For the Italian-English conductor, see Michael Costa (conductor)
Michael Costa is an Australian politician. He currently represents the Australian Labor Party in the New South Wales Legislative Council.
During the late 1970s Costa was an active Trotskyist. Following this period he became actively involved in Australian labour movement in the Trade Unions. He was also an employee of the New South Wales Government Railways then known corporately as State Rail . He shifted to a political career in 2001, when he was elected to the Legislative Council, and was immediately made Minister for Police. His term was marked by clashes with Police Commissioner Peter Ryan - who acrimoniously quit soon after, as well as with the police union.
In April 2003, Costa was promoted by Premier Bob Carr, and was appointed Minister for Transport Services, Minister for the Hunter, Minister Assisting the Minister for Natural Resources and Minister Assisting the Minister for State Development. His term as Transport Minister was to be more controversial again, as he presided over a public transport system with chronic problems, trains often running late and decreasing services. Furthermore, his closure of several rail lines, most notably the Murwillumbah line and the end of the Newcastle line earned him the derogatory nickname of "Dr. Beeching the 2nd" among some of the rail community.
Though Costa was popular within the party hierarchy, by 2004, he was widely unpopular among both the general public and sections of the party membership. Public transport was also emerging as a crucial issue for the election due to be held in 2007. When Treasurer Michael Egan abruptly resigned in January 2005, Premier Carr took the opportunity for a major reshuffle. Costa had still been tipped as a potential replacement for Egan, and was open about his ambition for the position. However, Costa was subsequently shifted sideways to the portfolios of Roads, Ports and Economic Reform and replaced with popular Police Minister John Watkins. This was widely seen as a direct response to his handling of the public transport crisis, which was described by multiple journalists as "abrasive". However, some journalists also speculated that the Economic Reform portfolio was a sign that Costa could still become Treasurer in the future.
