Keira MP Ryan Park is disappointed NSW Premier Mike Baird has declined to put politics to one side and meet him to help save the Illawarra.
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Mr Park, who is also the opposition Illawarra spokesman, had written to Mr Baird asking for a bipartisan meeting to ‘‘see how we can play a role to support the community as we face challenging economic conditions’’.
‘‘In recent months we have unfortunately seen a number of jobs lost in the mining and manufacturing sectors with large scale reductions in the workforce at Wollongong Coal, Metropolitan Coal and of course speculation about the future of steelmaking at BlueScope,’’ Mr Park wrote in his letter.
‘‘Now is the time for politics to be put aside and for community leaders to work together to provide co-ordinated support for the region.’’
The letter lists a range of possible opportunities including the establishment of a Smart Hub to enable telecommuting, the acceleration of infrastructure projects and setting up a delegation to meet with BlueScope about the long-term future of steelmaking at Port Kembla.
He also suggested ensuring large-scale infrastructure projects used locally produced steel.
However, late on Wednesday, Mr Park said Mr Baird’s office had declined to meet, instead saying Parliamentary Secretary Gareth Ward would sit down with the Keira MP.
‘‘I am extremely disappointed that the Premier has declined to meet with me about some of the biggest challenges facing our region,’’ Mr Park said.
‘‘I meet with Gareth Ward regularly and I respect his role as the parliamentary secretary but this issue requires leadership from the Premier and the cabinet and unfortunately Gareth Ward as the government’s representative is not in cabinet.’’
Mr Park said cabinet was where decisions could be made that would improve the situation for the Illawarra and that he would be writing to the Premier again urging him to reconsider.
‘‘The Illawarra community rightly expect that the Premier and his cabinet will stand with us as we face economic challenges; unfortunately this decision indicates the Premier is not interested in economic future of our region or the hundreds of jobs already lost in recent months,’’ Mr Park said.
A spokesman for Mr Baird confirmed Mr Ward had agreed to meet the Keira MP to brief him on the steps ‘‘we are taking to rebuild the Illawarra after years of neglect under Labor’’.
“Thousands of jobs will be created in the Illawarra through the delivery of our Rebuilding NSW plan; however [Mr] Park and NSW Labor is opposing this investment every step of the way,’’ he said.
“This government has a proud record of delivery in the Illawarra, with major upgrades underway along the Princes Highway, $100 million allocated to the Illawarra Investment Fund, and improvements made to hospitals and schools across the region.”