Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to bring to the attention of the House the condition of the Princes Highway on the South Coast, which has led to the lives of eight people being lost in my electorate in just over a month. From New Year’s Eve to today, three accidents occurred on the winding road near East Lynne, killing six adults and two children. These tragic deaths have shaken the entire community, and they must not be in vain. The people of Gilmore know only too well that the Princes Highway is one of the greatest infrastructure challenges facing our region, and alarm bells should be sounding loud and clear to the state and federal Labor governments right now.

I have written to the Prime Minister twice this year calling for extraordinary funding to get the job done. When a similar situation arose during the time of the former government and there was a spate of accidents which claimed the lives of 26 people in just 12 months on the Princes Highway, I approached the Prime Minister of the day, John Howard, and said, ‘Enough is enough.’ We secured $20 million for upgrades, and I am asking for the same thing now. Whilst it is a state road, the New South Wales Labor government is clearly broke and has shown no interest in fixing the problem. Federal government intervention is needed to prevent any more lives being unnecessarily lost. This money would ideally assist the states to begin emergency realignment expansion work and to help with what has been described as an unforgiving stretch of road.

Not to be forgotten in all of this is the important role that the Batemans Bay District Hospital has played in treating crash victims who have sustained injuries. Given the demand that is being placed on it, it is only fitting that its diminished services and funding be recognised and no longer ignored by this government, as lives are at risk. With the growing population, strong tourism numbers and industry opportunities in our region, we cannot afford to send a message to the nation that visiting the South Coast or doing business there is unwise or unsafe due to a lack of services or infrastructure.

In short, there are three things that I am requesting: first, that Mr Rudd allocate $20 million from his stimulus spending, perhaps from the trouble-ridden pink batt program, to help address the Princes Highway black spots south of Nowra; and, second, that he visit the South Coast for the first time, take a drive down to the Princes Highway one Sunday afternoon and just see if he is comfortable with the bottlenecks that exist. Each accident causes many hours of delay, disrupting business and residents. Third, I am requesting that he deliver on his election promise to fix the health system and start by supporting Batemans Bay hospital, given its importance to the region, rather than dwindling its services into the ground.

My sentiments are not alone. There has been much written on the condition of the Princes Highway from Kiama to the Victorian border. The RTA, coronial inquiries, south-east Australian transport scheme members, community groups and even the NRMA, in their ‘fix our bloody road’ campaign, all concluded that the current level of funding is not adequate and attention is needed. Failure to do so leads to further tragedy.