Hopeful days: Transport Minister Chris Steel showing how it’s done pre-launch. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
Some wags are calling Chris Steel the Minister for Icebergs, in that he can’t help hitting them.
The MyWay+ debacle is just the latest after the disastrous $78 million digital HR project and the CIT corruption scandal, they say.
Mr Steel will contest the latter two, saying he stepped in when he became Minister to stem the bleeding and find a cheaper solution, and former CIT CEO Leanne Cover blindsided him.
With MyWay+, he takes responsibility for its failures and acknowledges the hurt they caused, but he sure as hell isn’t about to say sorry and won’t countenance falling on his sword, an aspect of ministerial responsibility that now seems quaint.
Perhaps there is a chance that apologising may expose the government to some form of litigation or compensation claim from groups such as seniors and people with disabilities who were disadvantaged.
But Mr Steel is nothing if not dogged, and it may be just that. He will argue for as long as anyone wants to hear that the new ticketing system is functioning, most bugs have been fixed, and the rest will be, as part of the terms of the NEC contract.
There are plenty who will tell him, and I’m one, that they have been free riding on ACT buses where the tech is broken, and other system features are still not up to scratch.
The free ride is a bonus for commuters, and it makes you wonder whether the $64 million cost of trying to make travellers pay doesn’t add up.
Maybe free public transport — or the 50-cent Queensland option — would be more economical overall, given it might get people out of their cars, ease congestion and cut emissions. It might even make people healthier because they have to walk to the bus or light rail stop.
How much will MyWay+ hurt the Minister? Will it add to the cumulative baggage that might weigh heavily when the question of who will succeed Andrew Barr as Chief Minister arises?
Sources say Mr Barr has until 2027 when he is expected to step aside and give his successor a runway to the 2028 election.
They say it will come down to Mr Steel on the right and Rachel Stephen-Smith on the left, with the factions balanced and unaligned but right-leaning Taimus Werner-Gibbings and Marisa Paterson having the deciding votes.
The wildcard could be Dr Paterson backing a woman, and Mr Steel cannot avoid being wounded by the devastating MyWay+ committee report and subsequent censure in the Legislative Assembly.
By 2027, all might be forgotten or forgiven if MyWay+ is fixed, but he hasn’t done his cause much good by refusing to say those simple words.
Mr Steel plans to tough it out, but a strong leader also needs to be flexible, agile and on his feet, and there is no proof of that yet.
As Treasurer with an ailing budget and Transport Minister with a challenging light-rail decision ahead, there are plenty more icebergs around for him to hit.
Ms Stephen-Smith — older, more experienced and a details person — has had the thankless task of trying to knock the health system into shape.
But she oversaw the successful Canberra Hospital expansion, and there are signs of hope in the ED.
If she prevails — accepting that Mr Barr will actually want to go — it may be due to the memory of Mr Steel pressing on regardless with MyWay+ despite the warnings and then not offering a simple apology when it went pear-shaped.
