Okay Foxy, you've mentioned some specific things you liked about him, here's a few specific things as to why I don't:

* at the stroke of a pen, he eradicated a level of intellectual disability, removing 300,000 people from the eligibility list for services;

* he closed down psychiatric hospitals, putting many people that were unable to fend for themselves on the streets. From one alone, over the next 12 months, 100 ex-patients died from suicide or misadventure;

* The Harbor Tunnel was a "bottom of the harbor scheme", and though admittedly good for the city, was fraught with corruption and bizarre cost increases, and Darling Harbor not much different.

* it was BECAUSE of Wran, that Nick Greiner instituted ICAC...though this in itself over the years has only become a political appointment post, now a toothless tiger.

* though the police force was already corrupt, he certainly did nothing to change that. Again, it was after Wran that the NSW police got a severe shake-up.

There's more, but I'd have to do some research rather than run from memory :) .

So though he may have improved the rail service to a couple areas, and hugged a few trees, it cuts no ice with me compared to the lives he ruined.

He did also warn future governments not to sell off public assets as will kill revenue streams look at the mess today

He did also warn future governments not to sell off public assets as will kill revenue streams
Aussieboy,
That's one of the easiest things to say when you're no longer in charge & the taxpayers support you over-generously.
Look at the mess today ? Well, his ALP mates obviously didn't take him seriously enough to dig that immense hole we're in now & the Coalition is working on getting us out of.

Dear DD,

Thank You so much for giving me such an honest
and open reply. This is exactly what I was hoping
people would contribute to this discussion.
Sharing what they remembered about that time.

My recollections differ somewhat from yours.
I don't know the details of what you claim - I do
vaguely recoall though that there was some sort of
scheme "Beds to the West Program," that was set
up by Neville Wran to free up money to build and
develop hospitals and health services (including
psychiatric) in the West, South West, and North
Sydney because health services in these areas needed
development. The Westmead Hospital for example was
opened in 1978 by the Premier, Cumberland Hospital
(Mental Health Srvices) - Hospital at Blacktown et
cetera.

As far as ICAC and corruption goes the following link
may be of interest:

http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/remember-failings-of-wrans-nsw-before-curtailing-the-icac-20140423-373il.html

Er, Cumberland hospital is 100 years old. Westmead hospital was commenced prior to Wran's tenure...opening it is meaningless. He shut down Rydalmere Hospital's psychiatric facility, Gladesville Hospital, commenced the wind-down of Roselle Hospital, and reduced the capacity to Cumberland and Nth Ryde, and Goulborn Hospital was wound down too.

He moved nursing to university under the guise of "professionalism" and closed the psychiatric centres under the guise of "deinstitutionalization". Prior to this, to become a registered nurse in psychiatry or disabilities took 3 years, comprising of 1800 hours of lectures and on-the-job training. Once in university, mental health comprised of a ONE HOUR lecture during a three year degree to be a nurse. It has now risen to the dizzying heights of 10 hours over 3 years. Disabilities don't get a mention.

Professionalism? If you call 10 hours of lectures "professional", then I suppose so. But the effect has been devastating.

"Deinstitutionalization"...sounds great. One might even get a warm fuzzy feeling over it. But if I call institutions "centralized services", it doesn't sound negative, but a damned fine idea!

What has resulted, is high costing facades that look good, but provide much lower quality of care, and horrendous costs in provision of housing, transport and provision of all services, staffed by unqualified personnel.

So in effect, he has downgraded the quality and education of nurses in the fields of mental health and developmental disabilities, increased the costs of service provision to those two areas, and made a bad joke of both.

I'm not denying that the institutions needed a change in how they functioned, but what has replaced them is a bad joke by comparison to the service that was previously available. Now mental health units are attached to general hospitals, staffed predominately by nurses that we previously wouldn't accept, either due to their lack of insight, or inability to comprehend the material in a meaningful manner.

Suffice to say, talk to any nurse that gained their qualifications under the old "hospital-based training" method, and they'll tell you basically the same story...the system has turned into a shambles.

Dear DD,

I can't comment on the accuracy of what you've
written.
Perhaps as you suggested nurses like Suse who
contributes regularly to OLO may know
more on the subject. I wasn't aware that the
nursing profession was in a shambles as you put it.
I thought it was doing remarkably well.

Anyway, Mr Wran's funeral has now been given a date.
It's 1st May and will be held at the Sydney Town
Hall. It will be interesting to see how many people
will pay their respects to the man in Sydney.