Mayor Glenn Wall and Dungog Council staff have been working with the State Government for three years to ensure Dungog Shire isn’t left out in the cold should the Tillegra Dam proceed or not.
“It isn’t rocket science that the poor state of our roads is the biggest hurdle to attracting tourism and business to the shire,” said Mayor Glenn Wall.
Although there are no thankyous thrown around when you are in the job as mayor, Cr Wall remains confident that council has done everything it possibly can when it comes to seeking road funding, however has been criticised by some.
“It is fair to say that a minority of people have criticised council for its patience and efforts working with the State Government for so long, Cr Wall said.
“I am a believer that in the current circumstances it is not the right approach to throw stones at the government and then expect the government to turnaround and provide you with funding for such things as roads. It doesn’t work like that.”
“We are not in a very strong negotiating position – we are a small council and we compete with much larger regional and city councils for every dollar we secure for roads.
“So we need to work with the State and Federal Government to ensure we are in the best position possible and allow us to capitalise on any benefits and opportunities which present themselves.
“If people think this is the easy way they are kidding themselves.”
The Mayor will be meeting with Minister for Roads David Campbell and Minister for The Hunter Jodi McKay today in an effort to further push the state government into funding the proposed upgrade of the Dungog to Raymond Terrace Road.
“We are seeking a total of $20 million in funding from the State and Federal Governments to upgrade the Dungog to Raymond Terrace Road,” Cr Wall said.
“If we are successful in receiving this funding we can then divert funds we have targeted for this road and use these funds to repair and upgrade other regional roads in the shire.”
Council is well aware that the exhibition period for the environmental assessment of Tillegra Dam is over and time is becoming critical in the negotiating process for securing funding for roads.
“At this stage I believe because of the efforts of council we couldn’t be in a better position to secure funds and we are keen to outline our situation with Minister Campbell today to initiate the $20 million funding process and therefore improve the condition of our roads in the shire.
“If we can secure some of the $20 million it puts us in a very good position to receive further funding from the Federal and State Governments to fund the full $20 million.”
Behind the scenes Jodi McKay has been critical in assisting council.
“Without Minister McKay’s assistance and tenacity in continually taking our requests to government we would not have been heard,” Cr Wall said.
“We are hopeful both the Minister’s have good news for us today. ”
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