Off and racing - Yass Tribune

Feb. 6, 2013, 4 a.m.

Julia Gillard’s shock election announcement was still sinking in, when one local candidate came out swinging.

Independent Hume candidate James Harker-Mortlock accused the Liberals of dropping the Barton Highway off its priority list.

Mr Harker-Mortlock said it was in violation of the Coalition’s 2007 election promise.

He said the Liberal Party had recently published its intention to support other billion-dollar road projects if elected, but had made no mention of the Barton.

The Liberal publication ‘Our Plan – Real Solutions for All Australians’ lists major road projects such as the $1.5 billion WestConnex Sydney, $1.5 billion East-West Link Melbourne, $1 billion Gateway Motorway Brisbane, $400 million Midland Highway Tasmania duplication, the Toowoomba Range crossing and the $5.6 billion Pacific Highway duplication.

Liberal Hume candidate Angus Taylor dismissed the allegation as a political stunt, saying the publication was not intended to be an exhaustive policy document.

“The Barton Highway always was, is and will be a priority for the Coalition.

“The plan we have put out is a directions and priorities document. It doesn’t include all our policies and initiatives.” The party would be publishing those after May’s budget, he said.

Mr Taylor said he had been door-knocking in Yass and Murrumbateman recently and knew how strongly residents felt about the Barton issue.

“I’ll be driving on it myself today, and I’m well aware of the need to fix this road,” he told the Tribune on Monday.

“The problem with the Barton Highway is very serious but demands from independents who can’t deliver anything are irrelevant,” he said.

“It’s time for independents and other parties to explain how they will deliver and commit to these things.”

Katter’s Australian Party candidate for Hume, Bruce Nicholson, said the Barton was an issue he would support and fight for.

“It was originally costed at $270 million and the Liberals are talking about three major road projects that are $1.5 billion each – so surely $270 million for the Barton Highway is a small amount [by comparison].”

He wondered whether residents would consider temporary toll gates erected as each section was built. State government funding was another option worth considering, he said.

Christian Democratic Party candidate Adrian van der Byl said he’d support the Barton being funded but it seemed unlikely while the carbon issue was attracting so much attention.

“In my considered opinion, if the government stopped spending on fraudulent carbon dioxide abatement schemes we’d have a lot more money for it,” he told the Tribune.

Labor is yet to announce its candidate. Yass branch president David Grant said someone had been chosen but the party was awaiting formal process before making the announcement. He said the party would continue to treat the Barton duplication as an important priority.