Kerry Bartlett (Macquarie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Friday in Bathurst the Prime Minister announced a commitment of $10 million, conditional on a matching commitment from New South Wales, to commence planning for an expressway standard road across the Blue Mountains, probably approximating the Bells Line of Road. This project would be a massive boost for the central west, providing much quicker and safer access to Sydney and injecting a real boost into economic development in that part of the state.

Sadly, the state Labor government is refusing to support this proposal, preferring to put party politics ahead of the interests of the central west. Just as disappointing is the deafening silence of federal Labor and its refusal to apply any pressure at all to its state counterpart. Clearly Labor is not interested in the benefits this project would bring to the central west of New South Wales. These benefits would be very substantial. I call on the New South Wales government to match the funding from the Australian government so that planning can commence.