Illawarra state Labor MPs will post a ‘’maxi card’’ to every household in the Shellharbour electorate next week to highlight the NSW government’s ‘’failure to get funds flowing’’ for two major projects.
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Shadow Treasurer Ryan Park and Shellharbour MP Anna Watson are calling on the Baird government to produce some ‘’real dollars’’ for its promised $250 million redevelopment of Shellharbour Hospital and the $550 million Albion Park Rail bypass.
They’re calling on Premier Mike Baird to allocate some funding to start the hospital project in this year’s state budget; and to begin construction of the bypass by July 2017.
They hope to garner community support through the mass mail out of their maxi card to 33,000 households.
‘’While patients are waiting for treatment and motorists are sitting on traffic on the Princes Hwy at Albion Park, the government continues to push papers around the desk,’’ Ms Watson said.
‘’Bureau of Statistics figures show that in the last two years an extra 3500 people moved into this area and so we need these two major infrastructure projects now.
‘’We’re asking the government to make good on its promises and place a start date on these projects – and we don’t want to have to wait three years for them.’’
Keira MP, Mr Park, also wants to see the $800 million promised for the two projects to start to flow in the NSW government’s June budget.
‘’Getting these projects up and running needs to be given priority,’’ he said.
‘’We hope the community will rally behind this to make sure politicians at every level understand that this sort of infrastructure is critical in one of the fastest growing regions in the state.’’
However Illawarra Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra Gareth Ward said his government would honour its commitments to the region.
‘’Both of these projects will commence in this term of government,’’ he said.
‘’In terms of the Albion Park Rail bypass, are Ryan Park and Anna Watson so callous as to not want to resolve property issues, particularly involving our farmers, so we can minimise the impact on prime agricultural land?
‘’Do they want us to tear up farms owned by people who have lived on the land all their lives, and in some cases for many generations, without working with them to get the best result?’’
Mr Ward also slammed the Labor MPs for their ‘’hypocrisy’’.
‘’Labor only ever closed services at Shellharbour Hospital,’’ he said. ‘’At the last election Labor’s commitment to the hospital upgrade was just $30 million – which was not even close to what that hospital needs.’’
