You can tell that there will be an election next year because the Nationals are promising to complete the upgrade of the Pacific Highway.
In February 2011, the month before the last State election, Andrew Stoner said: “Only the NSW Liberals & Nationals are committed to completing the upgrade of the Pacific Highway by 2016” and “We’ve committed an additional $5 billion on top of the infrastructure money already in the forward estimates in the state budget to fast-track vital projects. And I can’t think of any more important than the Pacific Highway” and he assured us that “Both Barry O’Farrell and I are absolutely committed to getting the job done on the Pacific Highway”.
After the Liberals and Nationals won the 2011 NSW election, Duncan Gay, the Roads Minister, confirmed this funding agreement on the floor of the NSW Parliament on September 6, 2011 when he said “We are determined to find the funds needed to match the Commonwealth offer”. Later the same day, the Premier, Barry O’Farrell, bragging in the Parliament claims that his “Government is matching Federal Funding on the Pacific Highway”. The record of this is in Hansard.
The Federal Labor Gov-ernment has committed $3.6bn, being 50 per cent of the funding required to complete the duplication of the Pacific Highway by 2016. It is now up to the NSW Government to match that offer, so that the upgrade to the highway can be completed.
Since February 2012, the NSW Nationals have been saying that there is an agreement that the Federal Government contributes 80 per cent of the upgrade costs while the NSW Government contributes 20 per cent of the cost. There is no such agreement for the completion of the Pacific Highway.
It was wrong to believe Andrew Stoner and the NSW Nationals on the Pacific Highway. Why would we now believe David Gillespie and the Federal Nationals on the Pacific Highway?
Peter Alley
Labor Spokesperson for Lyne
