Good Afternoon Residents, Commuters and Petition Supporters
AFTER the Council meeting held on Wednesday the 28th February 2024 there are "Concerns over Liverpool mayor Ned Mannoun’s call for $100,000 campaign for Fifteenth Ave upgrades."
First some good news.
The temporary asphalt footpaths that Nathan Hagarty lobbied for before leaving Council have been approved.
There will be 8 to 10 Kms of paths provided to Austral at a cost of around $600,000.
And now for the question at hand.
ARTICLE FROM THE LIVERPOOL LEADER
A southwest Sydney’s mayor’s campaign to push for “forgotten” road upgrades has raised concerns from two state MPs about what one claimed was a “blatant abuse” of taxpayers dollars for electioneering.
Liverpool mayor Ned Mannoun called for council to allocate $100,000 from the general funds during his mayoral minute at a council meeting on Wednesday to appoint a person to oversee the campaign, lobbying, advocacy and petitioning to the NSW Government for upgrades to Fifteenth Ave in Austral and Cowpasture Rd.
Mr Mannoun said in his mayoral minute while Fifteenth Ave is the “spine road” connecting Liverpool CBD to the new Badgerys Creek Airport, traffic backs up over three kilometres during peak hour.
“It is also one of only two roads leading out of Middleton Grange which results in extreme traffic delays .... it takes residents 40 minutes to travel 300 metres,” he said.
“Cowpasture Rd also requires a significant upgrade for the traffic flow for now and for the future and as a minimum needs to be upgraded from Fifteenth Ave to the M7.
Mr Mannoun said during the meeting while council signed an agreement with the federal and state governments to fund $50m for Fifteenth Ave upgrades, it “appears to have been forgotten”.
“We acknowledge that $50m has been provided for Fifteenth Ave, however that makes up 10 per cent of the costs required for the Fifteenth Ave works,” he said.
NOTE THAT THE $50 MILLION DOLLARS IS FOR DESIGN WORK AND A BUSINESS STUDY THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN FUNDED BY THE PREVIOUS LIBERAL STATE GOVERNMENT YEARS AGO.
Liverpool councillor and MP Charishma Kaliyanda said during the meeting she raised concerns about council using a “significant amount of ratepayers money” months away from election time.
“I absolutely agree with the need for infrastructure for our fast growing community … but I’m going to name the elephant in the room. We are just over six months out from a local government election,” she said.
Mr Mannoun asked Cr Kaliyanda in the meeting, if “you’re implying that this is being used for political purposes” and requested she retracted her statement.
“I actually would now on this basis, then question whether you actually have a conflict of interest in the matter considering you’re part of the government,” he said.
“Because it seems that you don’t want us to lobby your government.”
Cr Kaliyanda said in the meeting while she still agreed with the need for advocacy, her “concern is with the recruitment of an additional person”.
“And the allocation of such a significant amount of ratepayers money so close to a council election where it could be construed as political,” she said.
Leppington MP Nathan Hagarty said the campaign was “a blatant abuse of rate payers’ money for electioneering”
WATCH THE RECORDING OF THE LCC MEETING
The Mayor of Liverpool Ned Mannoun and a majority of Councillors have approved a budget of $100k to allow Liverpool Council to lobby the State Government about issues like upgrading Fifteenth Ave and the maintenance of housing commission houses.
Transport for NSW is planning to upgrade Fifteenth Avenue and Hoxton Park Road as part of a vital east west public transport corridor between Liverpool, Bradfield and the Wester Sydney Airport. This project will be known as the Liverpool to Airport Transit Corridor.
"In my opinion this is blatant use of ratepayers money for electioneering" said Nathan Hagarty MP for Leppington
Liverpool Council Meeting 28th February
Mayoral minute to approve $100k
Watch from 33min 55 seconds
Cllrs Green and Kaliyanda did object to the motion
https://youtu.be/C9ZMcOvaYXg?si=bSrWgHWJ96O7os52
Please continue to share the petition to family, friends and neighbors.
Remember, You can find me on Facebook
www.facebook.com/Michael.independent
Yours Sincerely
Michael Andjelkovic Independent Community Campaigner