Fill Up Your Tank Before the Long Weekend...

BY JESSICA ROUSE

If you need to top up your tank, you'd better do it before the long weekend as petrol prices are expected to rise.

According to the NRMA it's good news for Hunter motorists right now with Newcastle the 10th cheapest in the state to fill up, but not as cheap as Maitland which is the 8th cheapest.

NRMA Regional Corporate Affairs Adviser Helen Machalias believes we are quite lucky in the Hunter as far as price goes, but what happens after the long weekend is anybody's guess.

"So we expect that it will peak over the long weekend and then we'll just have to see what the prices are like after that."

The NRMA also stress that shopping around is the key to getting the best bang for your petrol buck.

"We encourage Hunter motorists to use the NRMA app to shop around because it allows you to compare petrol prices either along the route that your taking when your travelling or just in your local area," said Helen Machalias. 

As of this morning you could get Unleaded for 118.2 at the Rutherford Puma, or 117.9 at the Metro in Islington.

To shop around head to https://www.fuelcheck.nsw.gov.au/App/

Image river1467.com.au

Hunter Roads Face Massive Funding Backlog

BY IAN CROUCH & JESSICA ROUSE

A new report from the NRMA shows the Hunter is facing a $194 million infrastructure backlog for road maintenance.

Cessnock is one of the worst affected areas, with a 233 percent blowout in unfunded road maintenance costs, while Maitland has $65 million dollars worth of outstanding work and Lake Macquarie has more than $43 million.

NRMA President and Hunter Director, Kyles Loads is calling for a low-interest investment fund similar to the previous Hunter Infrastructure and Investment Fund to help councils catch up with the road maintenance backlog.

"The NRMA does call on the Federal and State governments to give a greater proportion of funds to local councils in the Hunter, who will in turn get on and upgrade of some of these local roads. A just under $200 million backlog is too big and it will affect safety; it will affect congestion in the Hunter," he said.

NRMA President and Hunter Director, Kyle Loades

End of the road near for Loades

BY JOSH SIM

NRMA Chairman Kyle Loades will step down from the board as his 12-year tenure comes to a mandatory end.

Loades was elected to the NRMA board back in 2005 and the constitution states that no member can serve for longer than a maximum term of 12 years.

Having lived in Newcastle for the majority of his life, Loades has been instrumental in having a voice for Hunter residents and the infrastructure the city requires.

Loades rates the one-billion-dollar Hunter Expressway as one of his greatest success' in the role.

'Many of the projects that were on the drawing board or (ideas) 15 years ago have gradually come to fruition,' said Mr Loades.

'I've really enjoyed being able to represent the interests of a few hundred thousand NRMA members here in the Hunter.'

Loades' official end date will be in December with an election for a new Chairman and board member to be held in the coming months.

Kyle Loades will step down as NRMA Chairman in December. Image Source: HMRI

Price of Petrol set to drop in Newcastle

By JAMES WARD

Petrol prices are set to drop below a $1 dollar per litre in coming weeks across Newcastle according to the NRMA

Service stations around Newcastle could be seen selling e10 petrol for around 101 cents per litre on Wednesday but prices are set to drop even further due to a decrease in crude oil prices and a rise in the Australian dollar.

NRMA chairman, Kyle Loades, says motorists can be the beneficiaries of cheaper fuel in the coming weeks due to a number of factors.

"Petrol pricing over the last week has dropped by about 15 cents per litre on the back of international crude oil pricing coming down and the Aussie dollar rising meaning the pump price has reduced which is great news for motorists," Loades stated.

If the prices were to drop lower than a dollar per litre it would be the first time since early 2016.

NRMA also predict the more competition of service stations in an area, odds are that you will find cheaper fuel.

"Good examples are Charlestown and Islington where there are two or three service stations, other areas where there are also two or three is where you should shop if you simply go to one location which is isolated odds are it will be more expensive."

The price of fuel will go lower than the dollar value but won't go much lower than that so motorists should take advantage of the lower prices now.

Photo courtesy Equal Access Pty Ltd

Speeding fines rack up to $70 million in the Hunter

BY JAMES WARD

Hunter motorists have racked up over $70 million in speeding fines in the last three years according to recent police statistics.

