Berwick is bleeding: Turnbull

By Jade Lawton
The Liberal leader, who stopped in Berwick on Wednesday morning to discuss Clyde Road with local business owners, criticised Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for being too slow on infrastructure projects.
“Berwick is bleeding, as Kevin Rudd is all talk and no shovel. The money has been allocated for this Clyde Road upgrade. It is desperately needed. Businesses are being lost to this area, businesses and jobs are being lost, and yet at the same time Labor talks big about infrastructure and is throwing billions of dollars … around on school halls, many of which are not needed,” he said.
“While they are wasting all of that money, a vital piece of infrastructure here is being left undone, and the consequence is, as we have heard from the local businesspeople we have just been speaking with, it is a loss of jobs. They are bleeding jobs here because Kevin Rudd is all talk and no shovel.”
Labor pledged $30 million towards the road’s duplication and separation during the 2007 Federal Election and has so far spent $1 million investigating the project.
Berwick Village Chamber of Commerce president Harry Hutchinson said trade was affected during peak hour traffic, while another business owner said half an hour needed to be added to delivery times allow drivers time to negotiate the bottleneck.
La Trobe MP Jason Wood, who accompanied Mr Turnbull, said Clyde Road was one of the worst traffic issues in his electorate.
“I really feel for local residents. This is a major safety issue and it needs to be urgently upgraded. This is one of the fastest growing corridors in the country and it is only going to get worse. A promise is a promise.”