PM’s cycleway peddling towards trouble

The Government has confirmed that it has no information on how many ‘great rides’ will be built for $50 million and that no money for promoting the cycleway is available, Labour’s Tourism Spokesperson Kelvin Davis says.

“Associate Tourism Minister Jonathan Coleman today confirmed that there is no information available regarding the Prime Minister’s cycleway.

“After 20 minutes of questioning at a select committee today, Mr Coleman confirmed that so far no jobs have been created, no great rides have been selected and that no criterion for the selection of great rides is available.

“He also confirmed that no thought had been given to funding any promotion of the cycleway once it was finally established, that there was no money for any ongoing maintenance and that the Government may be required to put in further funds down the track.

“Just how much is this cycleway going to end up costing taxpayers?

“Quite clearly the Prime Minister did no research whatsoever before he committed taxpayer funds,” Kelvin Davis said.

“We welcome investment in the tourism sector, but we have serious concerns that not enough work has been done to ensure the success of this extremely costly project.

“It is staggering that the Prime Minister can promise $50 million and call it a job creation scheme when he actually doesn’t know how many jobs will be created, how much creating even a single ride will cost and has provided no funds for the promotion and ongoing maintenance of the project.

“Taxpayers deserve to know that their money is being handled responsibly and that investments will be made wisely not simply on whim.

“Clearly the Government still has its training wheels on when it comes to job creation if it can’t provide even basic details of a scheme it is spending $50 million on,” Kelvin Davis said.

ENDS

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