Pacific Highway: Political jam on the highway to hell in NSW budget


BELLINGEN Shire mayor Mark Troy has a simple message for the state and federal politicians who continue to bicker over funding for one of Australia's deadliest stretches of road: your failure to fix the Pacific Highway is costing lives.

Mr Troy can recite the names of dozens of innocent Australians who have been killed on his section of the highway on the NSW north coast during the course of his eight-year stint as mayor.


COMMENT: The Pacific Highway will remain the worst major road in the southern hemisphere until the NSW Government makes a serious commitment to its upgrading.  Lives are being lost by the obfuscation and dilly-dallying which has become the hallmark of the NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell.  The Federal Government has a role to play in funding the upgrade but if the recalcitrance of the New South Wales government continues, the Federal Government should do the entire job and deduct the cost from the Federal grants which the NSW State government gets from its Federal counterpart each year. - PaulGTully@gmail.com


13.6.12