Singleton calling for more cash as road repair bill blows out

BY DAKOTA TAIT

Singleton Council is calling for more funding from the State and Federal Governments, as its road repair bill blows out to $15 million.

Following a resolution on Tuesday, Council will join with Local Government NSW and the Country Mayors Association of NSW to declare a Statewide Road Emergency in the wake of floods throughout the year.

The toll on the local and regional road network is now estimated at $2.5 billion.

Singleton Mayor Sue Moore says Council's willing to put in $5 million, if the State and Federal Governments each do the same.

The town has already received $250,000 from a NSW pothole fixing fund.

Broke Road at Broke after the floods in July.

Newcastle named safest Labor stronghold in the country

BY DAKOTA TAIT

A post-election pendulum's revealed, Newcastle is the Federal Government's safest seat in the country.

According to ABC election analyst Antony Green, Labor's Sharon Claydon holds the seat with an 18 percent margin on the two-party preferred count.

Meanwhile, Paterson with 3.3 percent, Hunter with 4 percent, and Shortland with 5.8 percent were among the party's most marginal electorates.

More than 10,000 back petition to save GP Access After Hours

BY DAKOTA TAIT

Labor MP's were in Toronto on Friday morning, holding a doorstop with local GP's and families to help save GP Access After Hours.

10,500 people across the Hunter have signed a petition calling on the Federal Government to abandon cuts to the service. 

Shortland MP Pat Conroy says tens of thousands of families are depending on things to turn around for the better.

"As a father of young kids, I've used the service many times. My older relatives have used that service," Mr Conroy said.

"It is a great service that stops our already under pressure emergency departments from being clogged up further, and it's part of series of attacks on health outcomes in this region."

It's believed the service has provided more than a million urgent consultations over the past 20 years.

The After Hours care is also estimated to have saved $21.7 million in the cost of unnecessary emergency department presentations every year.  

Hunter GP Association Secretary Lee Fong told reporters it was a vital part of the Hunter's health infrastructure, especially for families and the elderly.

"In the after hours, GP Access provides a really urgent service to them, so if we're talking about cutting back, maybe even removing the service, what's going to fill that void?" Mr Fong said.

"I hear nothing except, 'Go to the emergency department.' That isn't good enough. This service has to be retained."

Paterson MP Meryl Swanson says it's a Hunter institution, and it should be here to stay.

"For every parent that's sat in an emergency waiting room for hours on end, at the John Hunter, at Maitland Hospital," Ms Swanson said.

"For every parent that has tried to get their kid into see a doctor when they can't, GP Access has been the answer, and this government wants to cut GP Access. It is death by a thousand cuts thanks to the Morrison Government."