Labor slams ‘broken promises’

The battle for Bunbury turned fiery this week when WA Labor Leader Mark McGowan slammed the Liberal Government’s “broken promises” made at the 2008 State Election.

The Opposition Leader’s criticism comes after Bunbury MLA John Castrilli last week told the Times he had completed all of his 2008 election commitments.

Mr Castrilli cited the ongoing development of the Bunbury Waterfront, completion of Stage 1 of the Port Access Road and upgrades to schools and sporting facilities as some of the Government’s key achievements.

In addition, the Bunbury Hospital’s emergency department has received almost $15 million for upgrades and $7.5 million will be spent on the expansion of the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre.

But Mr McGowan said the Liberal Government had failed to deliver on key promises, namely building a flyover at the Eelup roundabout and moving a Government department to Bunbury.

He said the Liberals had promised to build a flyover at the notorious Eelup roundabout in its first term of Government.

“This is an indisputable broken promise by Mr Castrilli and there is no amount of rewriting history which will get away from that,” Mr McGowan said.

Mr Castrilli said the Government had fulfilled its commitment to begin building the flyover in its firm term by completing Stage 1 of upgrades to the roundabout.

Mr McGowan, who was in Bunbury for a meeting with Labor candidate Karen Steele, said failure to build the flyover was a “deliberate and direct broken promise”.

He said WA Premier Colin Barnett had also failed to deliver on his commitment to move a Government department to Bunbury.

Mr Castrilli said relocating a Government department to Bunbury remained a Liberal commitment and planning was continuing.

He said the plan, to grow a department headquarters in Bunbury, would be implemented in the Government’s second term.

Premier Colin Barnett echoed Mr Castrilli’s stance while in Eaton earlier this month, saying Bunbury should and would be WA’s “second city” and administration centre.

Mr Barnett said the Government would release its plans, which would see Bunbury achieve “genuine growth”, in the coming months.