Dubbo MP Troy Grant and his Nationals colleagues have welcomed the government’s announcement it will spend the $4.15 billion proceeds from the sale of NSW’s share of the Snowy Mountains Scheme exclusively on regional projects.
Although they didn’t say what projects they would like in their electorates, Mr Grant said he had “$4.2 billion worth of ideas” after Friday’s announcement.
“We’ve had discussions within Nationals party room after we were given assurances every cent of that transaction would be spent in regional NSW,” Mr Grant said.
“We will consult with our communities and take that back to government and then structure that into a way to make sure every cent in the right places on the right projects for the right reasons.”
The $4.15 billion from the sale of its share of the Snowy Mountain Scheme could make a lot of difference if used solely in regional NSW, Orange MP Phil Donato says but he remains sceptical about how it will pan out.
The Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party member said people shouldn’t expect to see the funds being distributed until much closer to the election campaign, and even then he said people should be wary about whether it arrive.
“I would question whether regional NSW will see every dollar,” Mr Donato said.
“The National Party has a history of making promises and not keeping them.”
Mr Donato compiled a wishlist for his electorate including flood proofing for the Newell Highway, more palliative care and improved road and rail links between the Central West and Sydney.
However he said he was worried about the initial transaction, where the Australian government bought NSW’s 58 per cent share in the Snowy Hydro Scheme for $4.1 billion and Victoria’s 29 per cent share for $2 billion.
“I think there are always concerns about the sale of state assets and my big concern is have the state government sold it too cheaply,” he said.
“There were reports the federal government was prepared to pay up to $8 billion and they only had to pay $6 billion so I have concerns that we didn’t get bang for our buck.”
Bathurst MP Paul Toole described the the Snowy sale as a “once-in-a-generation fund”.
“I will be talking directly to the Premier, the Deputy Premier and consulting with the community to make sure the proceeds of this sale is invested in infrastructure that will improve the lives of people living in the Central West for generations to come,” he said.
“Snowy Hydro is an iconic project and a symbol of great achievement for people living in regional NSW and we will make sure we invest in projects that honour that legacy.”
This story MP shares wishlist for $4b windfall | Poll first appeared on Daily Liberal.
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