The Member for Leppington, Nathan Hagarty, has demanded answers from Liverpool City Council over the massive cost blowouts and delays with the long-promised Stage 2 of the Carnes Hill Precinct project.
Carnes Hill’s Stage 2 development has seen multiple promises across federal, state, and local governments by the Liberal Party for over a decade, with the site still an empty paddock.
The project secured the required funding through an injection of $53.4 million by the Minns Labor Government at the 2023 budget.
However, recent revelations by Liverpool City Council suggest the cost of the project has spiralled from the estimated $53 million to over $100 million.
Despite numerous election commitments and ongoing public inquiries, there is still no clear timeline for completion or justification for these delays.
Mr Hagarty, pictured above, also raised concerns about the broader implications of this governance failure on other WestInvest programs in the region.
With a $2 billion budget under Council’s administration, he questioned the Council’s ability to responsibly manage these significant community investments.
“It’s been close to 10 years, and until last year all residents had been given were empty election promises,’’ Mr Hagarty said.
“Through my advocacy, the Minns Government delivered the necessary $50 million in the 2023 budget to see this project finally move forward, yet there has been no progress.
“Our community has waited too long for Carnes Hill’s promised facilities and now we discover there’s a major budget blowout. This is an unacceptable failure of governance and transparency.
“The public has every right to question if the current council administration is fit to manage taxpayer funds responsibly.
“Ratepayers deserve answers on what went wrong, when these cost issues were discovered, and why our community has been kept in the dark about another broken promise.
“I am calling on the Council to address this issue and to provide clarity on where the project stands.”
