MEMBER for Murray Helen Dalton has called on NSW Premier Chris Minns to explain why her electorate will only receive a “paltry” $400,000 from the State Government’s recently-announced $202 million regional road safety funding.
The funding was announced by the Premier as part of round two of the government’s Towards Zero Roads Program.
“The program is called Towards Zero, and when it comes to funding, that’s just about what they have given us,” Ms Dalton said.
“This paltry allocation will do nothing to address the dangerous and deadly roads in my electorate.”
Ms Dalton said the funding for Murray would fail to make roads in the electorate safer.
“The government says it is committed to saving lives on rural and regional roads, but I can assure you, no one will be safer on our roads because this $400,000 will barely be enough to fill the countless potholes we have to put up with every time we drive our cars,” she said.
“What about the Swan Hill bridge? What about the Tooleybuc bridge? Where is the money to make these bridges safer and functional?
“It’s almost as if the government values the safety of drivers in Bathurst and Dubbo more than they care about the lives of the people of Murray.”
Ms Dalton has asked Mr Minns to urgently review the funding levels, or to find more funding so that rural seats like Murray can get a “fair share”.
“If the Premier wants to get the tragic road toll down to zero, he has to fix the roads right across the state,” she said. “He should not just be focussing on more populated regional areas where there are more votes to be won.
“Every single life should matter to this government, regardless of where that person lives.”
