Illawarra Labor MPs Ryan Park and Paul Scully have called on the Minister for Transport, Andrew Constance MP, to stop hiding behind standard letters and to meet with a delegation of Illawarra commuters to discuss issues on the South Coast Line.
The MPs have jointly written to the Minister requesting that he meet with them and a delegation of Illawarra commuters.
Mr Park and Mr Scully told the Minister that hiding behind standard responses from Transport for NSW was not acceptable.
Their blistering letter follows a letter to Dr Bronwyn Batten, the convenor of recent public meeting to discuss public transport issues, by Transport for NSW in which a request to meet the Minister was refused along with other local advocates whose meeting requests have also been refused.
The Labor MPs told the Minister that he had also ignored their own representations on behalf of the region’s commuters who had expressed frustration on overcrowding of passenger carriages on Central to Wollongong services and conflicting messages on when the new intercity fleet would be commissioned for use on the South Coast Line.
The correspondence to the Minister is attached.
Comments attributable to Ryan Park MP:
“This Minister’s arrogance and contempt for Illawarra commuters just knows no bounds.
“Whether he likes it or not, Andrew Constance is a Member of Parliament just like us, and he should be listening to commuters who use the South Coast Line every day.
“We know the Minister is out of his depth, but he can’t keep hiding behind standard letters written by bureaucrats.”
Comments attributable to Paul Scully MP:
“It’s time for Andrew Constance to face Illawarra commuters, listen to their concerns and address them.
“The Minister likes to play the tough bloke on the news, but when it comes to fronting up and meeting a few people who catch the train every day from Wollongong, Andrew Constance wimps it out.
“We still do live in a democracy and as the Minister who can do something to fix overcrowding on the South Coast Line, Andrew Constance should sit down and listen to the concerns of Illawarra commuters.”
