Labor carpark promise: Bill Shorten says he will spend $300 million
OPPOSITION Leader Bill Shorten chose a park near Gosford Railway Station to announce a massive spend-up he says will bring relief to thousands of commuters.
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OPPOSITION Leader Bill Shorten chose a park near Gosford Railway Station to announce a Labor Government’s $300 million spend on carparking.
Mr Shorten announced the National Park and Ride Fund for new or expanded car parks at public transport hubs, such as train stations.
The fund, with a successful Labor Government, will include 50-60 multistorey carparks or carpark extensions across Australia.
It will initially be rolled out on the Central Coast with $15 million to build new multistorey carparks at Gosford and Tuggerah Stations and an extension of the flat level carpark at Woy Woy Station.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Central Coast has the highest commuter rate in Australia with 120,000 people travelling via car or train each day. Carparks are full before 6.30am and many people are forced to leave their homes an hour earlier to snag a park, or cram nearby streets.
“The Government makes it very hard for them to catch the train,” Mr Shorten said at the park in front of Gosford Railway Station today.
“Car parks are full up by 6.30am. What on earth are people meant to do?”
Mr Shorten said he had heard from local commuters who had “just given up”.
“More than 30,000 people commute from the Central Coast to the city for work,” he said.
“Trying to find a park and missing out, or leaving home earlier than you should have to just find a car space, is a terrible way to start your working day.
“Too many residents on the Central Coast are frustrated at the lack of available parking at train stations as they travel into the city for work.”
Mr Shorten said the upgrades would result in 1000 new spaces across Woy Woy, Tuggerah and Gosford.
“We will work with Central Coast Council. We will talk to the local community and the police. We just want to get on with it; no more looking into everything and never doing anything. We just want to get it done.”
He said part of the proposal includes local apprenticeships, with one in 10 people involved in the local construction an apprentice.
When questioned about the latest polls showing a decline in Mr Shorten’s popularity, he said he didn’t like to comment on the polls.
“It’s an uphill battle, if we win it will be huge,” he said.
However he said when people see positive policies being rolled out, that’s when “we’ll win the next election.”
“My job is not to get distracted but no focus on the policies that affect people,” he said.
Dobell federal Labor MP Emma McBride and Robertson Labor candidate Anne Charlton have been talking to Mr Shorten about parking issues across the Coast for years.
“Every morning, Central Coast commuters compete for the same limited supply of car parks. Often, Coasties are forced to park kilometres away just to get a use Woy Woy or Gosford train station,” Ms Charlton said.
Ms McBride said today’s commitment benefits people, families and local jobs.
“This takes more people off the road and addresses safety concerns,” she said.
“Tuggerah station is getting busier, but the infrastructure isn’t keeping up with the growth in commuters.”
She said the nuts and bolts of the announcement would fall with the State Government and council, however she said with plans already in the works these projects could be finished in a “realistic time frame”.