Editorial: Coffs bypass is a win for NSW

“The only downside to the Coffs Harbour bypass,” the Treasurer admits, “is you won’t be able to drive past the Big Banana anymore.”

There’s still many good reasons to stop at Coffs. Picture: Destination NSW

IN just about every budget decision, governments have to balance competing interests. In most decisions, there will inevitably be a downside.

The aim is for the benefits to outweigh the negatives. In the case of the much-needed Coffs Harbour bypass, the benefits finish comfortably in front.

Treasurer Scott Morrison will today announce $971 million in federal funding for the Coffs Harbour bypass, which will enable drivers to avoid 12 sets of traffic lights on that increasingly busy stretch of road. Additionally, this major project will create some 10,000 jobs.

The bypass on the Pacific Highway is crucial for several reasons. Uppermost in the Treasurer’s mind is the need to reduce the road toll.

Tourist will have to turn off to see Coff Harbour’s famous Big Banana. Picture: AAP

“Most importantly, (it will) mean safer travel both for people who live locally up around Coffs, but also for those making the trip up the coast or down the coast,” Morrison explained.

Anyone who has recently visited the area will testify as to the region’s rapid growth. Of all NSW’s regions, Coffs Harbour is among those most needing large-scale road upgrades.

So much for the positives, then. What about the negatives?

“The only downside to the Coffs Harbour bypass,” the Treasurer admitted, “is you won’t be able to drive past the Big Banana anymore.”

It’s an inconvenience most of us can surely live with. And at least it will still be there. As for the rest of the government’s planned $24 billion in spending on road and rail projects, it is notable that NSW will at least in this round not receive as great a share as in previous years.

According to Morrison, this is entirely due to the cyclic nature of transport infrastructure spending.

“In previous years the complaint from the other states was that NSW was getting much more and so, these things are done over 10 years, and phased over different periods,” he said.

“I always used to say, that you went up into southern Queensland, if you wanted to know where all the earthmoving equipment is, it’s down in NSW building roads courtesy of what was then the Baird government and now the Berejiklian government.”

Very well. NSW can probably cope with a slight short-term drop in spending by comparison to the other states. But the government would be wise not to make a habit of it.

Sad tale of beer with no pub

Slim Dusty sang of the pub with no beer. These days we’ve got plenty of beer — but no pubs.

More than 70 NSW pubs have closed down during the past three years. As Ray White agent Andrew Jolliffe points out, older pubs are “typically located on corner sites on retail high streets or in very visual areas”.

Get in quick if you want a beer at your local. Picture: AAP

This is what made those pubs so popular. But it is now what makes them such prized targets for residential development.

If you want to enjoy a drink at your local, you’d best be quick about it.

Light rail first, then planet

Clean your room,” advises Canadian clinical psychologist and author Jordan Peterson, a recent visitor to our shores. By that, he means take care of your immediate responsibilities before you attempt to take on bigger challenges. As a matter of priority, improve what you are able to improve.

It’s a very sensible approach and one that could stand to be adopted by more than a few of our politicians.

Or, for that matter, by a certain Spanish light rail construction company.

Liam Hemsworth in Acciona’s celebrity-backed climate change campaign. Picture: Facebook

Acciona, the Spanish concern building Sydney’s $2.1 billion light rail system seemingly one millimetre at a time, has now launched a celebrity-led campaign to save the planet.

“I’ve been invited to be a part of Acciona’s new initiative to start a conversation about climate change and how it affects life as we know it on planet Earth,” actor Liam Hemsworth says in a new Facebook endorsement.

Here’s a good way for Acciona to improve life on this planet. Finish the damn light rail system. Consider it the transport version of cleaning your room.