Local resident Donna Palmer got the biggest cheer at this morning’s announcement that a Chris Minns Labor Government would build a lift at Macquarie Fields railway station as a matter of high priority.
Ms Palmer, who is pictured above in the red mobility scooter, was one of several Macquarie Fields residents at the media conference held outside the station.
Some had disabilities, while others were elderly, but what they had in common was the impossible task of gaining access to the western platform of the station due to the lack of a lift.
“I have lived locally since 1973, and I can tell you that being disabled is a hard fact of life, let alone trying to find a station you can go to get to where you want to go,’’ she said when Mr Minns’ people passed her the microphone.
“If I want to go to Campbelltown, I can access the train from this side (east), but when I come home I have to go to Glenfield [which has a lift], get off the train, get on another train, to return here and go home.
“We need a lift, and we need it now. Not just tomorrow, it should have been done 40 years ago,’’ Ms Palmer said.
“We shouldn’t be counted off the list, we pay our taxes, I think we should be listened to and heard.’’
The South West Voice asked the first question of the Labor leader, his transport spokesperson Jo Haylen and Macquarie Fields MP Anoulack Chanthivong.
“On behalf of the residents, how quickly will a Labor Government build a lift at this station, will it take weeks, months, years?’’
Ms Haylen responded: “We’re here today because Macquarie Fields is a top priority.
“It needs to have happened years ago, and if Labor is elected we will prioritise stations on the basis of needs, such as this one,’’ Ms Haylen said.
Earlier Mr Minns announced that the lift would be built as part of a new approach to help make all public transport accessible for everyone.
“A Minns Labor Government will upgrade our train stations to make them more accessible, safe and secure with a $300 million investment,’’ the Labor leader said.
A Labor Government would create a $900 million fund by merging two existing programs, the Transport Access Program ($342m) and the Commuter Car Park Program ($351m) and add $300 million.
“The community that needs it the most will get it first under Labor,’’ Ms Haylen said.
Mr Chanthivong, who has been campaigning for a lift since he was first elected in 2015, said that today was “about righting the wrong – the shameful fact that the Liberal Government ignored its own transport data and blatantly engaged in pork barrelling.
“People in Macquarie Fields have been waiting years for a lift at the station, and today I welcome Labor’s announcement to make stations more accessible,’’ he said.
“A NSW Labor Government will deliver a long overdue lift at Macquarie Fields.’’
