Kiama MP Gareth Ward has used the floor of NSW parliament to continue his call for the federal government to help fund some of the Princes Highway upgrade.
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The completed highway upgrade at Gerringong and the almost-finished Berry bypass were funded entirely by the state government – a total cost of $920 million.
The third stage of the upgrades – from the southern end of the Berry bypass through to the Princes Highway-Moss Vale Road intersection at Bomaderry – is yet to be funded.
In parliament Mr Ward said he wanted to see the federal government put its hand into its pocket to help fund this last stage, pointing out it had already provided funding for Newell, Pacific and Bruce highways and the Princes Highway south of the Victorian border.
“I do not care which side of politics funds these things, and, quite frankly, I do not care which level of government does it,” Mr Ward said.
“I want to see investments in my electorate's roads delivered because it will make a real difference in people's lives.
“I do not want to see any more accidents on local roads. I do not want to go to any more funerals.”
This speech in parliament is the latest in a series of efforts to pull government funding for this section of the Princes Highway.
In November 2016, he moved a motion in parliament calling on both his own government and the one in Canberra to spring for the upgrade.
Late 2016 also saw him engage in a war of words with federal Gilmore MP Anne Sudmalis over federal funding.
At the time, Ms Sudmalis said “continued calls for the federal government to contribute to the work are doomed to fall on deaf ears because the state government has not done the background work required to make federal funding possible”.
In response, Mr Ward said he would be happy to take the issue to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull himself if the member for Gilmore wasn’t prepared to do so.