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Berejiklians bribes Orange for new sports stadium (Read 480 times)
red baron
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Berejiklians bribes Orange for new sports stadium
Feb 7th, 2019 at 2:12pm
 
*** Desperate play by a desperate Premier, "vote for Libs or no stadium" this woman is something else Red Baron *****" 


Source: Sydney Morning Herald

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has been accused of "blackmailing" the Orange electorate by promising to build a $25 million sporting precinct, but only if voters return the marginal seat to the Nationals at the state election.

Ms Berejiklian made a flying visit to Orange to announce the conditional promise on Wednesday, in a desperate bid to win back the seat which the National party lost to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party by fewer than 100 votes in 2016.



NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.Credit:AAP

Unlike typical election commitments, Ms Berejiklian said the facilities would not be built unless the Nationals candidate Kate Hazelton was elected at next month's election.

“[T]his will only happen if Kate is the member, and I want to make that clear because we’ve worked our guts out to build a strong budget and we want to make sure Orange gets its fair share," Ms Berejiklian said.

Ms Hazelton said she would be "proud" to deliver the funding "should I be elected to Parliament".

In an attempted swipe at the incumbent Shooters MP Phil Donato, Ms Berejiklian said she'd heard voters' concerns that Orange wasn't getting the same level of investment as other regional centres, such as Dubbo and Bathurst, both of which are represented by National ministers.

"That's because Orange hasn't had strong local representation," Ms Berejiklian said.

Mr Donato, who won the seat for the Shooters Party in a 2016 byelection, ending a 70-year reign by the Nationals, accused the premier of trying to "extort and blackmail the community."

"I thought the government was meant to govern for the whole of the state," Mr Donato said.



"It clearly shows this government has not learnt a thing. To try and blackmail the citizens of Orange is an absolute disgrace."

The proposed precinct features a main rugby union/league field with a 1500-seat grandstand and seating mounds with capacity for 8500 people, as well as a new athletic track and field venue with covered tiered seating, and an AFL-cricket oval.

Mr Donato said he supported the sporting precinct plans, which have been developed by Orange City Council, as the town lacked a high-quality rectangular sporting facility.

"It would allow Orange to attract and host elite level games such as the NRL," he said.

Opposition Leader Michael Daley also accused the government of "blackmail", and compared its conditional promise in Orange to its $2 billion commitment to refurbish or build new stadiums in Sydney.



"I'm not sure if it's blackmail or a bribe," Mr Daley said. "But the message is clear: if you don't do what you're told, you're not going to get your stadium.

"But the people in Sydney, they're going to get three stadiums for billions of dollars."

The strategy of making election promises conditioned upon a candidate's success at the ballot box was used extensively by former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman ahead of the 2015 state election. The tactic failed to save the Newman government, which suffered a 30 seat-rout including Mr Newman's own seat and was booted from power after a single term.


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Bias_2012
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Re: Berejiklians bribes Orange for new sports stadium
Reply #1 - Feb 7th, 2019 at 3:27pm
 
I didn't think she'd stoop that low, she's become corrupt like all the others. Once you're corrupt there's no turning back, and too late to change puppet masters, she's someone's girl

Politics is like that out in the bush though. I've learned about a small NSW town that was given a choice of having electricity or town water supply many moons ago, they couldn't have both. The residents chose electricity, and to this day the only water they have is in tanks - for residential properties, for the school, for the pub, for the public loo, everything has tanks, if you want water, buy a tank

Another thing I've learned is that if you complain to a National Party sitting member about the lack of amenities in your village or town, they will tell you straight out: "Then go live somewhere else" - nice!

Anyway, she needs to be tossed out, if only to teach her a lesson, she's getting a little too big for her corrupt boots

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