More than 240 speeding fines are issued out every day by police or by speed cameras pouring around $60,000 a day on average into the state government.

With over 42% of fatalities on our roads due to speeding, authorities are concerned about the growing number of people still speeding.

NRMA Chairman, Kyle Loades, states young male drivers are the highest-risk drivers on our roads and take up a large proportion of speeding offences.

"Young males are the ones doing most of the speeding and it is quite simple they need to slow down and save lives," Loades said.

The state government spends all revenue raised from speeding fines back into road safety initiatives aimed at younger people which Loades strongly supports.

"100% of the fines that are raised go back into road safety initiatives and they are including Black Spot programs and include the Flashy Light program which is now in every school in the Hunter and New South Wales."

Other statistics include over 2600 serious injury crashes occurred during 2011 to 2015 or on average 10 a week costing the economy around $500 million a year.

Image: Steven Georgiadis & Associates

M1 Pacific Motorway extension in the pipeline

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The NSW Government has committed to further planning of the M1 Pacific Highway extension to aid traffic flow to Raymond Terrace but without a completion date in sight, the missing link could be years away.

The budget revealed a $5 million funding injection for planning adding to the $7 million already given last year for planning a possible exit ramp off the motorway south of Heatherbrae and a free flowing interchange a Tomago in place of the roundabout already there.

After community consultation, last August and September, the plan for a 15 kilometre bypass of Hexham and Heatherbrae linking two of the state's busiest highways, with interchanges at Tarro, Tomago, Black Hill and Raymond Terrace and a 2.6 kilometre bridge over Woodlands Close, the New England Highway and the Hunter River.

Overview of M1 extension Image www.rms.nsw.gov.au

NRMA Hunter Chairman Kyle Loades says once planning is completed money will start to be poured into the project.

"So it's important to understand that the process is there for good reason - you have to get the planning right, you've got to get the project shovel-ready and then you can attract the funds. The planning hasn't been completed yet so we're hoping that this will be the last year of planning."

"We're very confident that this won't be just left idol for a decade. This will be committed to in the next year or so and let's get on with it because it's a massive bottleneck for Hunter motorists today and/or when people head north on holidays," said Kyle Loades.

Budget Day has arrived...

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Whether it's a better plan for housing affordability or funding boosts for local infrastructure, all will be revealed when the Federal Budget is handed down this evening.

The NRMA is hoping the budget will provide funding boosts to projects they've been involved with across the Hunter, in particular plans for improving the bottleneck at Hexham with traffic heading to and from the Sydney motorway, and the Lake Macquarie interchange which will get commuters out of cars and onto public transport.

Kyle Loades Image dailytelegraph.com.au

NRMA Chairman Kyle Loades believes more funding to continue improving Hunter's major roads will continue to reduce fatalities and make the roads a safer place to be.

"The reality is the more investment into five-star roads saves lives and even though there have been improvements, there's still much more to be done so the federal government need to keep committing more funds for regional and our major roads around the Hunter and beyond," said Kyle Loades.

Meanwhile, Hunter housing experts are confident a solution to the affordable housing crisis in Newcastle will be outlined in tonight's federal budget.

Negative gearing is unlikely to be abolished, but experts say they'd be surprised if a housing solution wasn't discussed in the budget and expect it will increase the supply of affordable housing.

Hunter Director of the Property Council Andrew Fletcher says if there isn't a concrete plan within the budget tonight, "they can also force state and local governments to lift their game in terms of planning and doing those sorts of things over time will see pressure come off rising house prices".

The median house price in Newcastle has risen from around $300,000 to around $500,000 making it near impossible for first home buyers to get into the market and forcing many to look outside of the city.

"We've got commonwealth and NSW budgets due in the coming weeks - at the heart of those budgets we expect new policy measures on housing affordability and policy settings which will help solve the Hunters housing shortage," said Andrew Fletcher.

Crashes costing the Hunter millions

BY IAN CROUCH and JESSICA ROUSE

A new report from the NRMA shows that while the number fatal car accidents in the Hunter is falling, the number of serious injuries is rising.

