Two state Labor MPs say the closure of the Service NSW kiosk at Macarthur Square shopping centre adds insult to injury for residents in the Campbelltown and Macquarie Fields electorates.
The kiosk will close on May 30 and Greg Warren (Campbelltown) and Anoulack Chanthivong (Macquarie Fields) have slammed the decision.
They say it’s the latest instalment in a string of bad decisions by the Government in relation to Service NSW in the Macarthur region.
“When the Liberal Government closed our motor registries 18 months ago, their whole selling point was that the longer opening hours of the new centre and the additional kiosk at Macarthur Square would mean residents would not lose any access to services – we now know that this was simply not true,’’ Mr Warren said.
“I worry in particular some of our older residents, who might not have the ability to do their business online and who will struggle to make the trek out to the centre at Gregory Hills.
“Campbelltown is the heart of South West Sydney, and it defies belief that the same Government that is approving tens of thousands of new houses in our area is cutting vital services, rather than investing in our region.”
The Service NSW kiosk at Macarthur Square opened shortly after the closure of the Campbelltown, Ingleburn and Narellan motor registries in November 2015.
In conjunction with the extended operating of hours of the Service NSW centre at Gregory Hills, was used as an assurance by the government that local residents would not experience any loss of service.
Less than 18 months on, the operating hours of the centre at Gregory Hills have been slashed and residents are now to set to lose their only way of accessing face-to-face motor registry and other government services in Campbelltown.
“The pop up kiosk was always a quick political fix and a sweetener for residents who have beared the brunt of losing motor registry offices in Ingleburn and Campbelltown,’’ Mr Chanthivong said.
“It’s appalling that residents have to do a 40 minute round trip to access vital services, at their own inconvenience and extra cost.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“This latest move to close the pop up kiosk once again highlights the Berejiklian Liberal Government’s contempt for the people of south west Sydney.[/social_quote]
“Our community deserves better and deserves its fair share,” he said.
