Saturday meant a new start for Maitland but also the end for Liberal MP Robyn Parker.
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The first female member for Maitland announced in October last year that she would not recontest the seat and had been slowly withdrawing from Maitland politics.
Ms Parker had contemplated a career change for a few months, but she decided to reconsider her political career after scandal rocked the Hunter and the state government.
Then, despite coming out with a squeaky clean report from the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Ms Parker decided politics was no longer her calling.
She was nowhere to be seen on election night when the swing saw Labor’s Jenny Aitchison win the seat.
“It’s hard to be negative when you live in such a great place like Maitland,” Ms Parker had previously told the Mercury.
“And when you travel around you realise how lucky we’ve got it here.
“I’m in a good place and we’ve [the government] got projects that aren’t finished but that are well under way.”
Among her list of accomplishments while MP, Ms Parker can count the New England flyover, part of a $45 million road improvement program, expected to be completed by 2016.
The real winner was the Hunter Expressway, which opened last year.
The M15 has provided relief for Maitland motorists and opened the door to the Hunter Valley.
The $5.6 million upgrade to No.1 Sportsground was announced during the Maitland regional cabinet meeting, which Ms Parker chaired.
The Maitland Town Hall received a $2 million to upgrade the auditorium and Hunter River Community School at Metford was handed $8 million from the state and federal governments.
Ms Parker also pushed for a better share of the Resources for Regions kitty and for the new Lower Hunter hospital planned for Metford.
“I have worked very hard. I achieved what I wanted to achieve and delivered good results,” she said.
Ms Parker did bear some of the brunt when Barry O’Farrell was forced to step down as premier over a bottle of Penfolds Grange.
Mike Baird was appointed leader and Ms Parker, then the minister for the environment and heritage, lost the portfolio.
She entered Parliament in 2003, spent eight years in the upper house, four years in the lower house and three years in cabinet.
When Ms Parker was sworn in she said she would not squander the chance to work for the betterment of everyone and, as she wraps up her political career, is proud of her achievements for the city.
Career highlights:
- $45 million for New England Highway roundabout improvements
- $20 million for a new public hospital for Maitland with site selection confirmed and planning under way New Hunter River Community School at Metford
- $2 million for the refurbishment of Maitland Hospital Mental Health Unit
- $2 million for Maitland’s regional civic and cultural hub
- $5.6 million for Maitland Sportsground
- $15 million to upgrade Rutherford Technology High School
- $700,000 for community organisations – Community Building Partnerships Projects
- The establishment of the EPA as an independent regulator with some of the toughest environmental laws in Australia
- The establishment of nine new parks and reserves (including two national parks
- Ground-breaking approaches to threatened species legislation and management
- Record visitation to the state’s national parks and gardens
- A transformation in the way NSW deals with its waste and recycling
- Creating the most comprehensive air quality network in Australia
- Securing the International World Parks Congress for Sydney in November 2014
