Stuart Ayres - Your Local Member for Penrith

Serving the state electorate of Penrith and it's many, diverse communities is my top priority.

• - Represent you in parliament.
• - Take your concern directly to the appropriate Minister or Department to get a response.
• - Put you in touch with a service that can help you.
• - Advise you of your rights and further action you may care to take.
• - Lobby for more resources for your group or community.
• - Work with you to achieve positive outcomes and to make democracy work for us all.

Liberal Member for Penrith Stuart Ayres said today that the people of Penrith have been let down again by the Keneally Labor Government, and are waiting in traffic queues at the Northern Road and M4 interchange because of it.

 ''Glenmore Park residents were having difficulty before the installation of the new lights at the interchange, and I understand that it has helped them,'' Mr Ayres said.

 ''Unfortunately, this has been at the expense of the people of Penrith, southbound on the Northern Road.

 ''The Keneally Labor Government has spent $5.5m in upgrading this interchange, and all the taxpayers of Penrith have got for their money is chaos.

 ''Clearly, there was not properly extensive community consultation, and there was completely inadequate modeling of the changed traffic flow under the RTA's plan. In fact there has been failure at every step of the process.

 ''The Keneally Labor Government can't even get this set of lights right – it's no wonder they haven't been able to fix the hospital, or Victoria Bridge.

 ''I've been down there to see the traffic in the morning, and I can only imagine the frustration what Penrith commuters are feeling in a queue which often stretches beyond Maxwell Street, with flow on effects further up the Northern Road.

 ''I call on the Roads Minister to explore the option of installing a 'Left turn on red' sign at the lights to improve the flow of southbound traffic on Northern Road attempting to access the M4.

 ''The people of the Penrith deserve better.''

Shadow Minister for Roads Andrew Stoner today visited Penrith Christian School in Orchard Hills at the invitation of Liberal Candidate for Mulgoa Tanya Davies and Liberal Member for Penrith Stuart Ayres to see the dangerous intersection of The Northern Road and Frogmore Road and meet with parents and staff to discuss possible solutions.

 "I'm pleased to be in Orchard Hills meeting with Penrith Christian School staff and parents to see this dangerous intersection first hand," Mr Stoner said, after receiving a petition from concerned local residents.

 "Tanya Davies and Stuart Ayres have been strong local advocates on this issue, which is why I'm here today to see the intersection and meet with the community.

 "Having now seen the intersection and hearing stories of near misses and unfortunate accidents, I share the community's belief that we need to address the safety issues as soon as possible.

 "Road safety around schools is paramount and I'm determined to find a solution which improves safety and minimises disruption to traffic flow.

 "I understand Penrith Christian School has made several representations to the local Labor MPs in recent years, but the Keneally Labor Government has failed to act.

 "Labor's had years to act, but have failed. The local Labor MP Diane Beamer has voted with her feet, walking out on the incompetent Keneally Labor Government.

 "Only the NSW Liberals & Nationals have the positive, practical plane to deliver the real change Western Sydney needs," Mr Stoner said.

 Mrs Davies said she will continue fighting hand-in-hand with the Penrith Christian School community to see the dangerous intersection of The Northern Road and Frogmore Road addressed.

 "I'm pleased Andrew Stoner has been here to see the intersection and meet with locals so that he has an understanding of the dangers local school children and families face at this dangerous intersection," Mrs Davies said.

 "It's disappointing the Labor machine has failed to act, but I'm delighted Andrew Stoner has indicated his determination to find a solution."

 Mr Ayres said the only way to improve safety at the intersection of The Northern Road and Frogmore Road is to elect a NSW Liberals & Nationals Government and to do that local residents need to vote for their local Liberal candidate.

Liberal Member for Penrith Stuart Ayres has questioned the seriousness of the Kenneally Labor Government’s approach to designating creative and performing arts status on Nepean High School after the Minister for Education flagrantly dodged Mr Ayres’ request for more detail on the government’s 2009 announcement. 

Question: What Creative and Performing Arts resources will be allocated to Nepean High School to support the increased number of Creative and Performing Arts students in 2011?

