The NSW government's decision to lease Port Kembla's port will come under scrutiny during debate in State Parliament tomorrow.
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The debate has been triggered by a 10,000-signature petition tabled by Wollongong MP Noreen Hay, arguing against the lease.
Members of the Save our Ports community committee will travel to Parliament House for the debate, leaving on the 12.42pm train from Wollongong. The debate is set down for 4.30pm.
Ms Hay said the petition was lodged the same day last November that the upper house passed the Port Assets Bill - without community consultation.
"We have to hold the government to account on this," she said.
"There is no question this current Coalition government is Sydney-centric and we need to keep track of these guys. They are talking about $100 million in new projects for the Illawarra [from the lease proceeds]. I want to know where the other $400 million is going - the community and I are not going away on this."
Kiama MP Gareth Ward said that when it came to asset sales, "Labor MPs have more twists and turns than Chubby Checker".
"This is not a sale, it is a lease ... I have called on the state opposition to indicate whether they would break the lease and sell the port, and they continue to refuse to do so," Mr Ward said.
"The fact is $260 million of the lease is coming back to the Illawarra: $100 million for new infrastructure and an additional $160 million for the Princes Highway upgrade. Where the $100 million goes will be determined by Infrastructure NSW. There will be community input into where that money goes, but the focus will be on projects that generate jobs."
Meantime, University of Wollongong associate professor and transport expert Philip Laird expressed concern that if Port Kembla and Port Botany were leased to the same private-sector company, there would be a reduced incentive to develop Port Kembla as a container port.
In his Illawarra Mercury website blog today, Professor Laird says a 2005 NSW Legislative Council committee report recommending the completion of the Maldon-Dombarton rail link also cited a study saying a container terminal could contribute $400 million to the regional economy.
"If the two ports are leased to the same new owner, the promised contribution of $100 million to regional infrastructure should be increased to the value of a container port at Port Kembla - that is, $500 million," Prof Laird wrote.
