NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley put a call out to the NSW Government to fix Main Road at Testers Hollow during a tour of flood-affected areas of the Hunter Valley on Tuesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr. Foley said that the road at Testers Hollow needs to be improved to prevent Gillieston Heights from being trapped again as it was in the April storms.
“It is entirely possible to prevent a repeat of the situation where a couple of thousand people are literally cut off from surrounding areas,” he said.
“Fixing this road here would ensure we don’t have a repeat of that situation.”
“The most important thing that the government can do for this community here is fix this road so never again are 2000 people cut off from the wider surrounding community.”
While Mr. Foley said he did not know what exactly needs to be done to fix Main Road, he said that Labor members in state parliament “will be keeping Mr Baird and all of his colleagues on their toes” to push to improve the road.
Mr. Foley also visited Gillieston Heights itself as well as Lochinvar to see the effect of the storm for himself, and thanked the local volunteers and communities for their efforts during the storms.
“While the flooding has subsided, some residents are still facing an uphill battle to restore their homes,” he said.
“I would like to thank the hundreds of SES and RFS volunteers as well as local charities for such a tremendous effort during and after the storms and subsequent flooding.”
“The response to this powerful natural disaster shows the resilience of the people of the Hunter.”
Mr. Foley also said that from the visit he will be taking back a message to the insurance companies to ensure they are responding to affected areas with a far greater sense of urgency.
Cessnock MP Clayton Barr said that fixing the road at Testers Hollow would not only be beneficial for the people of Gillieston Heights, but for the thousands of people who use the road every day.
Mr. Barr said that a State Emergency Service report was completed over 12 months ago regarding Testers Hollow, but the results of that report have not yet been released.
“The silence is very frustrating,” Mr Barr said.
He said he would like the roads minister to have a conversation with the public about possible options and costs to fix the problem.
“They need to share that with the community,” he said.
“That road is key to people accessing the Hunter Expressway.”
“That’s a lot of inconvenience to a lot of people.”
Testers Hollow is on the agenda at this Wednesday night’s Cessnock City Council meeting.
The report recommends that general manager Stephen Glen makes representation to RMS seeking urgent action to make Testers Hollow flood-free; and that council considers making further representation to state ministers and Members of Parliament in relation to the matter.
RELATED COVERAGE
