Charging ahead with a new tax

FROM MY CORNER ... with ANN BRUNSWICK

In a local publication a week or so ago there appeared yet another article about the idea of imposing a “congestion charge” on people driving into the CBD. For “charge” you should really read “tax”.

The idea, which has numerous advocates in the academic and bureaucratic worlds, involves imposing a tax on everyone who enters a designated area in their car. In theory it is supposed to cut traffic jams and generate cash to improve public transport. Yes, in theory. But in reality what would happen?
The only people who won’t be fazed by a congestion tax, are those who can add it the bill they present to others. That would include taxis, tradies, couriers, and the like. To my mind the immediate effect of a congestion tax would be to cut the number of people doing business in our inner-city.
You see, the theory does not seem to take account of the fact a lot of traffic entering our inner-city is carrying people shopping or otherwise doing business in the CBD and its immediate surrounds.
So a congestion tax would see a drop-off in traffic carrying people wanting to spend money and keep business operators afloat. It would mean shops, other businesses and offices closing and shifting to areas outside the CBD. So inevitably there would be a drop in vehicles heading into the city, and therefore a fall in the revenue such a tax would generate.
So much for its ability to fund new or improved public transport services. The bottom line is that Brisbane drivers just don’t like tolls, charges or taxes on roads. Haven’t any of our highly paid policy makers learned anything from the Clem7 debacle?

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During the recent heavy rain it was my lot to spend a large slice of my lunch hour at a CBD post office. After picking up a pre-paid express post envelope I joined a queue of 17 people, so many that we stretched outside the door.

It took 17 minutes for me to be served. I could tell because this post office kindly provides a digital clock on the wall behind its service counter. This is not an isolated case. Lengthy waits for service at Australia Post outlets are par for the course.
A lot of it is caused by people conducting time-consuming transactions at the counter while others, like me, usually want just one item.
Is it so difficult to have an express service counter for simpler and faster transactions?