That planning debacle !

This week the largest passenger liner in the world - the " Queen Mary 2 " and her sister ship - " Queen Elisabeth 2 " both were in port in Sydney on the same day.
The Queen Mary sailed through the heads at dawn, to be met by a huge flotilla of welcoming private vessels and crowds thronging the foreshore in greeting.
Crowds gathered all day to secure prime viewing spots and a picnic atmosphere prevailed as people waited for the promised fireworks display before the Queen Mary made a spectacular evening departure,
For some unknown reason this failed to gain the attention of the state government. All during the day television news recorded the huge number of people on the foreshores and vantage spots - and it should not have taken Einstein to predict that there would be a problem when the Queen Mary sailed - and these people headed home.
When this happened it quickly developed into a debacle. There were no extra trains or buses. The transport system was running to it's usual, sleepy, cut back evening timetables. The ferry services had been suspended - because of the danger of collision with the flotilla of private craft returning from escorting Queen Mary to sea - and to cap it off - the rangers who control the Botanical Gardens locked the gates at sundown - trapping hordes of people within the gardens. Those heading home from their vantage points were forced to climb trees and scale fences to escape from this prison.
Motorists who drove to vantage points to see this great ship fared no better. In a moment of bad timing the east-west tunnel was closed for maintenance on this memorable night, forcing traffic to use side streets and resulting in total gridlock. The situation was so bad that motorists beginning the morning rush to work encountered " Queen Mary traffic " still battling to get home from the night before.
State Premier Morris Iemma has apologised ! This is a government that next month is asking the people of this state to return it for another term in office. A government is usually judged on it's performance - and the debacle on the night of the cruise ships is not something that will score them high marks.
People have a right to know why - when crowd congestion at such an event was so obvious - that the Road and Traffic authority, the Police - and even the rangers at the Botanical Gardens - sat on their hands and did nothing - and let Sydney degenerate into a huge parking lot !
An apology will not do ! What is needed is an explanation - and an action plan that will ensure such a situation will not happen again !