The motoring giant has put a dollar figure on the true cost of road crashes showing they're costing the region's economy more than half a billion dollars a year.

The Cost of Crashes report found more people are being treated for serious injuries in hospital, and the number continues to be on the rise.

Image nbnnews.com.au

Soaring petrol prices in the Hunter

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Hunter commuters are still paying top dollar at the bowser with prices in the region higher than the state average.

Prices shot up in the past week, jumping an average 6 cents per litre around the state, but in the Hunter prices have been up to 10 cents higher than the average.

A number of petrol stations increased their prices overnight to 144.3 cents and higher, with the wholesale price 20 cents cheaper than what we are paying.

NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury says there is a reprieve on its way and prices should start to fall.

"We expect prices to fall, they should've started falling and they should fall. The gap between the retail and the wholesale price is - certainly in Newcastle's case - about 20 cents per litre on average. That gives you an idea of the profit margins the major oil companies are making and we think the fall should happen to around 120 cents per litre."

NSW Government website FuelCheck and the fuel app is just one way commuters can find the cheapest fuel in the region.

More Highway Patrol Cars Needed In The Hunter

BY IAN CROUCH

 There are calls for more Highway Patrol cars to be sent to the Hunter to help cut our rising road toll.

Almost $5-million has been spent on a fleet of 28 new vehicles across the state, but so far only one has come to the region.

NRMA President, Kyle Loads says more highway patrol car are needed in the Hunter with 43 people killed on our roads so far this year.

He says a high police presence on our roads makes drivers slow down with speed the leading factor in the majority of fatal crashes.

Kyle Loades Picture mynrma.com.au

State Labor Calls For More Funding For Bucketts Way

BY IAN CROUCH

The state opposition is accusing the Baird government of ignoring the Bucketts Way in the latest round of Fixing Country Roads funding.

The Bucketts Way stretches from 12 Mile Creek at Port Stephens through Gloucester to Taree and is an important arterial road for freight transport and tourism.

However, it's also notoriously dangerous and regarded by the NRMA has one of the worst roads in the state.

Already this year, the road has claimed 3 lives - 23-year-old Matthew Ratley from Cameron Park died on May 21 when his Holden Commodore hit a tree at Gloucester. 25-year-old Bryce Parry of Merewether was killed on June 19 when his car crashed off the road near Stroud. Just four days later, 53-year-old Frederick Turner of Killaware died when his utility hit a power pole at Gloucester.

Shadow Hunter Minister, Kate Washington is supporting calls from the Gloucester community to install 3 passing lanes on the Bucketts Way at a cost of just over $6 million - 2 at Limeburners Creek and 1 at Weismantels to improve safety.

She says the projects are shovel ready and both Mid Coast and Port Stephens Councils have offered a cash and in-kind component to the work.

"Both (councils) see the Bucketts Way upgrade as its priority and it's not being reflected in the state government or federal government for that matter as well. We don;t care where the money comes from, we just need to see the road upgraded so it improves safety for all users," she said.

However, federal member for Lyne, Dr David Gillespie says the Turnbull government is already spending millions to upgrade the Bucketts Way on top of funding provided from the Roads to Recovery and Black Spot programs.

"I've got $17 million extra that was not out of any program. It's just sheer political will and campaigning over two elections to get that delivered onto the Bucketts Way and I'll continue to fight for any funds that I can secure in any shape or form," he said.

Port Stephens Mp, Kate Washington

Federal Lyne Mp, Dr David Gillespie

E10 fears unnecessary, says NRMA

Hunter drivers are being encouraged not to abandon E10 fuel in favour of the more expensive premium unleaded petrol.

A recent report shows NSW motorists have been scared off amid concerns the ethanol-based petrol causes engine damage and is not cost-efficient.

However NRMA Hunter Director, KYLE LOADES believes people are making the switch unnecessarily, saying most modern cars are made to run on E10.

"A lot of motor mechanics give out misleading information," Mr Loades said, "I'd encourage all drivers to call NRMA get the advice that their car is E10 suitable."