Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, has blasted the State Labor Government after it was this week revealed the Thurra River Bridge completion date has been put back yet again - now late 2025 - almost six years after the fire.
“The timeframe for completion of the Cape Conran Cabins and East Cape Boardwalk has also been removed. Far East Gippsland residents won’t believe this level of incompetence and lack of support,” Mr Bull said.
“Departmental staff have reliably informed me of this information, which is yet another example of the way this Labor government treats country regions.
“Seriously, how the hell can it take more than five years to build a bridge and not have a timeframe for important infrastructure works after three years?
“What is equally disappointing is the absolute rubbish this government feeds the community on the reasons for its uselessness, like ‘extensive pre-planning being required’ for the Thurra River Bridge.
“It’s a bridge. We built a bridge there 40 years ago and we build bridges in far more complex areas. The pre-planning should have been done in the first year and the tenders out in the marketplace before the end of 2020 – but the tenders are still not out three years later.
“Daniel Andrews has not been back since the fires, Upper House MP Harriet Shing has not been sighted in the area and they announce a candidate a week out from polling opening, who should have been here pushing for these outcomes months ago but stuck his hand up late because he wanted to avoid any heat.
“What this Labor Government does not seem to understand is the importance of this tourism infrastructure to the economies of places like Orbost, Marlo and Cann River.
“If we can get into Government later this month, one of the first things I will be doing is sitting down with these bureaucrats, getting this work moving and telling the community the truth on timeframes.”
Caption: Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, at the site of the Cape Conran cabins, which now have no completion date, while the Thurra River Bridge has now been delayed until 2025.
Monday, 14 November 2022
