There are many reasons to oppose development in your backyard – some reasonable, others plainly ridiculous. An example of the latter is the ‘paedophile card’ – a new weapon in the NIMBY arsenal.

There are many reasons to oppose development in your backyard – some reasonable, others plainly ridiculous. An example of the latter is the ‘paedophile card’ – a new weapon in the NIMBY arsenal.
Back in 2010, then leader of the Liberal Party, Ted Baillieu said “Victoria badly needs a new, independent, statutory authority to plan, co-ordinate and manage our public transport system”. So how well has this commitment to taking politics out of transport planning fared?
In recent years patronage on Melbourne’s rail network has skyrocketed – 94 per cent over the 12 years from 1998-99 to 2010-11. So how did all of these passengers get moved on a fleet of trains that has stayed relatively constant?