THERE is unusual agreement between the major party candidates about the biggest local concerns in the Kogarah electorate.
Chris Minns (Labor) and Nick Aroney (Liberal) even put them in the same order of priority — the rebuilding of St George Hospital, rail timetable cuts and the need for more parking in Kogarah.
The government announced last month $307 million would be spent on a new seven-storey acute services building above the recently completed emergency department.
Mr Minns said Labor made the same commitment in June last year.
Both candidates said a close watch would be needed to ensure funding flowed so the project was completed as promised by the end of 2017.
The 2013 rail timetable, which slashed services and removed peak-period express trains to several St George stations, was a gift at the time to newly-endorsed Mr Minns.
Fifteen months later, residents were still upset, he said.
Mr Aroney said he had found "a little bit of negativity" before agreeing it could be more than that.
"I have spoken to and emailed [Transport Minister] Gladys Berejiklian because it is an issue that needs to be corrected," he said.
"Most definitely people have spoken and I am putting that forward to the minister.
"Into the future it will be looked at but no dates have been set."
On the need for parking, Mr Minns last year proposed building a multi-level car park above the existing ground level TAFE college car park.
"It is Crown land and will cost the government zero dollars to transfer the land to the council," he said this week.
"We are on the precipice of having a wonderful town centre in Kogarah, but we need more parking."
Mr Aroney agreed it was a good idea.
He said in the meantime Roads and Maritime Services was looking at making the 110 spaces in the car park available to the public after 5pm on weekdays and on weekends and public holidays.
Mr Aroney said that when the new building at St George Hospital was finished, the heliport would be moved to the rooftop and the present site turned into a 330-space car park.
He said another priority, if he was elected, was proactively finding out what funding schools needed.
Mr Minns said the electricity privatisation question had started to bite since the Queensland election result.
Candidates at this stage:
Nick Aroney (Liberal). Lives at Blakehurst with his wife Nicole and children, Amy, 15, Christina, 13, and James, 11.
A lifelong St George resident, he worked in his father's milk bar at Mortdale after completing his education at Hurstville Boys High School. Mr Aroney, 46, sits on Kogarah Council and took leave from his role as operations manager with a company supplying beverages to cruise ships to campaign full-time.
Chris Minns (Labor). Lives at Carlton with wife Anna and children Joe, 6, and Nicky, 4.
He has lived in St George all his life apart from when he studied for a masters degree in public policy at Princeton University in the US.
Mr Minns, 35, was deputy mayor during one term on Hurstville Council, became assistant general secretary of the NSW Labor Party for two years and worked as an adviser to former premier Morris Iemma and for John Robertson when he was environment minister.
Brent Heber (Greens). Lives in Kingsgrove with his wife and young son. He is a sound mixer and acoustics consultant in the TV and film industries.
He has "a strong passion for multiculturalism".
Priorities include "making electricity cheaper through a mix of renewables, more efficient public transport, less corruption in NSW Parliament and making sure St George Hospital gets its $300 million upgrade".
KOGARAH
Labor Party’s margin at Kogarah is 5.4 per cent after an electoral redistribution.
Waterfront suburbs such as Kyle Bay and Blakehurst were transferred into Oatley electorate and Kogarah now takes in all of Hurstville to the east of King Georges Road.
What do you think the major issues for the Kogarah electorate are?
