Southcoast Health and Sustainability Alliance
Submission on the proposed Moruya Bypass
Background
Recent events, drought, bushfire and a pandemic have impacted heavily on the Eurobodalla, and have changed the priority needs of this region since Andrew Constance made a commitment to build the Moruya by-pass in March 2019.
This announcement was made without any consultation with key stakeholders including the Moruya Chamber of Commerce, or the broader community.
It is expected that the pandemic will have devastating impacts on the NSW budget. This can be seen already with increased expenditure by the NSW Government to assist businesses and services adversely impacted by the pandemic. The NSW Government coffers will also be depleted by reduced revenue as business activity shrinks and stamp duty falls with the drop in house sales.
More critical NSW Government Investment in the Eurobodalla
Rather than spend the projected $960m on the by-pass, NSW Government priority expenditure for the Eurobodalla should be:
· Building a Level 4 Hospital in the Eurobodalla to improve the health and well being of the population and provide better resources to manage health emergencies. It will also provide long term jobs for medical and allied professionals. The hospital really struggled during the bushfire crisis and it will struggle again with the corona visus because we have no ICU at the Moruya hospital.
· Upgrading the TAFE in Moruya so that our young people can gain qualifications in a wider range of industries.
· Minor road works to improve the flow of traffic through Moruya including a separate turning lane onto George Bass Drive and extending Church St behind Greenlands to give through traffic an alternative to the Princes Highway.
Postpone the Moruya By-pass
Given the new realities of 2020, SHASA believes that the Moruya By-pass should be put on the back burner and much more urgent infrastructure be brought forward including:
· Eurobodalla Level 4 Hospital
· Upgrades to existing roads to facilitate quicker transit through Moruya
· Upgrades to TAFE to give our young people more training opportunities.
