The Central Coast’s Labor MPs say the NSW State Budget handed down on June 24 is focussed on delivering on commitments for the region, building better essential services and infrastructure and investing to grow the economy.
MPs David Harris (Wyong), Yasmin Catley (Swansea), David Mehan (The Entrance) and Liesl Tesch (Gosford) say it builds on strong foundations already laid to continue building a better NSW for all.
“We have been working meticulously to deliver better essential services that people rely on, to build the homes and infrastructure we need and investing to grow the economy to continue setting up our fast-growing region for long-term prosperity,” Harris, who is also Minister for the Central Coast, said.
Catley said better healthcare, more preschool places for young families and critical upgrades to local roads would benefit the Central Coast.
“We’ve made significant progress since coming to government – but we know there’s more to do, and this budget keeps us moving in the right direction,” she said.
Tesch said the Government’s third budget is all about building on the groundwork already laid for a brighter future for the Central Coast, investing in essential services while navigating responsible financial management.
“After over a decade of budget mismanagement by the former Liberal-National government, this budget continues to make meaningful investment in the foundations of our community, upgrading major roads, strengthening emergency services, and improving education for all,” she said.
While acknowledging there is more to do, the MPs highlighted region-specific budget spends.
In the area of health, budget commitments will continue the $200M stage 3 redevelopment of the Wyong Hospital, including a new Carer Support Unit, Nunyara Aboriginal Health Unit, Women’s Centre Clinics and workspaces for medical staff.
It cements commitments of $6.4M for Wyong Hospital’s Cancer Day Unit expansion and $1.7M to expand NSW Pathology services at the hospital.
The MPs said works have commenced on the new Wyong Palliative Care Unit and the new Lisarow Ambulance Station would be developed as part of the continuing $615.5M NSW Ambulance Infrastructure Program.
More broadly, they said Coast residents would benefit from $83M in new funding to boost maternity services across NSW and $864,138 in additional funding for First Nations-led suicide prevention initiatives.
In the field of education, the MPs said the budget would see upgrades to high schools at Lisarow and Narara Valley, the delivery of public preschools at Tuggerawong and Umina Beach public schools, and $10.2M towards upgrading facilities and aligning course delivery across the three Central Coast TAFE campuses.
In the area of transport and roads, the budget contains funding through various NSW and Australian Government-funded projects, including: continuing the NSW Government’s $84M commitment to begin work on the $420M Wyong Town Centre upgrade; $75M for the Terrigal Dr upgrade; $50.7M to continue the upgrade of Avoca Dr in Kincumber; $47.8 million to continue the Tumbi Rd and Central Coast Hwy intersection upgrade; $29M to continue planning and design for the Gosford Bypass; and $15M for the Empire Bay Dr Intersection Strategy.
The MPs said the region will also benefit from a $150M state-wide investment to expand bus routes in regional areas and the outer suburbs of Sydney.
In the planning, housing and infrastructure sphere, they said the Central Coast will benefit from a $3.4B investment in TAFE and skills funding, including fee-free construction apprenticeships over the next two years and a $13.8M Construction Workforce Package to upskill 4,800 workers into residential construction jobs over the next two years.
The budget includes $6M over two years to explore design and delivery of short-term public domain improvements for the Gosford waterfront while continuing to investigate long-term planning.
Housing initiatives to benefit the region include: extending tax concessions for new build-to-rent housing developments; releasing draft guidelines to speed up the delivery of homes and infrastructure; and a $10,000 grant for eligible first home buyers of a newly built house, townhouse and apartment below $600,000 or land and new house package below $750,000.
The MPs say cost of living relief will be provided through: extension of the $150 energy bill relief payment to the end of 2025; continuing assistance in energy bill payment eligible concession card holders, Family Tax Benefit recipients, seniors and others who rely on mechanical and life support equipment; water rebates for eligible pension and Department of Veterans’ Affairs card holders and community organisations; a 30% discount on the upfront cost of installing small-scale battery systems for eligible households and small businesses; increased solar battery discounts; and expanded free access to national parks for Commonwealth Veteran Card holders.
“In addition, the Government has reached multi-year pay agreements with employees including school and TAFE teachers, police, correctional officers, school support staff and paramedics,” they said.
What real improvements are being made to our lives, like speeding up train connections between the Central Coast and Sydney? This could be achieved by straightening the tracks or upgrading the signalling to allow faster train speeds.
Honestly, I’d settle for better track maintenance and proper traffic lights near the Woy Woy level crossing. I’m fairly certain that at least the maintenance has been well underway for a while now, and traffic lights is something we might be able to get Council to sort themselves.
Signalling upgrades won’t make much of a difference to us, since most of our speed limits come from track geometry. Maybe south of Hornsby, we could see some improvements, but we already make very good time from there onwards.
As far as track straightening goes, the main speed limiter for our trains is the section between Woy Woy and Hornsby. The tracks could maybe be straightened between Brooklyn and Cowan, but what we really need is a bypass tunnel that skips the climb to Hornsby. Fastrack Australia suggests Brooklyn to Epping, which I think is an amazing idea that could easily shave 30+ minutes off a commute, but it’s also a 28km tunnel – that’s a full-on flagship election policy, not something you just randomly announce in a midterm budget.
Our public transport into Sydney is fine. If you don’t want to pay $27 each way in tolls, a drive and a train takes almost the same amount of time, and train users also don’t have to pay for a park. What we need more is public transport improvements within the Central Coast, and THAT is something we are being delivered. Yes, the budget has some shortfalls, but this isn’t one of them.