It’s a story we write too often. Another tragedy on the Princes Highway on Friday morning brings into stark focus the need to improve the road on which all of us in the southern Shoalhaven rely.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Once again, people’s friend, family member and colleague has been lost.
Earlier in the week, South Coast MP Shelley Hancock called on the federal government to apply the same funding rules for the Pacific Highway applied to the Princes Highway. She wants to see it duplicated all the way from the Jervis Bay turnoff to Batemans Bay.
Gilmore MP Ann Sudmalis says she will press for the federal government to at least fund highway improvements on a 50/50 state-federal arrangement. Both politicians say this may have to wait until work on the Pacific Highway upgrade is complete.
We say it can’t wait. There have been too many lives taken and lives should be the priority, not questionable stadium rebuilds in Sydney or massive corporate tax cuts. We’re tired of the political football road funding has become. We recognise driver behaviour is a big road safety issue but know fatalities are less likely on dual carriageways.
In others news, this week saw the official rollout of the $20 million South Coast Regional Jobs and Investment Package. Cuppitt’s Winery received more than $1.5 million, which will enable it to expand the business and create 20 new jobs.
A call by South Coast MP Shelley Hancock to ban students’ smart devices from school grounds caught my eye. I reckon it’s a great step towards curbing cyberbullying and encouraging direct communication between children. I’d love your thoughts, via letters to the editor.
Catch you next week
