CALLS have been made from the Liberals and Greens to expedite work on duplicating the Barton Highway, which would make the commute between the Riverina and Canberra considerably safer.
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Member for Hume Angus Taylor has called for the Barton Highway steering committee's terms of reference to be redrafted to ensure progress is made on the long-touted project.
"I agree the steering committee needs to set short, medium and long-term goals - but I completely reject the claim that duplication in a staged manner is not warranted in the short to medium term," he said.
Mr Taylor has claimed that sections of the terms of reference are "removed from reality" and traffic growth on the highway hasn't been considered.
Meanwhile, the Senate passed a motion put forward by Greens NSW Senator Lee Rhiannon on Thursday calling on the Federal Government to fund the duplication of the Barton Highway in the coming federal budget.
"There needs to be the necessary allocation (in the budget) to ensure we can have the dual carriageway extended from Canberra to Yass so the Barton Highway is a safe road," Senator Rhiannon said.
"NSW and the federal governments need to be working together and not just tossing the issue from one to the other, working together to make sure the upgrade is funded and the community isn't in the situation where they have to continue to pick up the pieces after terrible accidents."
Senator Rhiannon has taken up the fight to get the highway duplicated after being approached by the Greens branch in the Yass area, who have been vocal on the issue.
She has also criticised the state and federal governments for allocating large chunks of money to two new motorways in Sydney - the WestConnex and NorthConnex projects - while leaving regional areas out in the cold.
"There is clearly money in the budget to make our rural and regional roads safer and the Barton Highway needs to be at the top of the list," she said.
