STATE LABOR GOVT'S NEGLECT OF PORT STEPHENS

28-November-2010

Mr CRAIG BAUMANN (Port Stephens) [1.07 p.m.]: I will use my last private member's statement of this Parliament to list the failings of the State Labor Government throughout the past term. I want to ensure that my fellow members of Parliament and my constituents can be in no doubt as to the contempt and neglect this Labor Government has shown Port Stephens over the past four years. I will not be biased. The Government has done a few things—and I stress that it is only a few—that have been good for the Port Stephens community. But for every good thing, there are 10 bad. The Government likes to announce a project, then announce it again and then announce it again over a period of a few years so that for decades it appears to be taking action when it is not doing a thing.

For example, I remember when the State Labor Government announced the new Raymond Terrace police station more than a decade ago. The project has been reannounced at every election since then, only to be crammed back on the crowded shelf of election promises and left there to gather dust for another four years—that is, until 2007 when the Government, in response to my lobbying, agreed to establish a local area command in Port Stephens. The promised station was to be completed in 2009, which became early 2010, which became late 2010. That is not going to happen as it is already late 2010 and the site is still under construction. But I am fairly certain that construction workers have been told to go hell for leather to ensure the station is ready to be opened before 26 March next year. Infrastructure aside, we also need more police on the beat in Port Stephens. The command is understaffed by 10 as the current officers are on long-term sick leave. That issue must be addressed.

Unfortunately, I cannot say that things are as rosy on Nelson Bay Road. The upgrade between Anna Bay and Bob's Farm was announced a decade ago but it is still a dangerous, single-lane goat track. The latest information from the Government is, "A construction timetable has not been identified at this time. Funding for construction will be considered in future State budgets." In other words, the project is gathering dust on a shelf and will never see the light of day under a State Labor Government. The Government has at least caved in to investigating the infrastructure laughing stock of the Hunter: the Tourle Street Bridge. This project epitomises the State Labor Government in that it is a useless waste of money. The Government spent $44 million building a two-lane bridge to replace a two-lane bridge—a bridge that was obsolete the day it was opened—when a four-lane bridge would have cost $15 million extra. We should be grateful that the Tourle Street project is even on the Government's radar, because the equally needed F3 to Raymond Terrace extension is not. After spending $7.7 million over the past five years on glossy brochures, the Labor Government has essentially wiped the project off its books. Instead, it has spent a million dollars clogging up the existing highways with traffic lights. We are still scratching our heads about that one.

Just last week I spoke about another failure of this Government: the failure to deliver a HealthOne clinic for Raymond Terrace. The project was promised in 2007 before the election. But now, after suffering 3½ years of Labor and five different health Ministers, we are told that the clinic will not be open until mid 2012, at the earliest. That will mean the project's delivery has taken five years. It took the patron saint of engineering, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, five years to build the 150-kilometre Great Western Railway in England—and it was completed 150 years ago. There is a degree of irony in the fact that the Government cannot deliver a HealthOne clinic in Raymond Terrace, where it is desperately needed, yet it recently opened a clinic on the grounds of Tomaree Community Hospital, which desperately needs services other than general practitioners, such as X-ray facilities.

As I have said before, the Government is spending around $1 million a year—which is a quarter of the hospital's annual budget—transferring patients away from the hospital for treatment. But I can now reveal something the Government has started work on: the Nelson Bay ambulance station. It has taken close to four years for work to begin, but it has finally commenced. Much like the police station, I suspect that workers are going to work overtime in order to meet the Government's demand to have it finished before the State election. The Government has also shown some action on problems with the Myall River—albeit after years of denying there were any problems with the health of this important waterway and thereby allowing the situation to deteriorate virtually to the point of no return. Last year the Government, in conjunction with Great Lakes Council, agreed to conduct a study into the health of the river and ways to fix the problems. The report is expected to be finalised after the election. I take this opportunity again to thank the Myall River Action Group, in particular Gordon Grainger, for its tireless work in bringing this issue to the attention of the community, the media and of course the Government.

Ms ANGELA D'AMORE (Drummoyne—Parliamentary Secretary) [1.12 p.m.]: I note that the member for Port Stephens has highlighted a number of concerns in his electorate. While he said the Labor Government has delivered a number of things in his electorate, he chose to spend the last part of his speech detailing his concerns. He mentioned the Raymond Terrace police station. I am glad he noted that in 2007 the Labor Government established the local area command and that the police station is under construction. While I do not accept the cynical views that he chose to put on record, his comments reveal that there has been action in his electorate. As local members, we understand that we are elected by our constituents to progress local issues. Sometimes time frames blow out; that happens in all seats, regardless of what political party or constituency we represent. So I am slightly disappointed by the member's comments about the police station.

The member for Port Stephens highlighted that $44 million was spent replacing a two-lane bridge. That is essential infrastructure and there must be a good reason why the project was funded. He expressed criticism about the health clinic at Raymond Terrace. However, he must be aware that opening health clinics is also dependent on the availability of staff; it is not always about budgetary concerns. I ask him to review why the clinic has not been opened and whether it is because of lack of staff. We certainly welcome some of the member's comments, but he has the power as the local member to progress those issues rather than grandstanding in the Chamber.