 Answer: The school has established an audition process to select highly talented students for the creative and performing arts stream and offers dance and drama classes.[1] 

“Clearly the Keneally Labor Government are not fair dinkum about supporting Nepean High School.” Mr Ayres said today. 

 “When the school community asks where the new teaching resources are, the government’s solution is to refer the matter to an unelected bureaucrat who doesn’t have the budget to respond, although the Department's own formula entitle Nepean High to another Deputy Principal and Head Teacher. 

“Yet when the school community ask where the money is going, the government does have an answer - the creative and performing arts high has received just under $600k to refurbish two of their metalwork rooms[2]. 

“I think we’re all at a loss as to how that benefits the school trying to attract Western Sydney's best creative and performing arts students.

“And to top it all off another $250k[3] is being spent on ‘planning’ for creative and performing arts facilities within the school – none of it will go towards the bricks and mortar but it will make some outside consultant very, very happy. 

“This is a school which has a dedicated P&C and leadership team but is crying out for change in attitude from the Keneally Labor Government. This region needs a high school which caters for the creative and performing arts to compliment the facilities at our local university and The Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre. 

"After recently announcing yet another unfunded creative and performing arts high school at Granville South High School it seems as if this government is prepared to say anything and do anything to get re-elected while having no regard for the school communities who are affected.

 "The Minister for Education needs to do the responsible thing and act now by appointing a new Deputy Principal to the school and a head teacher to the Creative and Performing Arts Faculty rather than holding the issue over for another government and another minister to address.

 “We can do great things with the arts and education in Penrith but the only way we can make these changes is by cutting the Keneally Labor Government out of the process as soon as possible.” 

[1]QoN to Minister for Education – Stuart Ayres 11939 item 3 http://parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/la/qala.nsf/18101dc36b638302ca257146007ee41a/878be4d02217ee67ca2577c200311a73?OpenDocument

[2] QoN to Minister for Education – Stuart Ayres 11578 item 1

http://parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/la/qala.nsf/18101dc36b638302ca257146007ee41a/c715c9fba8e0e805ca25779a000b80a4?OpenDocument

[3] QoN to Minister for Education – Stuart Ayres 11578 item 2

http://parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/la/qala.nsf/18101dc36b638302ca257146007ee41a/c715c9fba8e0e805ca25779a000b80a4?OpenDocument

Liberal Member for Penrith Stuart Ayres today demanded that the Keneally Labor Government engage, honestly, with the Penrith community over its proposed train stabling yard at Emu Plains.

 ''The community is growing more and more anxious about this development,'' Mr Ayres said.

 'While the Keneally Labor Government claims their train stabling yard is still under consultation, the quiet little community of Emu Plains every day sees construction work on the site.

 ''This is bare-faced hypocrisy.

 ''The Keneally Labor Government needs to answer some questions.

• Why is Emu Plains being used for a train stabling yard?
• What is the long-term future of the Penrith train stabling yard?
• If the Waratah carriages are only replacing the current carriages, why is the Government building a new train stabling yard for them?
• Why is the Keneally Labor Government so reluctant to engage in any meaningful consultation?

 ''In Parliament I've put these and other questions to the Minister. But the Keneally Labor Government needs to explain itself, clearly, upfront, to the residents of Emu Plains as well as to the entire Penrith community.

 ''And they need to explain now, because there is growing distrust of the government in the community – if work is already beginning now on the unapproved project, it seems all too possible that the work will be accelerated over the Christmas break, when Keneally Labor will feel less under scrutiny.

 "As a regular train user I recognise the need for more air-conditioned carriages on the Western Line however the Keneally Labor Government need to come clean about the unanswered questions related to the Emu Plains Stabling Yard.

 ''Together with the whole Penrith community, I call on the Government to get out of the driving seat of the backhoe, stop premature work on the Emu Plains train stabling yard, and come to the table with clear and appropriate information for residents.''

Liberal Member for Penrith Stuart Ayres has condemned the Keneally Labor Government for yet another delay – with the delivery of new air-conditioned Waratah train carriages now running four years later than originally planned.

It has been confirmed today delivery of the trains has been delayed from the original full delivery date of 2010 to the end of 2014. Four more long years for commuters to wait.

