true for New Zealand too. Historically, when even the slightest improvements were offered, more Kiwis took the train. But NZR so often assumed existing demand was maximum demand, did not try to grow it, and by running minimum service level for that demand, eroded it until it was gone

Medical experts reveal 'egregious' mistake that led to Daylesford pub tragedy His 'understanding' of how insulin works 'is very hard to believe'.

It's good to see some experts finally putting the onus back on the driver in this case, when the flavour up till now has mostly been "Maybe outdoor dining is the problem"
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Medical experts reveal 'egregious' mistake that led to Daylesford pub tragedy
thecourier.com.au/story/919699…

This is such a disingenuous process and despicable outcome

Scene from the simpsons where the jury say "No one who speaks German could be an evil man"

i imagine the NACC hearings went something like this

Fukushima at 15: Living with radioactive hot spots and stigma as Japan's government pushes for more reactors Fifteen years later, the lived experience of people resettling the evacuation zone reveals an ongoing disaster at Fukushima—one filled with radioactive hot spots, injustices, and stigma.

Fifteen years later, 4,000 workers struggle to control the ongoing disaster. The three melted reactors remain so radioactive that they destroy the robots sent to explore the damage. No one knows exactly where the melted fuel is located or how deep it is
thebulletin.org/2026/03/fuku...

If we could just raise sea levels by 150 meters we get a backup Strait of Hormuz

Building sign being replaced with “NACC: No Actual Consequences Commission” Person commenting: “it used to be to be called the National Anti-Corruption Commission, but I guess they wanted to lower our expectations”

The ‘No Actual Consequences Commission’, by @fionakatauskas.bsky.social

The lack of any serious consequences for the key players in the Robodebt scandal just gives a green light and a blueprint for current and future governments to get away with evil stuff like that again.
Which is why the NACC needs to be completely overhauled now

It's looking increasingly like these guys thought that if they could wreak more death and destruction than the other side then they would be respected as strong powerful men and they would "win" and that would make them big important heroes. Very possibly they had no rationale deeper than that.

Queensland election 'I'm with stupid' T-shirt protester has charge dropped Iain Fogerty was arrested following complaint by Liberal National party members he was standing next to during first week of Queensland election campaign

During the Newman era in Queensland, Iain Fogerty (aka Not Campbell Newman parody account) was carted off by police after appearing next to LNP election campaigners wearing an "I'm with stupid" shirt. Charges later dropped. #qldpol www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

??? why is RFK Jr. going to the doctor for a surgery when he could simply eat a variety of weird meats at his injury

Reaching net zero by 2050 ‘cheaper for UK than one fossil fuel crisis’ Climate change committee finds move to renewable energy would also bring health, economic and security benefits

"Achieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050 will cost less than a single oil shock and bring health and economic benefits while insulating the country against future costs, the government’s climate advisers have forecast."

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

camping with bill shorten - an ev plugged into a generator

What Australia's current opposition leader Angus Taylor was posting in 2019. What if there hadn't been a concerted effort to kill off vehicle efficiency standards in the election that year? How much money would be saved by Australians today, if Taylor had decided *not* to be a total turnip?

Ah, you see, we can't have public hearings because it could prejudice any later criminal proceedings, but also, we can't hold any criminal proceedings on the basis of testimony given at our hearings because it's inadmissible by law.

The NACC deputy commissioner explains the two "key" reasons why they didn't make the hearings into Morrison etc public

1) "Public hearings could prejudice any later criminal proceedings"

2) "It could cause unfair harm to the reputation, privacy, safety or wellbeing of individuals involved"