Lake Macquarie Council's record $280 million spend

BY JARROD MELMETH

A record $280 million will be spent next financial year under a 2018/19 Operational Plan, Lake Macquarie Council has decided.

Roads and recreational facilities will benefit most from the strategy, which will see $31 million spent on road works and $4 million funnelled into parks and playgrounds.

Construction of Belmont Baths; Charlestown Skate Park; Pelican Boat Ramp and the completion of the Pasterfield Sports Complex at Cameron Park will all be achieved with a $100 million commitment.

Mayor Kay Fraser said the size of the budget reflects growth in the region, with 205,000 people now living in the LGA.

"We've had a large number of development applications in the city, " Mayor Fraser said, "we can see building works going everywhere...so with the developer contributions (our Section 94 money coming in) and Council contributing to that, it's giving us the capacity to deliver these important projects."

Kay Fraser believes the community will be pleased with the spending, given extensive consultation has been carried out.

"A budget was put out on public exhibition for people to have a look at and comment on it - so it's very much a community budget plan," she said. 

Charlestown Skate Park is one of the projects identified in the Operational Plan. 

Buybacks for Red Zone residents ruled out ahead of federal budget

BY JARROD MELMETH

Tuesday night's federal budget may include a $73 million package to connect PFAS affected communities, including those in Williamtown, to clean drinking water, but any chance of the government buying back those properties has been ruled out.

The funding was announced within hours of the release of a report by the government's expert health panel which concluded that there is "limited to no evidence" linking human disease to higher exposure.

Paterson MP Meryl Swanson has accused the government of reannouncing money which has already been allocated.

"Of that $73 million, $55.2 million has already been spent. I do not think the Turnbull government should be lauded for simply agreeing to stop contaminating peoples water and provide them with clean drinking water, which is a basic human right anyhow. There is so much more that really needs to be done here.

"I actually think it is really more about politicking. They have dropped a 400-page report via a difficult to find website on budget eve when people are very busy looking at budget items and working on what is going to be in and out of the budget. They have tried to really bring it in under the budget cloud," Ms Swanson said.

Williamtown resident Lindsay Clout said a buyback was something residents were really hoping for.

"They were hoping for some glimmer of hope that they would be able to be moved out, some level of compensation. The problem that we have got is the contamination stigma has destroyed house prices and there are hundreds of people that want to move away from this and they cannot get out because they cannot sell their properties. They are trapped," Mr Clout said.

Paterson MP Meryl Swanson with Red Zone affected residents.

Budget blowout on Newcastle's light rail

BY JESSICA ROUSE

State Opposition Leader Luke Foley dropped into Newcastle this morning calling on the state government to come clean about the real cost of the light rail project.

The true cost of Newcastle's Light Rail project was revealed in leaked cabinet documents released over the weekend which shows the project's budget has been blown out by around $35 million.

When she visited the Hunter last week to speak with local businesses, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the project was in fact on budget and on time and anything to the contrary was rubbish.

Opposition Leader Luke Foley and Federal
Member for Newcastle Tim Crakanthorp

Luke Foley the documents prove the indisputable fact the project is neither on budget or on time.

"Stop telling porkies your own internal documents show its blown out by $35 million dollars already and you know she comes here, refuses to release any detail about costing but says trust me it's on budget. Well, I've released the information, I've released what they've kept hidden - $290 million dollars and rising for two and a bit kilometres of light rail."

Federal Member for Newcastle Tim Crakanthorp sees it as a total disrespect for the people of Newcastle, particularly when the figures for the Sydney light rail project have been released.

"This premier (Gladys Berejiklian) was here last Tuesday and looked in the eyes of the Newcastle community and said this project was on budget. Well, clearly the evidence indicates that it is not. Now this government is not being transparent and it is not being clear and it needs to be clear on this particular issue."

Luke Foley says the government need to look to the future, just like Labor would if they were in power.

"We're not going to rip up the light rail track and close it down and indeed there needs to be a discussion about the future - there's not much point in delivering a light rail network for a big city that's just two kilometres long so we're interested in the discussion about where it might expand into the future and doing the proper planning work now."

NSW Budget 2017: What's in it for us?

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The Berejiklian government are basking in the glory of a $4.5 billion dollar surplus after Treasurer Dominic Perrotet handed down his first budget yesterday which included millions of dollars in infrastructure and roads funding for the Hunter.

The region will see $49 million dollars for roads, more than $205 million for Newcastle's revitalisation projects and funding boosts for many projects which have already started.

The key highlights include:
- $206.1 million in 2017-18 for Newcastle Light Rail
- $29 million for the New England Highway, Scone Bypass and $23.4 million towards Cormorant Road, Industrial Drive to Stockton Bridge in 2017-18
- $12 million to widen rail underpass for New England Highway, Gowrie Gates
- $5 million for New England Highway, Belford to Golden Highway upgrade planning
- $5 million towards building new hospital at Maitland
- $13.1 million for continued work at Muswellbrook Hospital
- $101.7 million towards 400 beds at Cessnock Correctional Centre
- $75 million in total Restart NSW funding for the Hunter Infrastructure and Investment Fund
- $43 million to remediate Newcastle BHP sites
- $11.8 million for Lower Hunter Freight Corridor

Treasurer Dominic Perrotet Image abc.net.au

But the budget is being labelled by local Labor MP's as "Sydney-centric" and even "mean" with claims many of the announcements aren't announcements at all, but re-announcements of funding and projects everyone already knew.

Newcastle saw $206 million for the light rail and revitalisation of the CBD, and just under $5 million for upgrades to the Hunter Street and Tighes Hill Tafe campuses, but MP Tim Crakanthorp has accused the government of simply recycling old promises.

