The Vision New England Summit, convened by Independent Member for New England Tony Windsor, resolved to push for the Bolivia Hill section of the New England Highway to be made the number one priority of the RTA for major works.

Mr Windsor labelled Bolivia Hill a death trap for motorists and said the New England community was sending a message to the Federal Government on the issue.

“No doubt it is a death trap. People have died there,” he said.

“It is the worst part of the New England Highway within the electorate and the last hill that needs to be fixed.”

Mr Windsor said the community of New England had shown its support for the upgrades to Bolivia Hill, as well as the Tenterfield heavy vehicle bypass, by backing the resolutions, reflecting that they were issues affecting the entire electorate.

“People from 500 kilometres away supported the issues as one, for the whole electorate. They travel through Tenterfield and worry about their safety,” he said.

At the summit Tenterfield Shire Council Mayor Toby Smith addressed delegates from about 40 community organisations across New England, sharing the shire’s concerns on Bolivia Hill and on the heavy vehicle by-pass.

He said the resolutions concerning Bolivia Hill and the by-pass gave more weight to the issues when lobbying the government, and demonstrated that people from the whole of New England supported these local efforts.

Mr Windsor said that the 21 resolutions from the summit would now be followed up.

“The summit resolutions all have associated follow-up actions which we will be pursuing,” Mr Windsor said.

“I will provide updates as to progress made on each resolution and look forward to positive outcomes for the communities of the New England electorate.”