She said there was ‘‘simply not enough’’ for the Deniliquin region.
However, the budget did contain funding for some election promises.
Commitments made to the Deniliquin area included: $3.2 million for Deniliquin Hospital; $1.575 million for upgrades to the Deniliquin Industrial Area roads; $909,000 for rebuilding the Berrigan Heavy Vehicle Bypass; $481,000 for rebuilding works on Conargo Rd; $198,000 for a Deniliquin-Barham Road bridge assessment; $1.184 million for widening of Jerilderie Road and $69.4 million for an Echuca-Moama Bridge.
While the money was welcomed, Mrs Dalton said it was simply not enough.
‘‘I’m very unhappy at how little Deniliquin has been received in this budget,’’ Mrs Dalton said.
‘‘I intend to keep the pressure on, and will be pestering the government to ensure Deniliquin and Finley get their fair share.
‘‘It’s an insult to pledge just $3.2 million for the hospital.
‘‘My petition to improve Murray healthcare needs 5000 more signatures to force the NSW Government to debate the issue in parliament.
‘‘I believe we can bring our rural healthcare crisis into the national spotlight and shame the government into action.
‘‘I’m also seeking a meeting with the Health Minister (Brad Hazzard) and will push the need for Deniliquin Hospital to provide more services.
‘‘It’s disappointing this government is still running a massive surplus while our schools, hospitals and roads are falling to bits in the bush.
‘‘Rather than funding ad-hoc projects, I want to work with the NSW Government to come up with a comprehensive strategy to address rural decline.
‘‘Our health, education and transport infrastructure are still light years behind Sydney standards, and a few million here and there won’t fix that.’’
Edward River Council is also set to receive more funding with another round of the Stronger Communities Fund.
General manager Adam McSwain said that like most budgets there were positives and negatives.
‘‘A huge positive is the significant funding for drought support,’’ he said.
‘‘We have also received more funds as part of the Stronger Communities Fund which in recent times has allowed us to upgrade the town hall.
‘‘It will provide funding for other projects in the community.
‘‘We are hopeful that we can make the most of the money our region has received but we would like to see a further investment in our community.’’
While the ERC will receive more funding, no changes were made by the state government for the emergency levy increases that came into place last month.
The increase has forced the ERC to scramble for an additional $66,826 in its budget.
‘‘We’re still very disappointed about the emergency services levy increases,’’ Mayor Norm Brennan said.
‘‘There has been little to no consideration into this decision, particularly with areas like ours.
‘‘One of the key things I noticed in the budget was that they’re committed to having no mobile blackspots in regional NSW.’’
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