Bathurst Electorate Investment

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-103119

Hansard session: Fifty-Sixth Parliament, First Session (56-1)

Bathurst Electorate Investment

Mr PAUL TOOLE (BathurstMinister for Lands and Forestry, and Minister for Racing) (13:00:02):

— Today I speak about the incredible investment that continues to be rolled out across the Bathurst electorate. This Government is developing for regional and rural communities, and this Government is making the investment that is impacting upon people's lives. Whether it is in the larger towns or in the villages, people in my electorate are receiving their fair share of funding. This Government has done the hard work to ensure that, whether people live in the city or live in the bush, they are getting their fair share of funding.

Today I take this opportunity to talk about a number of important projects being undertaken in my area. Last week the Government opened the $3 million upgrade of the Mid Western Highway at Blayney, a section of road known as Martha and Adelaide streets. This section of road had a very sharp bend, which meant that in the past a number of heavy vehicles rolled over. Members can imagine the carnage caused by the rolling of trucks that may be going to the saleyards or moving produce or freight. Approximately 4,000 vehicles use that section of road each and every day, and 10 per cent of those are heavy vehicles. This $3 million investment is part of the New South Wales Government's Safer Roads Program to make roads safer for the motorists who use those roads.

Another fantastic project I will mention is the Bathurst Base Hospital car park. An $800,000 investment will provide more than 70 parking spaces for residents who use Bathurst hospital. This will make a big difference for all users, be it the elderly, people with disabilities or people with young families. In the past they had to park a couple of blocks away from the hospital entrance and by the time they reached the hospital they were worn out. The Government is ensuring that this investment will assist people to use the hospital services all the time.

Millthorpe, another great little community just down the road from Blayney, has just received $45,000 from the New South Wales Government as part of the digitisation program. That funding will go to the Millthorpe and District Historical Society, which has more than 14,000 items in its museum collection. Over the next two years all the machinery and different items will be digitised to ensure that we capture the history of the region. The items will be photographed and then made available to those wanting to know the history of the Millthorpe community. Its extensive collection includes local Aboriginal and European arts, artefacts and historical family records that will all become part of the digitisation program that the Government is delivering. The electorate has a rich history, and this investment will ensure that this will be preserved not only for today's generation but also for future generations.

Last Friday I had the opportunity to visit the Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum, which has received a $100,000 investment from the New South Wales Government. The museum is run by a bunch of hardworking volunteers, and this grant will enable improvements to be made to the 1923 general machine shop building. It is currently not in use and, due to its state of disrepair, improvements will be made to the flooring, roofing, gutters and lighting, and offices will be demolished, retrofitted and generally cleaned up. Also in the electorate are the Lithgow Rifle Range, the Bathurst Pistol Club and the Bathurst Clay Target Club, all of which are receiving funding from the Government. Last week was a busy week, and I cannot wait to get back out there at the end of this week and see more investments that the Government is making.

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (13:05:10):

I thank the member for Bathurst for his great work in regional and rural New South Wales. I acknowledge the level of investment that this side of the House is providing to rural and regional New South Wales, including the recent announcement by the Premier and the Minister for Regional New South Wales of the emergency drought relief package of $500 million, which takes the total package to more than $1 billion over the past two years. We are seeing transport subsidies and the cutting of farming costs with the waiving of fees and charges, including local land service rates and fixed water charges. Counselling and mental health funding is being provided for those in rural and regional New South Wales, as well as funding for animal welfare and stock disposal and for critical services, including road infrastructure improvements. It shows that it is this side of the House that really cares when it comes to the people of rural and regional New South Wales.