Parliamentary secretary for the Illawarra and South Coast Gareth Ward used a notice of motion to take aim at Shellharbour Labor MP Anna Watson for ‘‘deliberately, habitually and continually misleading the Illawarra’’ about the Shellharbour Hospital upgrade and Albion Park Rail bypass.

The latest, hammed up, political stoush between the pair was prompted by comments Ms Watson made in a post-budget media release – and Wednesday’s Mercury – about the lack of a funding ‘‘road map’’ for both projects in the budget.

The government allocated $3 million planning money for the Albion Park Rail bypass, however the start date, completion date and total cost columns in the budget papers were either blank or marked ‘‘n.a.’’. 

Start and finish times were given for Shellharbour Hospital’s planning – 2013 and 2016.

In his motion, Mr Ward said the 2015-16 budget had contained funding for both as per the government’s election commitments – ‘‘contrary to the public statements of the Member for Shellharbour’’. 

The Kiama MP also noted Ms Watson ‘‘failed to match either of these commitments at the most-recent state election’’ and called on her to be ‘‘truthful about these projects in the future’’.

In a statement, Mr Ward said the ‘‘outright lies and wilful dishonesty’’ from the Shellharbour MP had to stop.

‘‘I have had a gutful of Anna Watson’s habitual and deliberate attempts to deceive the people of the Illawarra,’’ he said.

‘‘I said that this budget would bring home the bacon for the Illawarra and South Coast – but that doesn’t seem to stop the Member for Shellharbour from carrying on like a pork chop.’’

In reply, Ms Watson said the intention of her post-budget media release was clear: ‘‘there was no funding road map for the construction of the Albion Park Rail Bypass’’ and ‘‘there was no funding road map for the upgrade to Shellharbour Hospital’’ in the budget.

The Labor MP again stressed the government had been planning the two projects for the last five years and ‘‘that’s all the Liberals are promising to keep doing over the next 12 months’’.

“The Parliamentary Sook for the Illawarra should read press releases more carefully,’’ she said.

“This is hardly telling a lie or being deceptive. It’s a fact. Mr Ward can’t seem to understand that my constituents don’t give a tinker’s toss about his self-congratulating spin.

‘‘All they care about is when construction for these two projects starts and finishes.

‘‘I have repeatedly asked the government to provide clear dates. No-one seems keen to answer that simple question.’’

Mr Ward has challenged Opposition Leader Luke Foley to commit to funding the projects during his budget-in-reply speech on Thursday.