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If ever there was an argument for reducing the number of levels of government and meddling bureaucrats it is in the complete debacle unfolding regarding the Barton Highway duplication.
Readers will have read with dismay the litany of confused and contradictory statements made by various public figures on this issue in recent articles in the Tribune.
The full public consultation regarding the design for the duplication which was held in 2010/2011, details of which are available on the Yass Valley Council and NSW Roads and Maritime Services websites, appears to have been forgotten. The whole process appears to be starting again.
There is no longer any mention of the safety study.
However, there was mention of a proposed commencement date for the duplication of, wait for it, literally 2038.
All this is just a smoke screen to cover the cold hard reality that the Liberal Party has no intention whatsoever of allocating funds to the Barton Highway anytime in the foreseeable future. Why? Because Hume is a safe Liberal seat.
The Member for Hume, Angus Taylor, has failed to make his case with his own party. If he cannot even get a petition organised in the proper form to be tabled in Parliament or arrange for the safety study to proceed, which he himself announced, or be engaged enough with the issue to ensure that the terms of reference for the steering committee were sensible from the outset, then what hope does he have of obtaining funding for the duplication? I would suggest very little.
So much for being a strong voice in a good government.
James Harker-Mortlock
Yass