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SYDNEY: RUNNING RIGHT ON TIME WITH TRANSPORT MINISTER GLADYS BEREJIKLIAN
Sunday Telegraph (Australia)
November 18, 2012 Sunday
1 - State Edition
Running right on time
by LINDA SILMALIS
Linda Silmalis catches up with Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian
as her dream run comes to an end
She is the single, well-dressed MP of Armenian heritage who never
swears and is known in her office as "bit of a goody-goody".
Gladys Berejiklian, the minister tasked with fixing the state's ailing
public transport system, is breaking down the blokey, blue-collar
culture that she believes has hindered desperately-needed reform..
The former Young Liberals president has the ear of Opposition finance
spokesman Joe Hockey and the respect of her colleagues.
The question is, will her smooth ride soon come to an end?
It was Friday afternoon and Gladys Berejiklian was late. The train
to take the NSW Transport Minister to a transport forum in Sutherland
Shire had not yet arrived.
As she waited, a smallish crowd of office workers waiting on the Martin
Place began to swell. The mood was growing tense. Mobile phones were
being checked. Calls made. Finally, a public announcement.
Something about buses. The message could barely be heard because
the public address system was faulty. Standing amongst the crowd,
Berejiklian had a thought. "I was thinking: These poor people," she
says. "No-one knows what's going on. Then I thought: Oh my God. I'm
the Transport Minister and they don't realise I'm down here too."
This wasn't about a late train. It was the treatment of customers. In
Berejiklian's mind, it was, at that moment, "disgusting". A question
she has to put to her Labor predecessors is: "Why didn't you just
fix it?"
Berejiklian joined the Young Liberals in the 1990s while studying
for an Arts degree at Sydney University. She remained active in the
party while completing a Diploma of International Studies, followed
by a Masters in Commerce.
After six years working as a Commonwealth bank executive and a stint in
the officer of former Liberal leader Peter Collins, she was encouraged
to put her hand up for the seat of Willoughby. The Liberal Party at
the time was desperate for fresh faces. It had been taken over by John
Brogden in the hope he would depose Bob Carr. He needed a new team.
Berejiklian was the perfect candidate and she won her preselection
easily. The north shore MP is about as a scandal-free as they come.
One of her staffers says she is known as "a bit of a goody-goody".
The public face is the same as the private face. Her staff assure
me there are no Kevin Rudd-style dummy spits ready to be uploaded
on YouTube occurring behind the scenes. "She doesn't even swear,"
a staffer said.
At 42, Berejiklian is the perfect role model for how she expects her
bureaucracy to dress and behave. She is seemingly ageless, although
notes that she found a grey hair two years ago: "Luckily there haven't
been any more." She is fiercely protective of her private life,
but says she is close to her family and open to having her own --
despite working around the clock.
She laughs when I ask if she's on RSVP. "God no," she says. "I don't
think you choose these things. You live your life as best you can. When
you are much younger, you have a different view of the world. The
world isn't easy."
Riding a crowded bus with her from her Willoughby electorate to Martin
Place last week, we are yelled at by a commuter to "move down". She
ushers us near the side door. "I don't want to annoy them." She
believes people, on the whole, are good. As we are pushed back, she
rejects an offer by her staffer to retrieve her handbag, left at the
front of the bus.
"Oh, it'll be OK," she says. "People are honest."
Berejiklian admits she never aspired to be transport minister. "If you
told me that when I became a member, I wouldn't have believed you," she
says. In Opposition, the portfolio was "offered, in inverted commas",
she says. She says it was a good grounding. "I had no illusions when
I became minister."
One thing that bugs her is why Labor did so badly in fixing some of
the problems. Simple things, such as improving mobile phone reception
at stations, to take RailCorp out of what she describes is "the dark
ages". "Optus approached the government 15 years ago, but they put it
in the too-hard basket," she says. "It took us a few months to fix. It
was too hard for them. I often wonder: Why didn't they look at quiet
carriages, light rail? They put them all in the too-hard basket."
She cites her other achievements as the introduction of more than
2000 new weekly bus, train and ferry services a week, starting the
long-awaited North West Rail Link. "We're at point of no-return with
22 major tenders released and 44 key contracts awarded" and merging
six separate transport agencies to form Transport for NSW.
Other changes have been refocusing the bureaucracy from just on-time
running to include customer service. A new grooming policy means
workers can no longer turn up looking dishevelled or unshaven. No
sunglasses worn on heads. Commuters need to be spoken to with respect.
Public announcements needs to be audible. Trains and stations
need to be cleaner. Cleaners are now called "presentation service
attendants". They also need to have "good verbal and written
communication skills" and "a customer focus".
