Seven years ago, when Campbelltown residents needed to get a driving licence or renew a car registration, they had the luxury of two RTA motor registries at their disposal.
Both were in handy locations. One was in the heart of the town in Tindall Street and the other was opposite Ingleburn railway station. And then, in one fell swoop, they were both gone.
In late 2015 the Liberal state government – the one that’s still in power right now – for reasons best known to themselves, closed them down.
It meant the entire city of Campbelltown, population more than 150,000, did not have one RTA motor registry for the first time in decades.
There was a hue and cry from community leaders but the response from the government was that it was establishing a one stop shop motor registry shop at the new Camden suburb of Gregory Hills with a fancy new name – Service NSW Centree.
The insults to Campbelltown have continued ever since, with new Service NSW centres opening in Orange Grove at Liverpool and more recently at Edmondson Park.
A local MP who has not stopped reminding the government of its appalling decision, Anoulack Chanthivong, has now launched a new community campaign for a Service NSW centre within the Campbelltown local government area (LGA).
The campaign includes a petition that calls for a Service NSW centre at Minto, the geographic centre of Campbelltown.
“Services like a motor registry should be where the people are; they should not have to travel to access such basic government services,’’ says the state member for Macquarie Fields.
“The Liberal Government promotes its Service NSW model as a one stop shop, yet residents from the Campbelltown LGA are travelling considerable distances at great personal expense and inconvenience to access essential services.
“It is unacceptable and unfair.’’
His Labor colleague on Campbelltown Council, Darcy Lound, has joined Mr Chanthivong in the bid for a Services NSW centre at Minto.
Cr Lound, a popular Campbelltown councillor, has lived at Minto for most of his life.
“This is a perfect opportunity to bring basic services to where the people are,” he says.
“I will make sure that Campbelltown Council can play a role in convincing the government to set up a centre here in Minto Mall,” he said.
The provision of an adequate network of Service NSW offices is essential for a city of Campbelltown’s size, argues Mr Chanthivong.
Campbelltown is one of the fastest-growing LGAs in South Western Sydney with a population more than 175,000.
Figures provided in Budget Estimates show that about 40 percent of customers who visited the Macarthur Service Centre in Gregory Hills live in the Campbelltown LGA.
Mr Anoulack says that with the $10 million expansion of Minto Mall almost complete, it would be an ideal location for a Service NSW Centre.
It is close to railway and bus services and major roads and also offers plenty of parking on site parking.
A Service NSW centre at Minto Mall would provide residents in the Campbelltown LGA with convenient access to essential government services.
Mr Michael Prestia, the Minto Mall centre manager, said there is brand new commercial space available right now if the NSW Government would agree to establish a Service NSW centre in the Campbelltown LGA.
Mr Prestia says Minto Mall services a population of more than 80,000 in the main trade area and is visited by 4.9 million shoppers every year.
In July, Mr Chanthivong wrote to the minister for customer service and digital government regarding a Service NSW centre for Minto.
The response stated that there were no current plans to introduce a Service NSW Centre in Campbelltown.
“It is time for the Liberal Government to stop the spin and the pork-barrelling,’’ he said.
“Instead, give us a fair go and give us our fair share of services,” Mr Chanthivong said.
“Residents throughout Campbelltown would welcome a Service NSW centre in Minto, which would provide convenient access to an important government service.
“The time to deliver it is now.”
To support the campaign for a Service NSW centre in Minto, sign the online petition at https://www.connectwithanoulack.com/petitions/service-nsw-for-minto/
How about in the real centre, Campbelltown , where it was before!