JODI’S BRIDGE BACKFLIP: TOO LITTLE TOO LATE FOR TOURLE STREET BRIDGE
06 Sep, 2010
Jodi McKay’s admission the new Tourle Street Bridge should be four lanes instead of two is too little too late, with taxpayers expected to be out of pocket more than $30 million over the blunder, Member for Port Stephens Craig Baumann said today.
USELESS LABOR: MC KAY’S MEETING WAS A WASTE OF TIME
03 Sep, 2010
Member for Port Stephens Craig Baumann said the State Labor Government’s meeting about the rejuvenation of Newcastle today was a farcical waste of time.
WHAT PROJECT DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE A STATE GOVT PRIORITY FOR PORT STEPHENS?

Upgrade Tomaree Community Hospital
Widen Nelson Bay Road
Build a high school in Medowie
Fix the Myall River
More affordable housing
More police on the beat

LABOR MPS’ SUPPORT FOR TRANSPORT BLUEPRINT A DISGRACE

It’s little wonder the Hunter region has been starved of funding and infrastructure by the NSW Labor Government, given all Hunter Labor MPs are sticking up for its Sydney-centric policies like the Transport Blueprint, Member for Port Stephens Craig Baumann said today.

Mr Baumann said he was disgusted to read in the Newcastle Herald today that Newcastle MP Jodi McKay, Maitland MP Frank Terenzini, Cessnock MP Kerry Hickey, Swansea MP Robert Coombs, Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery and Charlestown MP Matthew Morris all support plans to increase motor vehicle registration costs by $30 to fund Sydney’s transport plan.

“What hope does the Hunter have of getting its fair share from this Labor Government, when the local MPs are supporting this misguided, Sydney-centric transport policy?” Mr Baumann said.

“What hope does the Hunter have when the region’s Minister and local MP Jodi McKay defends the registration fee hike by claiming people in the Hunter catch the train to Sydney? Perhaps it will benefit the small percentage of Hunter commuters who intend to travel to Penrith or Rouse Hill.

“What hope does the Hunter have when Jodi McKay, along with Frank Terenzini and Robert Coombes clearly see standing up for the Labor Party a much greater priority than looking out for their constituents?

“What hope does the Hunter have when Matthew Morris claims it ‘makes sense’ to complete the Sydney transport strategy first? That shows he is simply a mouthpiece for this Sydney-centric Government and is doing nothing to stand up for his constituents.

“What hope does the Hunter have when Sonia Hornery says she’s ‘anxious to see what’s in it for the Hunter’. Perhaps if she and her Labor colleagues had fought harder to give the Hunter a fair share she wouldn’t have to sit around and anxiously wonder.

“Not only has this farcical transport blueprint seen the disastrous CBD Metro scrapped at a cost of more than $330 million dollars, the Sydney transport proposal will see Hunter tax payers hand over more money with nothing in return.

“Taxpayers in Port Stephens don’t have access to public transport, and yet they’ll be forced to pay more for using their cars when they have no other option.

“The Hunter Labor MPs’ support for the transport blueprint as expressed in the Newcastle Herald today is an absolute disgrace and they should hang their heads in shame.”