ALBURY Council remains unconvinced the city is receiving a fair share of major infrastructure funding from the NSW Government.
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The council has responded to comments made by NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian during a visit on Monday about Albury receiving “hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars of government support” in the past five years.
Mayor Henk van de Ven was excluded from a briefing between senior council staff, Ms Berejiklian and Albury MLA Greg Aplin on Monday due to caretaker provisions leading up to the September 10 election.
But he said the council remained convinced one reason why Albury was disadvantaged compared to other NSW regional centres was due to being on the border.
“We remain concerned that our proximity to Victoria has a negative impact on the success of our funding applications,” Cr van de Ven said.
“The most recent example was the funding assessment for the Davey Road southern ramps, in which the state government indicated the proximity to the border was a negative cost benefit consideration.
“We will continue to pursue these matters in conjunction with the treasurer and industry minister with the support of Greg Aplin in a constructive way to ensure that the Albury community gets a fair go.”
Ms Berejiklian's office has been approached for explanation on the “hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars of government support” for Albury, in particular.
Cr van de Ven said council had used NSW Treasury data to make comparisons between Albury and other regional centres including Wagga.
“We welcome further information around the detail of that state government support,” he said.
Late on Tuesday the treasurer’s office provided a list of projects funded in the Albury electorate since 2010.
- Hume Highway duplication
- Riverina Highway: Sandy Creek to Bethanga Bridge, $15 million
- Holbrook bypass
- Albury Ambulance Station, $4 million
- Social housing upgrades
- Restoration of natural disaster damage to roads and bridges
- Regional roads grants
- Albury TAFE upgrade, $8 million
- Wewak School and Kandeer School upgrades including redesign and development
- Albury airport upgrade, $3.9 million
- Albury Wodonga Health 10 acute beds
- Service NSW centre
The list is not exhaustive, according to a treasurer’s spokesman.