Google AI
The Times Australia

Letter to the Editor - Hon Darren Chester MP

  • Written by: The Times
Darren Chester MP


The Albanese Government is putting lives at risk on our local roads because of stalled safety projects and a failure to deliver the funding our communities have been promised.

Halfway through the Albanese Government’s term, local council and community groups have no idea if vital road safety and infrastructure projects will ever proceed, thanks to an incompetent Minister.

The Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Catherine King has been a huge disappointment for local councils which rely heavily on Federal Government grants to help fund major projects.

If you see a grader, a bulldozer, or a crane at work on a major public project anywhere in Australia today, you can be sure of one thing, the current Federal Minister had absolutely nothing to do with providing the funding.

Should we be surprised about this failure to deliver any new projects given this year’s budget speech didn’t contain a single mention of the word ‘infrastructure’?

Instead of guaranteeing funding for projects, Minister King announced a 90-day review of the Infrastructure Investment Program but conveniently excluded all Labor election promises from the process.

More than 150 days later, we still haven’t heard the outcomes of the review and communities are waiting to find out whether the funding which was promised, and included in the previous government’s budgets, will ever be delivered.

Nothing is getting cheaper by waiting, and when the Minister finally makes some decisions, there’s no doubt that local council community projects will need to be re-scoped, and less road safety initiatives will be undertaken.

So we are in limbo as Australia experiences a spike in road trauma, and motorists endure pot-holed roads, while the responsible Federal Minister ponders her review.

Australia

Families Australia Calls for National Action: 44,000 Children in Care as Australia Faces Growing Foster Carer Shortage

A national coalition of child and family organisations, carers and advocates brought 440 pairs of children’s sho...

Coptic New Year Celebrated at NSW Parliament, Recognising the Contribution of Coptic Australians

The event provided an opportunity to celebrate Coptic faith and heritage while recognising the significant and div...

Times Magazine

Melbourne Local Steps Outside Her Comfort Zone to Compete for Miss World Australia 2027

From working in Melbourne real estate, building a career and now stepping into the Miss World Prel...

Award-Winning Author Cara Barilla Writes I Pray for My Teachers to celebrate Sydney Catholic Schools

Following her recognition as the winner of the 2024 Christian Literature Book Awards, Australian aut...

Technology

MISSION 1, MISSION 1 PRO and MISSIO…

Today, GoPro, Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRO) announced that its MISSION 1 Series of compact cinema cameras ha...

Local News

Fitstop Global Games to Bring 1,000…

The Australian-born fitness brand is bringing its global competition home, with athletes from across...

Culture

Australians Know Exercise Boosts Mental Healt…

Australians know exercise can improve their mental wellbeing, but new research from Australia’s se...

Travel

School holiday pricing: fair market economics…

Every Australian family with school-aged children knows the pattern. Look at an airfare, hotel ro...

The Times Features

Australians Know Exercise Boosts Mental Health, but Tur…

Australians know exercise can improve their mental wellbeing, but new research from Australia’s se...

Australia Celebrates 10 Years of World Wellness Weekend…

Australian wellness destinations brought together movement, relaxation, sound and mindful experience...

The 2027 Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash

AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST OUTBACK MUSIC EVENT UNVEILS A MONSTER 2027 LINEUP The 2027 Broken Hill Mundi ...