Liberal MP Daryl Maguire has launched a blistering tirade against his political opponents as the race to state elections heats up.
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The long-serving Member for Wagga slammed Labor as an “ongoing risk” and reaffirmed his commitment to run as the Liberal candidate at the March 23 election in 2019.
It follows the release of the state government’s “Our Regions” website, a mapping tool that enables taxpayers to interact with ongoing state government funded projects.
Mr Maguire used the new project mapping system to highlight the state government’s investment in regional areas, taking a dig at Labor in the process.
“Our state government has invested $16 billion into the state and there’s 100 ongoing Riverina projects listed on that map,” he said.
“We’ve been working hard to pay off Labor’s debt and deficit after 16 years of trashing our economy … and there’ll be even more funding as we continue to work with local councils.”
Labor MLC Mick Veitch was hypercritical of the state government’s mapping website, arguing the project was simply a cover.
“I cannot believe the state government is putting this information on a website,” he said.
“The reality is the state government is trying to deflect people’s attention away from their terribly wasteful stadiums decision.
“Wherever I go in regional NSW people are very clear – they do not agree with the state government’s decision to spend more than $2.5 billion on two stadiums in Sydney.”
Mr Maguire rejected this claims, arguing investment in regional areas has never been stronger.
“We’ve got plans for more infrastructure and more facilities to make living in Wagga the pinnacle of regional Australia,” he said.
“We also just handed a further $1.5 million to areas like Lockhart and The Rock.”
Mr Maguire rose to power in March 1999, succeeding Joe Schipp and maintaining a 42-year Liberal stranglehold on the electorate.
Now, the 59-year-old will prepare for another election.
“I just could not risk Labor getting in,” he said.
“I’m feeling healthy, I’m in good spirits and I’ve got plans for the future that I want to see through.”
Mr Maguire cited ongoing infrastructure in the region as a key motivator to remain Wagga’s parliamentary representative.
“I’ll be damned if I let Labor risk the new hospital in Tumut,” he said.
