Letter to the Editor: Broken promises and costly projects

DEAR News Of The Area,

THE following could be seen as an open letter to our civic leaders and is essentially a reality check.

Firstly, allow me to sympathise with all those involved with the petition to fix the nightmare roundabout issue near the Base Hospital.

Regardless of where you live in the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council area this is a problem that needs to be solved sooner rather than later!

However, as a taxpayer, ratepayer and Wauchope resident for over 40 years I would like to briefly point out a number of significant issues that also need addressing.

Whilst Wauchope is definitely a part of the PMHC LGA, a part of the Federal electorate of Lyne and the State electorate of Oxley, this is a fact often overlooked by those who live east of King Creek.

When my family arrived in Wauchope, its population was listed as about 4,000; it is now somewhere in the vicinity of 10-12,000 and growing.

There were two police officers based in the town (in residences either side of the Police station) and uniformed officers were often seen walking the streets and talking to locals.

Not any more!

The last allocation of new recruits saw two appointed to Kempsey, one to Nambucca Heads and three to Port Macquarie.

This is not the first time that has happened despite the fact that Wauchopians have repeatedly asked for a greater police presence.

We have a Police station but it is frequently not open.

But there’s more!

In 2008 I attended a stakeholders meeting where we were told that $800,000 had been allocated to construct a bypass of the Wauchope CBD and that work would begin in early 2009.

Not only did the work not begin but the $800,000 mysteriously disappeared.

Wauchope too has a problem roundabout!

It too is on the Oxley highway and adjacent to both the Wauchope CBD and the North Coast rail line.

It’s an accident waiting to happen; the only beneficiaries of the existing situation are the car insurance companies!

Let’s talk swimming pools.

As early as the 1990s it was recognised that the Wauchope pool was leaking.

With the sale of Timbertown came the carrot that said we would be supplied with an eight-lane pool and an enclosed 25-metre indoor heated pool.

After much consultant deliberation and the expenditure of some $300,000 in fees both ideas were canned.

The pool was finally repaired (and a great job was done) but we could still do with the 25-metre heated pool so, like our Port Macquarie cousins, we too can swim in the winter months. Meanwhile the residents of Port Macquarie are seeking both an ocean pool and a new aquatic centre which has a final estimated cost of some $96 million dollars.

Could someone explain to me why such a centre needs to include a gymnasium which is not only an added installation and maintenance expense but also a business which directly competes with the numerous existing gymnasiums?

Many will recall that the original estimated costs for the Glasshouse were in the order of $12 million whilst the final price was nearer to $53 million.

There were many who questioned its location but were ignored.

The ratepayers of our LGA do not include Santa Claus!

Our local sporting fields are also currently under discussion.

My understanding (coming from a priority listing in a local print media outlet) is that a new complex is planned for Thrumster and other additions in other areas of the municipality.

At the bottom of that list is the large complex which was/is planned for the area just east of the railway line.

I originally opined that my grandchildren might be lucky enough to play on these fields.

If things continue the way they are now that estimation should be pushed back by a generation!

I could also elaborate on other issues where Wauchope has been poorly treated.

For example, the Wauchope Historical Society is still seeking premises and has been since the sale of Timbertown (about 2009) when the land under its premises was sold by Council.

The central point of this letter is to highlight a litany of broken promises and costly projects which have impacted on the residents, ratepayers and taxpayers of Wauchope and its surrounds.

Our decision makers need to consider all of the local community, not just those who are the most vocal.

That is not as difficult as many would have us believe.

It just requires a sense of fairness and equity.

Kind regards,
Greg RAFFIN,
Wauchope.