There is no gain for the Central Coast in the new State Cabinet, according to Chris Hartcher, Shadow Minister for the Central Coast.

“NSW is in financial crisis. It is the only State officially going backwards. The revelation by the outgoing Treasurer, Michael Costa, of last Friday that the State is now losing $90 million a month, comes as no surprise.

“As far as the Central Coast is concerned, with 5% of the States population, the new cabinet line up offers nothing. With four Labor Members on the Coast, only one has sufficient factional clout to be a Minister and that is John Della Bosca. The new cabinet is based not on merit, but on factional power. How else could Joe Tripodi have survived?

“Mr Della Bosca is a major part of the problem. Though he has been Minister for the Central Coast for a number of years he has never gone into bat for us and under him the Coast’s infrastructure, especially roads, rail and hospitals have been unable to cope with population pressure.

“Even more significantly his failure to apologise for the conduct of himself and his wife, Federal MP, Belinda Neal, at Iguanas last June, shows him to be arrogant and uncaring.

“Mr Della Bosca is to be the new Minister for Health, after the failed Reba Meagher. Gosford Hospital is in a desperate situation with Ambulances queuing each day, including today. Judging by his past performance there is no reason to hope Mr Della Bosca will do anything to solve the problem. He is simply invisible as far as fighting for the Coast is concerned.

“ Central Coast roads are in gridlock each day and our trains are over crowded and often delayed. 13 years of Labor have brought NSW to a sorry state. 13 years of Labor have seen the Central Coast flooded with new arrivals, but with inadequate infrastructure to support them.

“The NSW ship of state is slowly sinking and changing the officers on the watch is not going to save it”, Mr Hartcher said.

“The bottom line is that the only hope for NSW is to kick Labor out”, said Mr Hartcher.