RailCorp has also created customer service attendant positions, whose
job it is to respond "confidently, courteously and efficiently"
to customer inquiries.
In an organisation that attracts a large migrant workforce, it was a
big ask, but one that the notoriously protective Rail, Tram and Bus
Union (RTBU) has somewhat surprisingly accepted. The union initially
pronounced the new uniform policy a waste of money. But RTBU NSW
Branch Secretary Alex Claassens says he sees its merits. "I always
wore a tie when I drove trains and I started out as a cleaner so I've
always believed in good customer service," he says.
"She is yet to do anything to get us too excited. I've lived through
the Greiner years when thousands of jobs were cut. If there's a hint
of that happening, she'll hear from us."
However, last week's announcements a review of staffing at 116 stations
has the union alarmed. Berejiklian has told the union there will be
no overall reduction of frontline staff but Claassens is still nervous.
"I've lived through the Greiner years when thousands of jobs were
cut. We will have to wait and see," Claassens says.
Berejiklian says she believes the commuting experience of customers
was as critical as the development of new transport infrastructure.
"The front end of transport is just as important as the operational
side," she said. "I've had many experiences where I've been disgusted
at how customers have been treated, and how staff have looked. It's
about changing the culture. If staff look good, they feel more valued
and customers benefit."
Berejiklian says she knows many of her decisions have the support of
union members, if not the union leadership. "I have members contacting
me all the time about different things," she says.
Challenges ahead include implementing the Opal Card electronic
ticketing trial next month, and introducing a new timetable next year.
There's also a decision to be made on seatbelts on school buses.
She is also committed to a second Harbour crossing, a proposal that
has drawn the ire of opponents who ask where the money is coming from.
What others say about her is something she says she cares little
about. "We are going to hit obstacles down the track, there will be
challenging times in getting these major projects off the ground. It
will not be smooth-sailing and there will be tough times," she says.
"But what people say doesn't really bother me. It's what you do that
counts and people are noticing."
Treasurer Mike Baird describes her as one of the hardest-working
ministers in cabinet. "She's inspired," he says. Another minister said
Berejiklian was a fighter.If she ever wants a job in Canberra, she
has the backing of Opposition finance spokesman Joe Hockey, a friend.
"She is a stickler for successful outcomes. She is an outstanding
performer with a formidable intellect.
Does she have leadership potential? "Of course," he says. Canberra?
"Whenever she wants. Wherever she goes, Gladys will deliver."
Sunday Telegraph (Australia)
November 18, 2012 Sunday
1 - State Edition
Running right on time
by LINDA SILMALIS
Linda Silmalis catches up with Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian
as her dream run comes to an end
She is the single, well-dressed MP of Armenian heritage who never
swears and is known in her office as "bit of a goody-goody".
Gladys Berejiklian, the minister tasked with fixing the state's ailing
public transport system, is breaking down the blokey, blue-collar
culture that she believes has hindered desperately-needed reform..
The former Young Liberals president has the ear of Opposition finance
spokesman Joe Hockey and the respect of her colleagues.
The question is, will her smooth ride soon come to an end?
It was Friday afternoon and Gladys Berejiklian was late. The train
to take the NSW Transport Minister to a transport forum in Sutherland
Shire had not yet arrived.
As she waited, a smallish crowd of office workers waiting on the Martin
Place began to swell. The mood was growing tense. Mobile phones were
being checked. Calls made. Finally, a public announcement.
Something about buses. The message could barely be heard because
the public address system was faulty. Standing amongst the crowd,
Berejiklian had a thought. "I was thinking: These poor people," she
says. "No-one knows what's going on. Then I thought: Oh my God. I'm
the Transport Minister and they don't realise I'm down here too."
This wasn't about a late train. It was the treatment of customers. In
Berejiklian's mind, it was, at that moment, "disgusting". A question
she has to put to her Labor predecessors is: "Why didn't you just
fix it?"
Berejiklian joined the Young Liberals in the 1990s while studying
for an Arts degree at Sydney University. She remained active in the
party while completing a Diploma of International Studies, followed
by a Masters in Commerce.
After six years working as a Commonwealth bank executive and a stint in
the officer of former Liberal leader Peter Collins, she was encouraged
to put her hand up for the seat of Willoughby. The Liberal Party at
the time was desperate for fresh faces. It had been taken over by John
Brogden in the hope he would depose Bob Carr. He needed a new team.
Berejiklian was the perfect candidate and she won her preselection
easily. The north shore MP is about as a scandal-free as they come.
One of her staffers says she is known as "a bit of a goody-goody".
The public face is the same as the private face. Her staff assure
me there are no Kevin Rudd-style dummy spits ready to be uploaded
on YouTube occurring behind the scenes. "She doesn't even swear,"
a staffer said.
