Lyne MP Rob Oakeshott has secured a commitment from the Commonwealth that it will quarantine the $3.56 billion allocated to the Pacific Highway upgrade in last month’s federal budget. The record Commonwealth allocation was conditional on the NSW Government matching the funds to complete the $7 billion duplication project by 2016. Instead, last week’s NSW budget had $9 billion going to Sydney transport projects, leaving north coast communities fearing billions in federal funding would be redirected to other states. Following discussions with the Prime Minister and Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese, Mr Oakeshott last week secured a commitment that the $3.56 billion would stay with the Pacific Highway. “It’s one thing to fight for funding you know is needed to complete the highway upgrade but it’s another thing altogether to have secured the largest ever allocation to a state road project and then see it jeopardised by some sort of political game,” Mr Oakeshott said. “I’m very pleased that the Federal Minister has understood the urgency of the project, and that the upgrade is a priority for every northern NSW community.” Mr Oakeshott said it was now up to NSW to release a new works schedule if it no longer regarded the 2016 upgrade as the state’s priority road project.
