Residents ‘ cheesed off ’ with road tolls : Bali
Blacktown MP Stephen Bali opposes the decision of the state Liberal government to privatise all toll roads in Sydney .
He was speaking in parliament last month on the issue of road tolls and referred to the distance-based road tax raised during question time .
Declaring we were the most tolled city in the world and most taxed state in Australia , Mr Bali said the Premier , Treasurer and Minister for Western Sydney confirmed there would be no distance-based road tax , however Mr Bali was sceptical .
“… the Government is saying , “ Trust me . We are not going to put an extra tax on ” [ but ] I do not think the public is going to trust this Government saying no for now ,” Mr Bali said .
Adding that he and Riverstone MP Kevin Conolly pay “ quite a few tolls to get from our area to parliament ” Mr Bali cited the WestConnex example .
“[ The Liberal state government ] built WestConnex for $ 16.8 billion and then sold it to Transurban for $ 11 billion . That is a $ 5.8 billion loss ,” he said .
“ It then sold the future cash flows of the tolls , which over 40 years will probably generate $ 200 billion in revenue , for about $ 11 billion .
“ As of this year , Sydney motorists will pay $ 2.3 billion in tolls alone . Then the Government wants to tell the people of western Sydney that it is doing them a favour ; it is giving them $ 5 billion out of the $ 11 billion .
“ For the next 40 years , most of us are going to be paying tolls every time we drive up and down WestConnex . We will be paying mega billions over the next 40 years .”
Mr Bali said now with western Sydney comprising a total of 15 council areas , when once there was only eight , that tolls paid here are benefitting the rest of the State .
“ All of a sudden , now there are 15 councils . So , $ 5 billion goes to western Sydney , but the $ 6 billion that we will be paying in tolls for the next 40 years will go around the State and probably pay for NorthConnex , which goes up to the northern suburbs . They will get it for free .
“ Downtown Bargo , which is obviously metropolitan western Sydney , will have a share of the $ 5 billion . Our residents will probably be paying $ 25 per trip by the time the contract expires .
“ If you live in Riverstone and you are travelling along the road , you will be paying $ 25 a trip in the next 30 years or so . Currently some people in the Riverstone area and the growing north‐west sector are paying $ 9300 a year in tolls , and Minister Natalie Ward has admitted that there are many western Sydney motorists paying $ 6000 .
“ That is what is happening in western Sydney . Residents are cheesed off with the number of tolls . The Government is taxing us into oblivion . It is a shameful act .
“ Western Sydney is paying for the State and hardly getting any resources back . No more tolls in western Sydney !”
M4 Tunnel entrance at North Strathfield looking east . Source : Wikipedia . org MDRX - Own work
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Authorised by Stephen Bali MP . Funded using parliamentary entitlements June 2022 .
18 ISSUE 15 // JUNE 2022 theindependentmagazine . com . au BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT