Who doesn’t love a good byelection?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Across the state, byelections, whether won by the government or minor parties seem to attract all kinds of political celebrities bearing gifts.
Sure, a cynic might say it’s just fertiliser to ensure the votes grow – but regional communities aren’t really in the position to sit back and reject large bags of cash being thrown around.
And there’s always questions to be asked about when, and how those promises are delivered because, if they have been made, it’s our fair expectation that they get delivered.
What’s interesting though, is what is promised to voters during byelections.
Thanks to Daryl Maguire’s resignation, the government has a fight on its hands for the seat of Wagga Wagga.
If you go by tradition, government’s don’t generally win byelections but then again, in the age of Trump and Brexit, nobody has time to predict results.
There’s no doubt the ALP and independents are going to make life hard for the Liberals in Wagga.
Enter the NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard who has promised $30 million for a multi-storey car park at the hospital this week to solidify support for the Liberals.
Meanwhile, in Griffith, we’re still waiting for official confirmation that the next stage of our Griffith Base Hospital re-development has been funded by the state government.
Now obviously, the government can distribute the trinkets and finances as they see fit, to where it will do the most benefit.
And anyone who’s tried to get a car park at Wagga’s fancy new hospital – including Griffith and MIA residents, know the struggle.
It’ll be great once it’s done.
But here we are, wondering if the second stage of Griffith Base Hospital’s re-development will definitely receive funding.
We; patients, staff and residents, don’t want to be faced with a wait that can be measured in decades.
It’s going to be a tough slog for our incumbent Member for Murray Austin Evans, who is going to have to delicately balance the state government’s ability to deliver on his promises, and the ones made by his predecessor Adrian Piccoli. And people will be pointing to that $30 million promise made in the east.
With a state election in March 2019, there’s little time to make sure the issues which are important get the attention, and funding they deserve.