Lack of priority costing the Hunter's public education system

27th September 2021, the Hunter Valley Statehood Movement has echoed its call for statehood for the Hunter Valley after the NSW government again failed to release the business case for the Newcastle Education Campus.

Bryce Ham, spokesperson for the movement, “The NSW government’s continued failure to deliver the Newcastle Education Campus’ business case shows how little priority the Hunter gets from Sydney. It’s been three years of delays for this project and so far all we have to show for it is a renaming to justify a downgrade of ambition. Our public schools are in urgent need of expansion and upgrades but all we get is delays and silence.”

Ham, “Growing Hunter Valley towns like Medowie still have no public high school forcing students to commute to other towns or pursue private education. The Liberal NSW government is failing our region’s public education system but simply changing who is in power in Sydney will not fix the problem. We need statehood for the Hunter Valley because the only governments who will work tirelessly for the Hunter day after day will be Hunter governments elected by the people of the Hunter.”

The Hunter Valley Statehood Movement officially launched earlier this year following the Federal Court’s ruling against the Port of Newcastle’s planned container terminal. The movement says that widespread outrage over the last year as the Hunter continues to suffer from decisions made by the Sydney government has invigorated its supporters to push ahead with the campaign.

Ham, “This state has been built to serve Sydney and Sydney alone. It’s time that we said loud and clear, enough is enough. Newcastle and the Hunter Valley have been taken for granted by Sydney for too long. We have been neglected for decades and our region's future is uncertain because of that. But we can change this. It's time to put our future into our hands.”

The movement, which aims to hold its first major action in the next six months, highlighted that it is fighting for a Royal Commission into the feasibility of Hunter Valley Statehood to be held as soon as possible, and a referendum on Hunter Valley Statehood by 2030. It encourages people to visit its website and social media pages to learn more and find out how they can take action.

Ham, “With a Hunter Valley State, we will shape our own destiny. Decisions on our future will be made right here, not in a courtroom or parliament in Sydney.

Media enquiries: email media@hunterstatehood.com
More info: visit the movement’s website hunterstatehood.com