The NSW government is playing a game of “funding hokey-pokey” when it comes to the Illawarra, said Wollongong MP Paul Scully.
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Speaking in parliament, Mr Scully was focusing on the issue of whether or not the Illawarra is considered a regional area by the NSW government.
The furore kicked off over the government’s plan to spend the $4 billion from the sale of Snowy Hydro in regional areas – which did not include the Illawarra.
“The Illawarra is playing what I have come to refer to as the Berejiklian government's game of funding hokey-pokey,” Mr Scully said.
“Sometimes we are in and sometimes we are out.
“We are growing sick and tired of it because most of the time we are missing out altogether.”
Mr Scully took issue with the “arbitrary and variable definitions of our area”, where sometimes the government classes the Illawarra as a regional area while not at other times.
He said this can restrict the region’s ability to get government funding.
For instance, the Illawarra is classed as a regional area for the Resources for Regions program, but not for the Regional Growth Fund.
Just this week, the government included the Illawarra and its transport needs in a report called Regional NSW Services and Infrastructure Plan.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro has said the Illawarra was a region but not regional and Labor leader Luke Foley has since ruled out Wollongong from getting any funding from the Snowy Hydro sale.
In parliament, Mr Scully responded to Mr Barilaro’s claim that if Cobar had to compete with Wollongong for funding, Wollongong would always win.
“The same logic must be evident to the government when Wollongong is forced to compete with the massive population of Sydney,” Mr Scully said.
“While the Illawarra often punches above its weight, the bottom line is that an area with a population of slightly less than 300,000 people will always struggle against the largest economy in the country in the same way that the Government points out Cobar struggles against Wollongong.”
Mr Scully pointed out that Wollongong already has to compete with Sydney for funding from the $20 billion poles and wires lease and “is yet to see a single benefit”.
“There are very real consequences in adopting definitions that exclude areas from funding programs,” he said.
Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
