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Howard Government failure to commit over Lakes Entrance Community Services Precinct helps no-one but Peter McGauran; Rowe

Jane Rowe ALP candidate for Gippsland

Jane Rowe ALP candidate for Gippsland

Labor Candidate for Gippsland, Jane Rowe has questioned an election promise by the Federal Government to part fund the ‘Lakes Entrance Community Services Precinct’ saying it was ‘about time the project had been given the green light’.

By Jane Rowe - 6th November 2007 - Back to News

Howard government failure to commit over Lakes Entrance Community Services Precinct helps no-one but Peter McGauran; Rowe

 

Labor Candidate for Gippsland, Jane Rowe has questioned an election promise by the Federal Government to part fund the ‘Lakes Entrance Community Services Precinct’ saying it was ‘about time the project had been given the green light’.

 

"The Lakes Entrance Health Community along with partnering agencies such the East Gippsland Shire Council spent literally hundreds of hours putting together applications urging the Howard Government to contribute in a similar way to the State and Local Government"  said the former Mayor of East Gippsland

 

Ms Rowe said that, while she had no doubt the community would welcome a commitment to fund the facility, they had every right to be a ‘bit peeved’ that the local Member and the Howard Government had ‘held the matter over’ till the caretaker period.

 

"The stalling turns a ‘guarantee to fund’ which should have been made when the Howard Government were still sitting into a last minute ‘National Party election promise’; quite a different thing altogether."  Ms Rowe said.

 

"If Peter McGauran cared for the people of Lakes Entrance as much as he did for his own political future, he would have got the guarantee of funding before John Howard called the election"  an angry Ms Rowe said.

 

"The simple reality is that the Howard Government had sufficient funding available in existing ‘Regional Partnerships’ budget.  The hard work had already been done by the Lakes Entrance Community, East Gippsland Shire Council and the medical and allied health groups of East Gippsland."  Ms Rowe said

 

"We in local government had made a significant contribution, the State Government had committed upwards of $1 5 million and then the Federal Government waited until after calling an election to ‘promise’ funding."

 

"The funding should have been approved some time before the election was called and the people of Lakes Entrance have every right to question the cynicism of the Local Member, Peter McGauran in holding the funding over to a caretaker period"

 

However the Labor Candidate said a Rudd Labor Government had already committed to fund regional health and community centres and she was confident of processing an application from Lakes Entrance in double time if elected.  She said such projects would be supported by key Rudd Commitments:

 

  • $220m for super clinics to provide creating positive working environments for doctors and health professionals particularly in rural areas;
  • Strong commitment to improve Indigenous health, including Labor’s $260 million Indigenous Early Childhood Package.
  • Commonwealth Dental Health Program which will fund up to 1 million consultations and treatments through public dental services, benefiting the many rural communities who do not always have private dental services.

 

"I can assure the Lakes Entrance Community that as a local Member I will do what I can to deliver on this Lakes Entrance Community Services Precinct in the same way I did as Mayor and Councillor; and I won’t wait until an election is called to do it!"  Ms Rowe concluded.

   

Media Contact: Jane Rowe 0424 157 584


Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: howardw@aapt.net.au



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