Western Sydney Airport will boost economic growth and employment in Macarthur but without adequate transport links our community could miss out, says federal MP Dr Mike Freelander.
The Member for Macarthur has added his support to Bill Shorten’s promise to fund the missing link to the north south railway line linking the airport to Macarthur and Western Sydney at St Marys.
Also backing the policy commitment was the federal Member for Werriwa Anne Stanley and State Member for Macquarie Fields Anoulack Chanthivong.
With the Member for Campbelltown Greg Warren already on the record supporting the Bill Shorten initiative, most Labor leaders in Macarthur have now endorsed the plan.
The commitment was announced during the leader of the opposition’s speech to the NSW Labor Conference on the weekend.
The project is set to be delivered in stages under a Shorten Labor Government.
It includes extending the South West rail link from Leppington via Bringelly to the new airport at Badgery’s Creek, and a new connection from Macarthur in the south to St Marys in the north – serving the massive job corridor at Sydney Business Park.
Under the current government plan, only the airport to St Marys part of the rail line will be built by the time planes start landing and taking off from Western Sydney Airport in 2026.
Scoping studies and reserving a corridor for the airport to Macarthur section is the current position.
“I have always said that the new airport should be properly connected via rail and a Labor Government will make this happen,” Dr Freelander said.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“For too long, the current government and their out of touch Prime Minister have been dragging their feet on this subject, focusing on their scoping studies and press conferences.[/social_quote]
“A Labor Government will put serious funding behind this project to ensure that South West Sydney has the public transport infrastructure it so desperately needs.
“Labor has been committed to this project since before the last election, when we committed $400 million to get this project under way,’’ Dr Freelander said.
The rail link is expected to take 1,000 cars off the road every time a train leaves the station, with Deloitte estimating the project will add over $44 billion in benefits to the economy by 2040.
Member for Macquarie Fields Anoulack Chanthivong said connecting the new Western Sydney Airport to Leppington and Macarthur is “a real game-changer for our community, taking cars off our congested roads and giving people in south west Sydney unprecedented access to job opportunities’’.
“For years, the Liberal Government has overseen massive development in Sydney’s north-west and south-west but has failed to have the vision to connect these two important population centres.
“Labor is righting a wrong and opening up huge job opportunities along this rail line,’’ Mr Chanthivong said.
Federal Member for Werriwa Anne Stanley also highlighted the announcement of Labor’s plan to create a $300 million National Park and Ride Fund to build multi-storey new car parks and more car spaces in high-growth, high need areas.
“I have been campaigning alongside my state parliamentary colleague Anoulack Chanthivong for improved park-and-ride facilities across the South West for some time and it is great to see a national focus on an issue that affects people living in our growing suburbs,’’ Ms Stanley said.
Public transport is one of the biggest problems for Macarthur as the workers already spend more time in their cars getting to and from work than any other people around Sydney – trains will give workers opportunity to get to the new jobs around the new airport