"It may be okay for the transport minister to drop in to Penrith for an Australia Day function on one hot day, but Penrith commuters are sweltering in hot trains from Penrith all the way into the city every day and then freezing in winter." Mr Ayres said today.

"This deferral is yet another example of how the Keneally Labor Government have lost touch with the people of Western Sydney.

"Sixteen years of Labor have shown us that they cannot be relied upon to deliver on any of their rail commitments. The only way to get the change we need in this state is to change the government."

Liberal Member for Penrith Stuart Ayres has slammed the Keneally Labor Government over their decision to leave Penrith out of the loop following the recent announcement of shuttle bus funding for Liverpool, Campbelltown and Gosford.

"This announcement leaves Penrith as a regional centre without a free CBD shuttle bus." Mr Ayres said today.

"Clearly this is a last ditch effort by the Keneally Labor Government to shore up Labor seats . They're putting politics before the interests of an efficient transport network and putting the people of Penrith last.

"The decision to leave Penrith out of the loop constitutes a direct contradiction to the message of goodwill the Premier sent the Penrith Business Alliance in response to their 10 Big Ideas for Penrith campaign.

"The first priority of the 10 Big Ideas campaign was to implement transport solutions for the Penrith CBD and all the Keneally Labor Government does is make a last-ditch attempt to solve these problems in every major centre – except for Penrith.

"The NSW Liberals and Nationals are committed to establishing an integrated transport authority with the intentions of tailoring the transport network to the people who use them. The people of Western Sydney deserve more than last-minute promises from a desperate and incompetent government trying to make up for sixteen years of failure."

Liberal Member for Penrith Stuart Ayres today congratulated the Ministries of the Rock on securing funding under the Community Building Partnerships Program. 

The cool room will provide Ministries of the Rock with the capacity to store frozen palletes of food donated to the homeless so that the food can be distributed across the year, Pastor Martin Beckett said today. 

"I'd like to thank Stuart Ayres for engaging with us and delivering this funding to where it is needed most." Mr Beckett said. 

"This contribution will allow us to store big donations, palettes of frozen food so that the needy won't be so hungry in the winter months.

 ''I was given the opportunity to work with local community groups and deliver $500,000 in state grants to support local community projects across Penrith and the lower mountains. I took a hands-on approach to each application, going to their facilities to see their work first-hand. It's a privilege to have been able to secure the funding for this work with our community's most disadvantaged,'' Mr Ayres said. 

''This is one of the best bits of my job. Achieving real change for community groups in Penrith and the lower mountains."

 The Community Building Partnerships Program provides funding to local not-for-profit groups to support small infrastructure projects. Each application is evaluated by the local Member for Parliament on its contribution to community life, as well as by government experts who look at its economic benefits.

Liberal Member for Penrith Stuart Ayres today announced $10,170 in Community Building Partnership funding for a new boat to add to the Pendragon Panthers Dragonboat Club.

 Mr Ayres met with Gil Swadling and Fiona Gray of the Pendragon Panthers to let them know the good news.

 "I'd like to thank Stuart Ayres for securing this funding for our club. As a growing club our group needs extra facilities to cater to the increased interest in our activities." Mr Swadling said.

 "Our dragonboat club supports the fitness needs of around 50 members coming from various age groups and capabilities. We're here for everyone and this new boat will help us expand our reach into local high schools and universities." Ms Gray said.

The Building Community Partnerships Program, run annually, gives funding to local not for profit groups who are in need of infrastructure. Each application is evaluated by the local Member for Parliament on its contribution to community life, as well as by government experts who look at its economic benefits.

 As a local MP, delivering  $500,000 in funding for local infrastructure projects has been a very rewarding process. I think challenging politicians to get out of their office more often and giving them the capacity to make a real difference locally is what democracy should all be about.'' Mr Ayres said.

"As a local MP, having the ability to make recommendations to the Premier about where resources in the Penrith electorate should go is a great way to make sure money is going to all the right places rather than backroom operators and bureaucracy.

"Meeting with people who set aside hundreds of volunteer hours every year and having them let me know how a small amount of funding could dramatically improve their ability to serve the Penrith electorate is as rewarding as it is informative.

"This is a great opportunity to support a growing club and I look forward to the boat's launch and monitoring its growth in the coming years."