Barnaby says new bridge is paramount to region’s economy
AS SCABBING FLAT bridge has begun to be a hot topic in the Central West, politicians have been visiting to learn what the fuss is all about.
With the state election only four months away, One Nation took particular interest with a visit by the Party’s Barnaby Joyce and the One Nation candidate for the Legislative Council (Upper House) Stuart Bonds of Singleton recently.
The pair were met by Scabbing Flat Bridge Association chair Michelle Tomkins with farmers, transporters and the local rural fire service representatives, who explained their predicament due to the mending of an antiquated river crossing.
Mr Bonds said that on the other side of this pinchpoint bridge was 450,000 hectares of farming land.
“It’s all grain, fodder and fibre growing country,” he said.
“It’s over one million tonnes a year that should be going over this bridge. But instead, it’s going 70 kilometres around. That’s at least 2000 B-Doubles that run through Dubbo or Wellington meaning millions of litres of extra fuel is being burnt and thousands of hours of extra trucks on the road that shouldn’t be.
“They should be able to go straight over this bridge, three kilometres down the road to Geurie and then on the highway and off on their way to port.
“So, what do you think the solution is?
“A new bridge – it’s a simple as that.”
Mr Bond said the state government allocated $1.8 billion dollars to improve the highway from the New England to out here for their wind turbines, but they stopped short when they come here for a bridge for our farmers.
“So, I think it’s pretty piss-weak, let’s go look for a couple of coins under their lounge for a new bridge.”
Barnaby Joyce was forthright in his approach.
“To make a nation work you’ve got to have people making a buck, and not the swindle factories, but your farmers and graziers producing grain here,” he said.
You’ve got wheat, barley, canola, and I imagine they’ve got fat lambs and cattle as well.
“However, if you can’t move your product you can’t get paid and the further you move it the less you get as return. So what we’ve got to set up is a fund to fix bridges [like Scabbing Flat]. And if you ask me where I’m going to get the money from, I’ve found $8.7 billion a year for you.
“It’s out of the climate change department which we [One Nation] are going to get rid of.
“And after we get rid of the climate change department and the duplication of environmental efficiencies, we’ll have a lot of money to be able to do things that don’t actually send us broke, but actually make this nation money.”