Fund a local Service NSW Centre in the Campbelltown local government area in this year’s State Budget.
That’s the message to Gladys Berejiklian from local MPs Anoulack Chanthivong (Macquarie Fields) and Greg Warren (Campbelltown) who are outraged the State Government will fund a new Service NSW Centre at Toronto on the Central Coast.
There is already a service centre within a 17-minute drive of Toronto.
“If it’s good enough for the Government to put a Service NSW centre back for one community in Lake Macquarie, then it’s only fair for them to do the same here in Campbelltown,’’ says Greg Warren.
“It simply does not make sense for the NSW Liberal Government to remove this vital service from Campbelltown when our region’s population is set to reach 500,000 people within the next 20 years.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“A growing regional City such as Campbelltown deserves its own Service NSW centre and I won’t give up until we see much-needed services delivered for our area.”[/social_quote]
Mr Warren and his Labor colleague Anoulack Chanthivong have campaigned long and hard alongside their communities for the reopening of the Ingleburn and Campbelltown Motor Registry offices, which were closed controversially three years ago by the State Government.
A petition circulated at the time by the Labor MPs gathered almost 6,000 responses.
The decision to close the Ingleburn Motor Registry, along with the one at Campbelltown, means that the entire Campbelltown Local Government Area of 155,000-plus people is without this basic service.
A round trip to the nearest Service NSW centre at Gregory Hills can take more than an hour from Campbelltown, or up to 50 minutes from Macquarie Fields.
It’s not much quicker to travel to the other nearest Service NSW centre on Orange Grove Road at Liverpool.
Both service centres have inadequate public transport connections, and a direct bus service between Campbelltown and Gregory Hills has recently been cancelled.
“The decision to close the Ingleburn Motor Registry office was an insult to our community and made absolutely no sense,’’ says Anoulack Chanthivong.
“Here was a Motor Registry office conveniently located opposite a train station in the Ingleburn CBD, with excellent public transport connections, and averaging around 150,000 transactions a year.
“It’s clear to me and my community that the motor registry closure was nothing more than a greedy money grab by a greedy Liberal Government.
“Now, the Liberal Government is just pork-barrelling to buy itself more votes.
“We’re fed up with the double standards, fed up with being short-changed and fed up with having our needs ignored. Where’s our fair share?”
It’s amazing that the new services for low income and homeless are going to be run through service nsw…
Yet the closest one for the residents feeling that pain is over in a brand new estate with well off people …
How does that help us?
The whole things a joke, Campbelltown City should be treated like a CITY
Provide the vital services in Campbelltown!!!!!
Cost cutting has stooped to a new low !!!!!
Bring back Australians taking care of Australians ??
Gregory Hills won’t be able to cope in another 12 months with all the new houses.
Where we have to go now it’s hard, sometimes you can not find a parking spot the old one should still be there for everyone in Campbelltown to use its a lot easier to get to ?
Not to mention that there are no toilet facilities or such in the complex.
Most ridiculous move ever closing it down. I live in the Camden area and think it’s totally insane and unfair for everyone to have to trek across to Gregory Hills
I am surprised you don’t have one. I have found the centres to be of a huge benefit.