Member for Albury Greg Aplin and his Labor opponent at next month’s state election Ross Jackson were at loggerheads yesterday over funding for the Riverina Highway.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Cr Jackson said Mr Aplin had failed to meet a promise to release more detail about a $15 million upgrade.
“I want to know where the process is up to, what are the timelines for the upgrade and what’s the alignment,” Cr Jackson said.
“These are the questions everyone wants answered, and it’s not asking much.”
But Mr Aplin said he had not released details by January 31 as he had promised because of a busy schedule.
He said the announcement would be made “very shortly” in Albury, with Transport Minister Duncan Gay.
“The minister was going to visit but, unfortunately, my electorate tour was completely booked,” Mr Aplin said.
“Both of us have different itineraries — mine is the tour, his is covering the state.
“We need to find a time where we can both be in the same place at the same time.”
Mr Aplin said regardless of this, he had said many times the money was available.
In October he said he had secured an undisclosed amount of money for work on a 5.7-kilometre stretch of the highway east of Albury to Lake Hume.
Work on the first stage, from Sandy Creek to Lake Hume village, would begin this year and stage two, to Bethanga Bridge, next year.
The project would include road widening, expanded shoulders, resurfacing, installation of guard rails and possible speed-limit reductions.
But Cr Jackson said he had serious doubts about the government’s commitment to the project.
“Mr Aplin seems to be running around making vague, un-funded promises of ‘up to’ amounts,” he said.
“We’ve had promises of up to $15 million for the highway and up to $63.5 million for three health centre redevelopments.
“But still, to this day, we haven’t heard from the Health Minister (Jillian Skinner) or the Transport Minister to confirm the promises.
“This is what we’ve got to start questioning.
“Where are these promises coming from?”
Cr Jackson said it was not appropriate to make commitments “if they’re not going to keep them”.
“The people of the electorate of Albury want accountability,” he said.
Mr Aplin said there was no substance in Mr Jackson’s comments.
“He’s got nothing to say, quite frankly,” he said.
“He is grasping at straws because the announcement’s already been made that the work’s going to get started this year.
“It’s going to be done in two stages. I’m waiting for something new from Mr Jackson.”
But Cr Jackson said Mr Aplin was “playing clever word games” to avoid confirming the funding was predicated on the privatisation of electricity assets.
“Regional communities like ours shouldn’t be forced to play along with this government’s privatisation agenda in order to get our fair share of services,” he said.
