CATHERINE KING MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
MEMBER FOR BALLARAT

MERYL SWANSON MP
MEMBER FOR PATERSON

WHY IS SCOTT MORRISON IGNORING HUNTER INFRASTRUCTURE?

Scott Morrison needs to urgently bring forward spending on the Pacific Highway extension to Raymond Terrace to boost the local economy.

Yesterday, the IMF joined the call for Mr Morrison to provide fiscal stimulus and invest in infrastructure to support the Australian economy.

Areas in Paterson like Beresfield and Raymond Terrace have almost double the national unemployment rate. With Mr Morrison overseeing horrendous jobs figures, the need for a boost to local jobs couldn’t be more urgent.

Mr Morrison could visit Raymond Terrace tomorrow and put a shovel in the ground to start the proposed extension of the M1 Pacific Highway.

The NSW Government has called for the extension to be fast tracked. Scott Morrison should stop delaying and work with the state government to bring forward this project to stimulate jobs.

Bills are going up while jobs are harder to come by, and Scott Morrison is sitting on his hands.

For those who live in the Hunter but outside of Newcastle the median job search time has risen from 19 weeks when Labor left office to an extraordinary 37 weeks on this Government’s watch.

That means people in Maitland, Kurri Kurri and Port Stephens spend on average an agonising eight-and-a-half months searching for work.  

It’s harder to find a job, and people looking for work are being forced to live on $40 a day from Newstart – a rate the Prime Minister has repeatedly refused to raise.

With the cost of living rising and wages stagnant, it’s time the Prime Minister took action.

The failure to fast track infrastructure is further evidence the Morrison Government does not have a plan to stimulate an economy that is floundering on its watch.

THURSDAY, 17 OCTOBER 2019

Authorised by Paul Erickson, ALP, Canberra