Hunter MPs Reveal State Budget Wishlists

BY EL FITCHETT AND RILEY TAYLOR

The State Treasurer Dominic Perrottet is set to hand down the 2020-21 NSW Budget tomorrow, and the Hunter's local MPs are hoping for a big investment in the region.

Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Learning and Charlestown MP Jodie Harrison is hoping tomorrow's State Budget could bring long-awaited changes to her electorate.

She hopes to see investment to help reduce overcrowding in local schools, as well as improvements to traffic flow, safety and accessibility on Hillsborough Road at Warners Bay.

With over 400,00 children enrolled across 5,500 early childhood education services in NSW including more than 750 pre-schools, she is also urging the State Government to make preschool free for a further 18 months to boost workforce participation and kickstart the state's economic recovery.

Closing the workforce participation gap could boost Gross Domestic Product by $60 billion over 20 years.

"In the long-term, there's nothing more important than giving every child in NSW access to quality education. In this recession, with lots of families doing it tough financially, we want to make sure no children miss out," Jodi Harrison said.

Meanwhile, Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp believes there are a number of shovel-ready projects across the city which are ripe for funding.

He's calling for investment in the redevelopment of the Newcastle Art Gallery and the restoration of the Victoria Theatre.

"The budget is an opportunity to progress some long-announced projects so we can get boots on the ground sooner rather than later," Tim Crakanthorp said.

He's also looking for funding towards the Hunter Sports and Entertainment Precinct, Newcastle Education Precinct, and the redevelopment of John Hunter Hospital.

"In the midst of a global pandemic, fast-tracking the expansion and redevelopment of the John Hunter Hospital, one the state's busiest, is a no brainer," he said.

Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery is pushing for a funding commitment to infrastructure projects to create local jobs and boost post-Covid economic recovery in the region.

“There’s nothing better to create jobs than rebuilding a canal in Wallsend, and building the Glendale Interchange,” Sonia Hornery said.

The canal would provide a vital flood mitigation system in the low-lying area, which she says is essential to keeping Wallsend residents and their homes safe.

Sonia Hornery also wants to see the Government employ more public sector workers including teachers, police, and nurses and staff at the John Hunter Hospital.

She’s also backed calls for more affordable and social housing programs, along with Newcastle MP Tim Crackanthorp.

"While a serious commitment to social housing will provide numerous trades ongoing work, you can't put a dollar value on what it means to give someone the safety and stability of home, and the opportunity to thrive," Tim Crakanthorp said.

Compass Housing, a Hunter-based community housing provider, has lobbied for a major investment in the sector to tackle the shortage of housing options for homeless and low-income people in the region.

Compass’ Managing Director Greg Budworth believes while the New South Wales Government has been focusing on homelessness, and social and affordable housing, more is needed.

“Sometimes the Government has a will to invest in affordable housing, but they don’t have the money. But we’d like to see more done,” Mr Budworth said.

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.

Hunter Sports High redevelopment pushed back. Again.

BY IAN CROUCH and JESSICA ROUSE

Staff and students at Hunter Sports High at Gateshead will have to wait another two years for a promised major upgrade of their school.

In 2014, $20 million was allocated to the school in the state budget to demolish ageing and dilapidated classrooms with the government promising to have the work completed by January this year.

Demolition work did begin this year but in February, with the project's completion date blowing out to 2019.

Back in June 2014, the then Education Minister Adrian Picolli proudly boasted the government was getting on with the job of fixing the school.

"Now we're investing in this highschool, it's about getting on with the job making sure that we've got world-class facilities, budgets are always tight but we've made sure we've found the money to do this well overdue project"

But now three years later, Charlestown MP Jodie Harrison is extremely disappointed at just another demonstration of the government's disinterest in the region.

"This is another demonstration of this government's disinterest in the Hunter and in a school that is educating students from one of the most socio-economically disadvantaged suburbs in the State."

Hunter Sports High Image metrobc.com.au

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.