At yesterday's Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) candidates forum, the Member for Newcastle, Jodi McKay, claimed that the Herald's Independent Transport Inquiry was headed by a member of Save Our Rail.
I have been told that she repeated this claim on radio this morning (though I did not hear the relevant radio excerpt).
At a candidates forum conducted by Save Our Rail last night (for which Ms McKay was an apology), I mentioned her claim, and was assured by Save Our Rail office bearers that it is not correct.
At the UDIA forum, Ms McKay also showed a PowerPoint slide that she claimed was an artist's impression of a proposed Wickham Interchange. In fact, it was an already published artist's impression of the proposed Wickham Terminus, which contains NO interchange facilities at all.
Ms McKay's campaign to cut Newcastle's rail line and intercity train services has been characterised by a number of significant instances of misinformation, which Ms McKay has never publicly corrected. Remember, for example, the Hunter Development Corporation's lie - upon which they based their entire benefit-cost case for cutting the rail line - that a university CBD campus was only possible if the rail line was cut!
It is most unfortunate that Ms McKay is spreading such misinformation about her proposal to cut the rail line during an election campaign.
I hope the local media is willing and able to challenge her about such claims.
