New rail stations in the dark

There’s hardly a critic of the recently opened South West Rail Link, which runs train services from an upgraded Glenfield station to the new stations of Edmondson Park and Leppington. But a young female commuter was shocked to find the Leppington station shrouded in complete darkness when she arrived there at 8.30pm on a recent evening. She had to use the torch on her iphone to find her way to the carpark and the keyhole in her car. She was, unsurprisingly, shaken up by the experience, so Mike Baird and Co, let’s do it right, turn on the thingy switch at the new stations, what’s it called – electricity, that’s it.

Here’s a hot tip about our national politics: Keep an eye out for Opposition leader Bill Shorten muscling up against Tony Abbott’s government leading up to the election next year. Why? Because he’s been getting lessons from our very own Mark Latham, the former Labor leader who gave the game away in 2005. My spies tell me the pair have been seen in intense discussion in Liverpool in recent times, with an animated Mark Latham doing most of the talking. Intellectually, Latham is up there with the best brains in the political business and Shorten can only benefit from the association.

 At Monday’s launch of Stepping Up, the exhibition of HSC art works at Macarthur Square, taking a photo of guest of honour, MP Russell Matheson, I said to him, you look like you’ve lost some weight. Replied Matto: I wish, give me that camera if it makes me look thin. It was also good to see radio station C91’s Captain Pat at Mac Square. First met the skipper, aka Pat McGeown, at a pre Christmas party, and he seems to not only be a jolly good fellow but a very community minded one as well.

Phoned the mayor of Campbelltown, Paul Lake, and straight after the greetings, he says: “You know, Kontos, I am so glad I read the South West Voice.’’ Lake has got a fairly dry sense of humour so I was wondering what was coming next, but girded the loins and asked him, why? “Well’’, he replies, “because I find out things which I didn’t know and have to change my diary. I have just read in the Voice that the NSW premier, Mike Baird will be in Campbelltown on Friday, March 6, so I have just instructed my secretary to put it in my diary,’’ the mayor explained. The premier will be the guest speaker at the function being organised by the Ingleburn chamber of commerce. While I hear in the background that they got a bit of a helping hand from our local Liberal MP, Bryan Doyle, in bringing the premier to agree to come here so close to the March 28 election, the Ingleburn chamber has form in this field. Late last year they hosted a function at which the guest speaker was the transport minister, Gladys Berejiklian, but they have gone a notch up this time. Good work, boys.

Wattle Grove resident and long time intermodal opponent John Anderson has got the wheels in motion for a forum to be held on Sunday, March 22. He’s written to Liverpool Mayor Ned Manoon to suggest that with the NSW state election on March 28, the committee of residents against the intermodals at Moorebank would like to hold a public meeting where local candidates could be grilled about their position. Nice move, John.

We’ll finish with a bit of real showbusiness (instead of politics, which some people have unkindly called showbusiness for ugly people): Shakespeare in the Park’s production As You Like It was cancelled as a thunderstorm rolled into Macarthur just before 6pm last Saturday evening. If you have bought tickets and have not been notified, it will now be staged at the Australian Botanic Garden at Mt Annan on Saturday, March 7 at 7 pm.