JENNY AITCHISON MPNSW SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL ROADS AND TRANSPORTDR. MICHAEL HOLLAND MPMEMBER FOR BEGA
LABOR’S $22 MILLION PLAN TO UPGRADE & REPAIR BEGA’S ROADS
NSW Labor will contribute over $16 million for urgent road upgrades and over $6 million for emergency road repairs across the Bega region after more than a decade of neglect by the Liberal’s, compounded by floods and bushfire, and a failure to invest in regional road maintenance. Labor’s $16.5 million road upgrade package will benefit residents of the Bega and Eurobodalla, with Labor committing:
- $1.5 million to construct a left hand traffic slip lane from Hector McWilliam Drive onto the Princes Highway at Tuross Heads.
- $15 million to fund repairs to the Bermagui-Tathra Cuttagee Bridge reconstruction in alignment with heritage and other considerations.
Labor will provide more than $6.2 million in funding to address the road maintenance backlog through Labor’s new Emergency Road Repairs Fund. A Minns Labor Government will also provide more than $3.6 million in additional road funding to Bega Valley Council and $2.5 million to Eurobodalla Council from the Emergency Repairs Fund. This is in addition to (and in fact will more than double) the funding included in the Government’s pothole funding announcement from earlier this year. In 2019, the Liberals promised to reclassify and transfer up to 15,000 km of roads to help lift the burden on Councils. Despite being the Government’s signature regional roads commitment in 2019, it remains unfulfilled - and in the last four years has transferred a total of zero kilometres of regional roads.Deputy Premier Paul Toole and Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway have recently said the process could take another four years to complete, and the report has already been sitting on Minister Farrway’s Desk for nearly four months.Mayors and Councillors across the state have expressed extreme frustration at the Government’s broken promise on roads reclassification, demanding action now. Quotes attributable to Shadow Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison MP: “For the last 12 years, the Nationals have overseen billions of dollars in cost blowouts and overspends in mega projects in metropolitan areas at the expense of the regions.” “Labor’s commitment of over $22 million for Bega Roads will provide much-needed cost of living relief for councils and communities by repairing their damaged roads after 12 years of inaction, floods and fires and deliver the roads that are needed to provide the roads our regions need for the future. Quotes attributable to Member for Bega, Dr. Michael Holland MP: "The residents of the Bega electorate have told me again and again over the past year of the dangers of highway potholes and dangerous highway T intersections. The community from Bermagui to Bega and beyond have been frustrated and isolated by the lack of action on the Cuttagee bridge. Jenny Aitchison has been in the electorate several times and has witnessed the neglect of the Liberal National government. I am pleased that my advocacy on these roads has been vindicated.”
Quotes attributable to Federal Member for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips MP:
“Improving our local roads is something I hear about frequently and I take very seriously. Dr Holland is a fierce advocate for his communities and I’m delighted the Tuross Head Road intersection will be made safer under a Minns Labor Government”
Quotes attributable to Cllr Helen O'Neil - Bega Valley Shire Councillor:
"This is great news for Bermagui and Tathra, and a vital circuit breaker for the Bega Valley Shire. It will put the community at the heart of the design work for our iconic bridge and is the way forward for a local infrastructure project that has been stalled for too long. Dr Michael Holland and Labor NSW are to be congratulated for the initiative which will revive this important tourist road"
MONDAY, 13 MARCH 2023
Quotes attributable to Federal Member for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips MP:
“Improving our local roads is something I hear about frequently and I take very seriously. Dr Holland is a fierce advocate for his communities and I’m delighted the Tuross Head Road intersection will be made safer under a Minns Labor Government”
Quotes attributable to Cllr Helen O'Neil - Bega Valley Shire Councillor:
"This is great news for Bermagui and Tathra, and a vital circuit breaker for the Bega Valley Shire. It will put the community at the heart of the design work for our iconic bridge and is the way forward for a local infrastructure project that has been stalled for too long. Dr Michael Holland and Labor NSW are to be congratulated for the initiative which will revive this important tourist road"
MONDAY, 13 MARCH 2023
