This Week Town & Country: Election Promises
1. IN THE CBD.
The major cities in each State have been receiving full attention from the political leaders as they have the major marginal seats. It is these marginal seats that are funded. For example, the Epping to Parramatta railway line was not on the State Government plan for the next ten years. But it is a Seat the Government feared the Liberals would win. So Prime Minister Gillard, without full consultation with the State Government planners, promised $2.5 billion to build the railway as soon as the State puts up the first $500 million.
Considering the State Government doesn’t have $500 million to spend anywhere, this was a strange request. It was like a teenage boy pestering his father to buy him a sports car for $100,000, and the father agreeing provided the teenager paid the first $10,000! Some hope that the sports car will ever be purchased! The father gave the promise but knew his money was safe!
That is the sort of promise that fools some people in marginal seats. But that is typical of many promises made.
2. ON THE CENTRAL COAST.
In the country, citizens get angry when all the promises and money flow to the marginal seats in the large cities. Neither leader has come up with any vision for our rural communities. Bridges over every watercourse need replacing. Rail infrastructure for the transport of wheat needs to be replaced. Major roads need to be upgraded. Employment for rural youth, perhaps to be trained as ambulance drivers to keep the services in town, and the retention and rebuilding of rural hospitals, are priorities. At least some cancer clinics are needed in the country, and seat belts on school busses, and prohibitions against using fine agricultural land for open cut mining or building dams for water in the cities.
The water buyback scheme so wanted by urban Greens, ignores the needs of farmers and irrigators. The plan for the Murray Darling was put off being announced until after the election. Local issues were not accurately addressed at all. They are ignored.
Take, for example, the need for a stadium for our local soccer team. On a visit by the Prime Minister to gain support for her party in the marginal seat of Robertson, she announced a new stadium would be built by the Government for the Mariners Soccer team at a cost to taxpayers of $10.2 million. What no-one in the Federal Government seems to understand is that the Mariners is a privately owned business run by shareholders who are the only ones likely to financially benefit from a larger stand enabling a bigger paying crowd.
Meanwhile the athletics track owned by the community has no stand at all and the area where people have to stand is a quagmire. Every school in the community uses this field, and it is in use every day. Local issues are ignored by politicians as their seats are not marginal.
Elections should be the time of visionary plans for the nation as a whole, and when promises are made they should be relevant and costed accurately. That has not happened in this election.
Rev The Hon Dr Gordon Moyes, A.C., M.L.C.