Member for Murray Helen Dalton is trying to "take credit" for the NSW Budget, according to Deputy Premier John Barilaro.
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His remarks came in response to comments made by Mrs Dalton, who said: "it seems a change of vote can make a difference - I'm pleased to see a commitment for a new Griffith Community Centre in the NSW Budget, and funding for a new Griffith Base Hospital."
Mr Barilaro said the community centre and hospital funding were both National Party promises, and that Mrs Dalton was trying to take credit for them.
"The NSW Nationals announced funding for the Griffith Community Centre and the Griffith Base Hospital in the last term of government, well before Helen Dalton was elected," Mr Barilaro said.
He said The Nationals were making good on promises made during the last election campaign, and that the budget was concrete proof of that.
He said the 2019/20 budget boasted "record amounts" of cash for regional infrastructure projects, including $41 million for projects in and around Griffith.
"Helen Dalton is trying to rewrite history and take credit for the hard work of other people," Mr Barilaro said.
"These are projects that she could never come close to delivering."
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Mrs Dalton stood by her comments, saying that the funding was only promised in the first place because she'd made Murray a swing seat.
"I am trying to take credit for it, that's the truth," Mrs Dalton said.
"If we had been a safe Nationals seat like we have been for 35 years, we would have received nothing. We needed to be a highly contested seat to get funding, and that's why I ran."
The budget was, by all accounts, an unprecedented cash splash the likes of which Griffith hadn't seen in decades. It included $5.6 million to seal Boorga and Dickie Roads, $300,000 for a Griffith Citrus Centre of Excellence, and $1.2 million for the refurbishment of Griffith Court, just to name a few.
But Mrs Dalton said there was a lot of catching up to do after what she considers decades of neglect.
"Our roads and hospitals are falling to bits in the bush, and we need to get ourselves up to speed because we're a long way behind," she said.
"Our health, education and transport infrastructure are still light years behind Sydney standards, and a few million here and there won't fix that."
Her main gripes were a lack of funding allocation figure for Murrumbidgee Regional High and the hospital redevelopment, which she says is "moving far too slowly".
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