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Gippsland ‘short changed’ by ‘tricky’ National Party road promise; Rowe

Jane Rowe ALP candidate for Gippsland

Jane Rowe ALP candidate for Gippsland

Labor Candidate for Gippsland, Jane Rowe has slammed the Federal Member for Gippsland, Peter McGauran for what she describes as "short changing the people of Gippsland and Victorian taxpayers".

By Jane Rowe - 28th October 2007 - Back to News

Gippsland ‘short changed’ by ‘tricky’ National Party road promise; Rowe

"VicRoads says the Coalition will need to provide a further $150 million to the second stage of the Princes Highway duplication between Sale and Traralgon in south-east Victoria.

Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile visited Gippsland on Friday to announce $250 million to build a dual carriageway between the two towns.

Brian Negus from the RACV says the project is reliant on State Government funding of $100 million.

"The normal deal for regional projects of this nature on the highway network is 80 to 20 [federal-state] and projects which are in metropolitan areas like the western ring road in Victoria, that would normally be 50-50," he said." ABC Gippsland 23/10/07

 

Labor Candidate for Gippsland, Jane Rowe has slammed the Federal Member for Gippsland, Peter McGauran for what she describes as "short changing the people of Gippsland and Victorian taxpayers".

 

Ms Rowe said that the funding promise made by the local National Party Member was ‘way below odds’ for contribution arrangements for such road projects in regional areas. Ms Rowe referred to the comments made by RACV spokesman and VicRoads Management who questioned both the apportionment and the level of funding announced last week,

 

"This ‘so called promise’ of the National Party is outrageous" said Ms Rowe,

 

"First of all it is at least $100m less than the figure required to make the promise a real commitment.  Further it short changes the Victorian and Gippsland taxpayer by asking for a far bigger proportion from the State Government than is the norm."

 

Ms Rowe said this was on top of the fact that Victorian tax payers were already being short changed by having only a fraction of their petrol taxes returned by the Federal Government in road funding.

 

Ms Rowe, who has spent a great deal of time as the leader of the region’s local government network lobbying the Federal and State governments for funding of Gippsland’s roads said that she had thought the figure quoted by Mr McGauran was ‘a bit sus’ when the scope of works was announced.

 

"But the comments by the RACV and VicRoads have confirmed what many of my colleagues in local Government already knew.  Mr McGauran and his National leader, Mark Vaille are simply ‘trying tho pull a swiftie’ on the people of Gippsland and particularly those who require a real commitment to fund the Sale – Traralgon duplication.  This is typical National Party trickery" Ms Rowe said.

 

Ms Rowe said that Federal Labor had been in discussions with their State counterparts to ensure that Labor’s commitment to the duplication of the Princes Highway would be funded to a level to ‘get the job done’ under Federal Labor’s ‘Auslink 2’ road transport policy.

 

She demanded Mr McGauran ‘find’ the missing Federal government money or come clean to the people of Gippsland that the National Party promise was under funded.


Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: howardw@aapt.net.au



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