NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley says he is optimistic about his party’s chances in the Central West at the 2019 election.
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One year out from the election date, Mr Foley said the National Party had driven regional voters away with the greyhound ban and forced council mergers and said plans to spend $2.5 billion knocking down and rebuilding stadiums in Sydney was unpopular in the country.
“The government, and the National Party, paid a very heavy price at the Orange byelection,” Mr Foley said.
“They lost what had been one of their real strongholds and Labor played a part in that. I was out against the greyhound ban as soon as it was announced. I campaigned against the forced council mergers.
“We defeated the greyhound ban and we put a stop to forced council mergers. There’s a lot of issues we will continue to campaign on, not the least of which is the $3 billion stadium splurge.”
Mr Foley, who was in Dubbo this week as part of a regional tour, said Labor’s focus in the Central West would be to improve schools and hospitals. He said the party would also focus on TAFE
“I think jobs, job creation and ensuring people can get a good skills base, good training here in local communities [are the big issues].
“That’s why we have to rebuild TAFE. Employers need that, business people need that and our young people need that.”
Mr Foley said there was little to no support for the plan to knock down and rebuild ANZ and Allianz stadiums in regional areas.
“The further you go from the Sydney GPO, the fewer people you will find who support the stadium splurge. By the time you cross the Blue Mountains and get west of the dividing range, noone supports this mad plan,” he said.
“We know, because cabinet ministers have said so, that there was a net economic cost rather than benefit to the state. That’s why they won’t release the business case.”
Mr Foley said the Central West was crucial to the NSW economy and was performing well.
“I’ve been coming to the Central West all my life. People talk about depopulation in Western NSW but what you see is regional cities growing,” he said.
“Other smaller towns might be declining in population but the regional cities have statewide significance.”
