“The commitment by the Government to spend $28 million creating 19 new cross over points on the F3 is welcome, but not enough”, said Chris Hartcher, Shadow Minister for the Central Coast.

NSW Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell, the Shadow Minister for Police Mike Gallacher and the Shadow Minister for the Central Coast Chris Hartcher today visited the site of the Kincumber Police Station, which the Iemma Labor Government has put up for sale despite having failed to ever provide adequate staff for it.

“After a string of corruption allegations, development contributions and incompetence levelled at Labor Councils in NSW – Minister for Local Government, Paul Lynch has today sacked Port Macquarie Council”, said Chris Hartcher, Shadow Minister for Local Government.

Today the Housing Industry Association released ‘New South Wales State Outlook’, its comprehensive report of the December 2007 quarter. The report focused on the residential building industry and highlights the ongoing shortage of new housing in NSW to continue in 2008.

Public housing approvals in NSW are now at there lowest level in 25 years with 131 public housing approvals across the country in March, only three of them in NSW, said Chris Hartcher, Shadow Minister for Housing.

Figures released today by the Housing Industry Association show that the residential construction industry is currently building less than 30,000 dwellings a year in NSW. However, at least 40,000 new dwellings are required to meet demand.

The Iemma Government’s desalination plant pilot was so small, so brief and so poorly planned the results are next to useless, Shadow Minister for Water Utilities Chris Hartcher said today.

Public housing in NSW lies vacant twice as much as it does in Victoria according to figures released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Last year there were 311,000 vacant dwelling days in NSW compared to 166,000 in Victoria. There were 12,000 vacancy episodes versus 4,700 in Victoria.

“The NSW Government has been caught out in its ongoing campaign to minimise public concern about the algal bloom on Warragamba Dam.

Sydney’s desalination plant is the Iemma Government’s best-kept secret, according to Shadow Water Utilities Minister Chris Hartcher, following the rejection of an FOI application for the minutes of the Desalination Project Control Group.

Absentee Premier Morris Iemma is doing nothing to avert the growing housing and rental crisis with the latest ABS Housing Finance figures showing NSW struggling to keep up with competitor states.

Budget papers obtained by the NSW State Opposition reveal that Central Coast Health is already running $7.4 million over budget, with surgery services over $2.8 million in the red, Shadow Minister for the Central Coast , Chris Hartcher, said today.