Member for Orange Philip Donato has welcomed the announcement to secure the Castlereagh Corridor, but says it “still fails to deliver any real benefit to the people of the Central West.”
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Roads Minister Melinda Pavey announced, on Monday, March 26, the vital link between the Bells Line of Road at Kurrajong and the M7 Motorway would be preserved for future plans.
Mr Donato said the policy announcement came after his question in Parliament on February 8.
“I am pleased to see Roads Minister Pavey finally sees sense about securing the Bells Line corridor.
“Make no mistake – this is a direct response to my question in parliament. It’s a shame that it’s taken a lot of work to get her to stand up for the Central West on this issue,” Mr Donato said.
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But, he also said this announcement still didn’t help the region and it had been 11 years since Nationals MLC Duncan Gay promised to build the Bells Line Expressway.
“I’m astounded that Minister Pavey and her Government still won’t commit to anything tangible that directly leads to a new expressway through the Blue Mountains,” Mr Donato said.
“Minister Pavey said (during the announcement) that this is delivering to the people of the Central West.
“To unlock the potential and future prosperity of the Central West, Regional New South Wales requires an expressway in the foreseeable future,” he said.
Mr Donato said he will continue to push for more to be done on a Bells Line expressway over the Blue Mountains and called for an expressway over new Sydney sports stadiums.
“The Nationals have failed to deliver on their 2007 promise, and the people of the Central West can see that the plans to secure a corridor in Western Sydney will not deliver to meet their current needs.”
Government MPs from Central West electorates including Bathurst MP Paul Toole, Dubbo MP Troy Grant and Parliamentary Secretary for Western NSW Rick Colless have welcomed the move while Central NSW Councils chairman John Medcalf said the announcement was ‘a significant one.’
The announcement comes after NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley said the Bells Line Expressway will never be built by any NSW government but said the Nationals kept stringing the public along.