STATE Member Paul Toole has rejected claims the Bathurst electorate has been ignored in Tuesday’s NSW Budget, saying there is plenty more spending to come.
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Treasurer Dominic Perrottet on Tuesday handed down the last state budget before voters go to the polls next March, with a focus on infrastructure and easing the cost of living on NSW families.
And while many of the big-ticket items were Sydney-based projects, Mr Toole said his electorate had been well looked after.
“I’m lucky enough as a minister that I know there’s more to come,” Mr Toole said.
“There’s some big projects that have not yet been announced but Bathurst is continue to lead the way across the Central West.”
Mr Toole said Bathurst families would benefit from subsidised preschool for three-year-old and an expanded Active Kids program that this year will include a $100 rebate for sporting fees and an extra $100 for after-school cultural pursuits.
And Bathurst’s small business owners would welcome an increase in the payroll tax threshold from the current $750,000 a year to $1 million by 2021-22.
“There will be a big long list of roads to be funded across the Bathurst electorate and in the next month the minister and I will be starting construction of the $110 million expansion of Bathurst jail,” Mr Toole said.
“There will be new SES vehicles for the Bathurst electorate and we will be improving community safety with a dedicated police squad stationed here in Bathurst.
“Apart from that there are a number of continuing projects including the new ambulance station and new parking spaces at Bathurst hospital.”
Mr Toole said the budget was about “building for the next generation”.
“It’s a great time to be a local member with a government that’s been responsible and is now sharing the benefits of that with the community,” he said.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Luke Foley called the budget a “con job that builds new stadiums before schools and hospitals”.