PM on Right Track with South West Metro
The Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue has welcomed the Prime Minister’s $1 billion commitment to extend the Western Sydney Airport metro to the South West.
The Dialogue has long advocated for the South West Sydney rail links to Leppington and Macarthur be prioritised as part of the next stage of the Sydney Metro network and connect Sydney’s booming suburbs to the Western Sydney International Airport.
Speaking at the launch of the Dialogue’s Airport City Summit today, Mr Albanese said the planned investment would connect people with the jobs of the future.
“I am pleased to announce that a re-elected Albanese Government will be investing $1 billion to preserve land corridors to facilitate the building of future rail extensions from Bradfield to Leppington and Macarthur,” Mr Albanese told the Summit.
“Just as I have long been an advocate for a major airport in Western Sydney, I am also a long-term supporter of extending the South West Rail Line past Bradfield.
“That’s why my Government put additional funding into the South West Sydney Rail Planning Business Case to include extending the line to the Macarthur region.
“This is the next practical step in safeguarding the future and ensuring we are well-positioned to deliver the infrastructure communities across southwest Sydney to connect people with the jobs of the future and with each other.”
Dialogue CEO Adam Leto said the commitment would be welcomed by the businesses and communities of South West Sydney.
“Fast-tracking delivery of the Western Sydney Airport Metro Extensions and linking the region’s growth areas is the right move for the Macarthur region – which is well under-serviced when it comes to public transport connections to major employment centres,” Mr Leto said.
“At the moment, the Sydney Metro network is only servicing one side of Sydney, and we need to turn that around.”
Dialogue Chairman Christopher Brown AM, who interviewed the Prime Minister on stage at the Airport City Summit, added:
“It’s 50 years since Tom Uren and the Whitlam government launched the Macarthur Development Corporation to funnel federal funding to improve the economic and social outcomes for the people of Campbelltown. It’s fitting that Anthony Albanese, a disciple of Whitlam and Uren, is bringing Canberra back to the table to finally deliver on the promise made and too often broken by successive national governments.”
Mr Brown spoke to the Prime Minister of the need for a new federal-state partnership to leverage existing infrastructure projects, such as Adelaide submarines, Brisbane’s Olympics and Western Sydney’s Airport road and rail investments into long-term economic activity.
“We have to switch the infrastructure dial from what’s the next mega project toward how do best leverage what we are already spending.”
More than 350 delegates have come together at the Dialogue’s Airport City Summit to hear the opening keynote speech from the Prime Minister. He was joined by Federal, State and Local Government leaders and mayors alongside key industry stakeholders to discuss the once-in-a-generation opportunities presented by the opening of Greater Western Sydney’s Airport City.
The Airport City Summit will explore the transport, infrastructure, housing, roads, freight and skyways policies needed to ensure the region is ready to take off when the airport opens in less than two years.
Summit speakers include: John Graham, NSW Minister for Transport, Roads, Jobs, Tourism the Arts, Music and the Night-time Economy; Ken Morrison, CEO, Bradfield Development Authority; Simon Hickey, CEO, Western Sydney International Airport: Clr Mannoun, Mayor of Liverpool; Phillipa Harrison, Managing Director, Tourism Australia; Karen Jones, A/Chief Executive Officer, Destination NSW; Angela Jeffery, Head of Project Delivery, Sydney Metro; Trudi Mares, Deputy Secretary Planning, Integration and Passenger, Transport for NSW; and Dr Kerry Schott AO, Freight, Energy and Infrastructure Expert.
Mr Leto said the Summit and its speakers shone a light on how Western Sydney International Airport and the surrounding Aerotropolis would help cement the region as a global economic powerhouse.
“Western Sydney is preparing for an unprecedented era of economic prosperity, with billions of dollars being invested by government and private enterprise to create one of the nation’s biggest 24/7 international gateways,” Mr Leto said.
