Howard visit a waste, says Della Bosca

Minister for the Central Coast, Mr John Della Bosca, said the Prime Minister's visit to the Peninsula on Friday, May 7, avoided any mention of the federal issues that concern Central Coast residents.

He said he was extremely disappointed the Prime Minister made no announcement on the core issues of education, health or employment, just a boutique "crime prevention" program.

"The latest data shows every category of crime is stable or reducing on the Central Coast," said Mr Della Bosca.

"For example, break and enter is down 30 per cent in Dobell and shoplifting is down 20 per cent in Robertson.

"The NSW Government has increased local police numbers by more than 30 per cent and our drug programs are obviously working to assist in reducing crime.

"The Prime Minister didn't announce a crime prevention program.

"He announced a small pot of our money would be used to pay for little news stories for his local members during an election year.

"Instead, the Central Coast would prefer genuine Commonwealth assistance to restore funding for the Ourimbah campus. Why did we lose $1m because Newcastle University is not regional, when Wollongong is?

"The Central Coast would prefer he addressed the Central Coast's GP crisis, fix Telstra's pricing policy to help create local jobs, and relocate a Federal Government department to create local jobs, similar to the NSW Government's relocation of WorkCover.

"Either our local members aren't telling the Prime Minister what the region needs or the Prime Minister isn't listening.

"We need quality local jobs. We need local GPs who can afford to bulk bill, better Telstra pricing and service and funding for our university so our children get better jobs and local employers have a smarter workforce.

"The Prime Minister wasted our time and our money," he said.

Press release, May 7