At 42, Berejiklian is the perfect role model for how she expects her
bureaucracy to dress and behave. She is seemingly ageless, although
notes that she found a grey hair two years ago: "Luckily there haven't
been any more." She is fiercely protective of her private life,
but says she is close to her family and open to having her own --
despite working around the clock.
She laughs when I ask if she's on RSVP. "God no," she says. "I don't
think you choose these things. You live your life as best you can. When
you are much younger, you have a different view of the world. The
world isn't easy."
Riding a crowded bus with her from her Willoughby electorate to Martin
Place last week, we are yelled at by a commuter to "move down". She
ushers us near the side door. "I don't want to annoy them." She
believes people, on the whole, are good. As we are pushed back, she
rejects an offer by her staffer to retrieve her handbag, left at the
front of the bus.
"Oh, it'll be OK," she says. "People are honest."
Berejiklian admits she never aspired to be transport minister. "If you
told me that when I became a member, I wouldn't have believed you," she
says. In Opposition, the portfolio was "offered, in inverted commas",
she says. She says it was a good grounding. "I had no illusions when
I became minister."
One thing that bugs her is why Labor did so badly in fixing some of
the problems. Simple things, such as improving mobile phone reception
at stations, to take RailCorp out of what she describes is "the dark
ages". "Optus approached the government 15 years ago, but they put it
in the too-hard basket," she says. "It took us a few months to fix. It
was too hard for them. I often wonder: Why didn't they look at quiet
carriages, light rail? They put them all in the too-hard basket."
She cites her other achievements as the introduction of more than
2000 new weekly bus, train and ferry services a week, starting the
long-awaited North West Rail Link. "We're at point of no-return with
22 major tenders released and 44 key contracts awarded" and merging
six separate transport agencies to form Transport for NSW.
Other changes have been refocusing the bureaucracy from just on-time
running to include customer service. A new grooming policy means
workers can no longer turn up looking dishevelled or unshaven. No
sunglasses worn on heads. Commuters need to be spoken to with respect.
Public announcements needs to be audible. Trains and stations
need to be cleaner. Cleaners are now called "presentation service
attendants". They also need to have "good verbal and written
communication skills" and "a customer focus".
RailCorp has also created customer service attendant positions, whose
job it is to respond "confidently, courteously and efficiently"
to customer inquiries.
In an organisation that attracts a large migrant workforce, it was a
big ask, but one that the notoriously protective Rail, Tram and Bus
Union (RTBU) has somewhat surprisingly accepted. The union initially
pronounced the new uniform policy a waste of money. But RTBU NSW
Branch Secretary Alex Claassens says he sees its merits. "I always
wore a tie when I drove trains and I started out as a cleaner so I've
always believed in good customer service," he says.
"She is yet to do anything to get us too excited. I've lived through
the Greiner years when thousands of jobs were cut. If there's a hint
of that happening, she'll hear from us."
However, last week's announcements a review of staffing at 116 stations
has the union alarmed. Berejiklian has told the union there will be
no overall reduction of frontline staff but Claassens is still nervous.
"I've lived through the Greiner years when thousands of jobs were
cut. We will have to wait and see," Claassens says.
Berejiklian says she believes the commuting experience of customers
was as critical as the development of new transport infrastructure.
"The front end of transport is just as important as the operational
side," she said. "I've had many experiences where I've been disgusted
at how customers have been treated, and how staff have looked. It's
about changing the culture. If staff look good, they feel more valued
and customers benefit."
Berejiklian says she knows many of her decisions have the support of
union members, if not the union leadership. "I have members contacting
me all the time about different things," she says.
Challenges ahead include implementing the Opal Card electronic
ticketing trial next month, and introducing a new timetable next year.
There's also a decision to be made on seatbelts on school buses.
She is also committed to a second Harbour crossing, a proposal that
has drawn the ire of opponents who ask where the money is coming from.
What others say about her is something she says she cares little
about. "We are going to hit obstacles down the track, there will be
challenging times in getting these major projects off the ground. It
will not be smooth-sailing and there will be tough times," she says.
"But what people say doesn't really bother me. It's what you do that
counts and people are noticing."
Treasurer Mike Baird describes her as one of the hardest-working
ministers in cabinet. "She's inspired," he says. Another minister said
Berejiklian was a fighter.If she ever wants a job in Canberra, she
has the backing of Opposition finance spokesman Joe Hockey, a friend.
"She is a stickler for successful outcomes. She is an outstanding
performer with a formidable intellect.
Does she have leadership potential? "Of course," he says. Canberra?
"Whenever she wants. Wherever she goes, Gladys will deliver."