"I think it's just smoke and mirrors which is what we've come to expect from the budget. It's a very Sydney focused budget from a Sydney-centric government. There are millions of dollars flowing into Sydney but critical infrastructure in Newcastle misses out. We're the second largest city in the state and we deserve better."

At the other end of town in Maitland, the new Lower Hunter Hospital only received $5 million towards what is a $450 million project with the completion date also pushed back to 2024, 13 years after it was promised.

MP Jenny Aitchison has labelled the government as having "no vision for the future" and says the people of Maitland have every right to feel let down by their government.

"They're boasting down here in Sydney about supposedly billions of dollars of surplus but they can only find $5 million for Maitland hospital and they're going to spend $500,000 on a couple of the schools in an electorate which is one of the fasted growing in the state. It's just not fair."

However, Hunter Business Chamber CEO Bob Hawes has welcomed the news of key investments into roads, rail, education, health and business.

He sees the continuation of funding for Revitalising Newcastle as a massive win to improve travel through the city centre, connect key activity precincts and connect the inner city to the foreshore.

Businesses generally will benefit from the budget as well, largely due to the cutting of red tape across the sector including a $7.5 million investment in the Business Connect Program as well as $96 million to the Jobs for NSW initiative to encourage business investment and growth and stimulate the labour market.

"We're encouraged by the continuation of investment in projects like Maitland's hospital and the revitalisation of Newcastle as well as a number of key projects and programs that link into business. So the continued investment by the government in business connect programs and $96 million for Jobs for NSW initiatives," said Bob Hawes.

Calls to end the freeze

BY TYLER FARDELL

Tomorrow's budget announcement could come as a big relief for many Hunter MP's, if the government announces it will end the three-year freeze on financial assistance grants.

The freeze was introduced in the 2014-15 federal budget, and since then it has reportedly cost Newcastle council close to $3 million dollars.

Many Hunter Labor MP's have listed this as a top priority in the budget, including Sharon Claydon.

"That freeze has cost Newcastle council $2.8 million dollars in the past three years. That means council have less money to invest in projects, and there have been lengthy delays."

"There's less money to invest in local swimming pools, libraries, roadways and all these coastal assets that require maintenance".

Aside from the freeze, there are a range of projects which many Hunter MP's hope will be addressed during the budget.

Issue's like the Glendale Transport Interchange, the M1 Pacific Highway extension at Raymond Terrace and education cuts are reported to be on the 'budget wishlist' of many Hunter MP's.

Ms Claydon says she is also passionate about the high-speed rail project between Newcastle and Sydney, and hopes to see it included in the budget.

"It's an issue I've talked a lot about with people in the community. We know that high-speed rail for Newcastle is a game changer".

"Being able to get to Sydney in 39 minutes will open up a lot of opportunities".

Sharon Claydon

Councils seeking reimbursement, more than a year after floods

BY JACINTA LEE

Hunter Councils are calling on the Baird Government to repay a multi-million-dollar gap in the budget caused by last year's April superstorm.

Mayor of Port Stephens, Bruce MacKenzie, says Council is owed up to $6 million for repairs carried out during the flood events.

He says his team has put in a $3.6 million claim to NSW Public Works, but their calls are not being returned.

"As far as I'm concerned, we were promised that a long time ago and there's nothing coming," he states.

Meanwhile, Lake Macquarie Council's claim for $3.5 million has reportedly gone unanswered since it was put forward in January.

"There's been a large damage bill," Lake Macquarie Mayor Jodie Harrison says. "Some of it has been covered by insurance and some of it, the state government said that they would pay."

Local winners of the NSW State Budget

BY JARROD MELMETH

In her second budget, NSW Treasurer Gladys Berekijlian has delivered a $3.5 billion surplus with Newcastle and the Hunter receiving over $255 million. $142 million of that will go towards the construction of Newcastle's Light Rail.

Key highlights from the 2016-17 budget for the Hunter include:

• $142 million for Newcastle Light Rail.
• $35 million for Cormorant Road, Industrial Drive to Stockton Bridge works.
• $29 million to deal with mining voids in Newcastle, developing a new Muswellbrook sewerage treatment plant, redevelopment of the Maitland Sports ground complex and the Newcastle cruise terminal.
• $18 million for the Hunter Infrastructure and Investment Fund.
• $14 million for freight rail between Hexam and Fassifern. 
• $10.3 million to complete the final stages of the John Hunter Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
• $7 million to continue planning for M1 extension to Raymond Terrace.
• $6.2 million for the NSW Government response to the Williamtown Royal Australian Air Fore Base Contamination
• $6.2 million for planning and site preparation for the new Maitland Hospital.
• $5 million to continue the Newcastle Inner City Bypass project.
• $3.8 million for upgrades of the TAFE Hunter Institute Newcastle Campus Block D.

The surplus is expected rise to 3.7 billion on the back of sales including the $1.7 billion lease of the Port of Newcastle and other assets from the Hunter.

Gladys Berekijlian. Photo Courtesy of The Newcastle Herald.

Pension Concerns

HUNTER residents are concerned after indications the Federal Government could change the age pension in the upcoming May budget

The Government is prioritizing the proposed paid parental leave scheme, costing taxpayers about 5-point-5 billion dollars each year


Shortland MP Jill Hall says if there are cuts to the pension, elderly residents could suffer

"It's mean that they'll have difficulty paying their bills, they'll have trouble buying food that they need it'll mean that their life is a lot harder than it is now. Without their continued efforts, without recognizing the work that they do, Australia would be a much poorer place than it is now," Mrs Hall said.

The federal budget is due next month