James O’Doherty: A win on trains, but Minns still facing a trifecta of trouble

The train strike, a lack of action on housing, and his decision to back Clover Moore’s crusade against the Moore Park Golf Course suggests Chris Minns’ management is longer cutting it, writes James O’Doherty.

Forced back from leave on Thursday to clean up after Sydney’s train network collapsed in a catastrophic heap, Premier Chris Minns is facing one of the toughest challenges of his leadership.

Worryingly, there are signs the savvy political judgment that helped Labor’s wonder-boy win office is starting to slip.

A trifecta of issues — from the train strike, to a lack of action on housing, to his decision back Clover Moore’s crusade against the Moore Park Golf Course — suggests Minns’ management is longer cutting it.

Three weeks after the government avoided an all-out rail disaster on New Year’s Eve, it is back where it started, with seemingly nothing gained in an increasingly bitter dispute with militant rail unions who are refusing to budge.

Outside of Fair Work Commission mediation hearings, the Minns government is mounting an all-out assault on the rail unions, vowing to dock pay for workers who take part in almost 90 different work bans and bypassing union bosses to put a wage offer directly to members for a vote.

Commuters dealing with train delays and cancellations at Chatswood train station due to union action this week. Picture: Thomas Lisson

It is a far cry from Minns’ position during rail disputes before the election, when he accused the then-government of “pouring petrol on a combustible situation and refusing really to talk and fix this situation”.

During union disputes under the Coalition, Sydney Trains bent over backwards to minimise the impact of union work bans, by finding other ways to get jobs done.

Is Premier Chris Minns winning the fight against rail unions? Picture: Gaye Gerard

This time around, Sydney Trains is refusing to accept “the performance of any work” by union members who take part in union work bans.

Members have been told they will be locked out “until you are prepared to perform all of your normal duties”, and will have their pay docked accordingly.

The thinking behind the full-frontal assault is that the rail staff, facing pay cuts and public outcry, will eventually turn against their union bosses.

Rather than step in to minimise the impacts of work bans, the Minns government is telling the union to wear the consequences of its own actions.

For that strategy to work, it involves a whole lot of pain for innocent commuters along the way.

There are no easy outcomes here. The government cannot give in to union demands, but its current plan has devolved into a shambles.

To his credit, the Minns government scored a legal win on Thursday, with the Fair Work Commission hitting pause on industrial action until an application to end the work bans for good is heard next week.

However, with the state government at the whim of the Fair Work Commission, there is no guarantee of success.

RTBU NSW Secretary Toby Warnes and delegates. Picture: Nikki Short

While Minns is largely unable to help, the man who could — Prime Minister Anthony Albanese — is unwilling to intervene.

Albanese’s Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt could use his powers to terminate rail unions’ industrial actions immediately.

But the PM no doubt wants to stay a million miles away from picking a fight with the union movement he will rely on in the looming election campaign.

Minns’ refusal to call on Watt to step in shows the Premier is putting the political fortunes of his Labor comrades above practical outcomes for commuters.

The Premier also cannot escape the fact that his decision to abolish the wages cap is, in part, the cause of this pain.

While the rail unions were never subject to the cap on wages, removing the guard rails on public sector pay has set off an industrial arms race, with unions emboldened to ask for bigger and bigger pay rises.

Over the past few months, the usually cosy relationship between the Labor government and the labour movement has deteriorated to an all-time low.

Chris Minns with Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore and Councillor Linda Scott announcing plans to ‘transform’ part of Moore Park Golf Course into parklands. Picture: Monique Harmer

I would suggest that Minns and union bosses spend a day of bonding on the golf course to mend their ties, but that sport is something of a sore spot for the Premier.

The Premier’s decision to cut Moore Park Golf course in half, and his unwillingness to budge, is another example of poor judgment.

The public golf course is one of the busiest in the southern hemisphere, at a time when golf is experiencing unprecedented growth in Australia.

Carving the 18-hole course down to nine when the club’s lease expires in 2026 to provide more public green space is a dumb decision.

If the space was going to be used for more housing, Minns may be able to credibly defend his position.

However adding more “green space” to an area of Sydney already awash with public recreation facilities makes little sense.

The fact that nearby councils are now lining up to oppose the decision shows that anger about plans to hack into the golf club extends more widely than golf enthusiasts.

Then there is the government’s attempt to fix the housing supply crisis which is so-far failing to make any headway at all.

I revealed last year that Minns has become a recent convert to a weekly hot-sauna and ice-bath routine. Devotees of the practice say it has a range of benefits including mental clarity.

If Minns is not careful, it will take more than a weekly cold dip to get his judgment back on track.

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