Campbelltown MP Greg Warren has slammed the State and Federal Liberal Governments for their lack of leadership and commitment to major rail and road infrastructure to accompany Western Sydney Airport (WSA).
“Our region and Western Sydney have grown tired of the continued hollow spin and short sighted photo opportunities that’s done nothing to provide the jobs, growth and infrastructure Western our community is crying out for,’’ he says.
“We need both the NSW and Federal Liberal Governments to get fair dinkum about the Western Sydney Airport and provide a solid infrastructure plan with timelines and subsequent funding to ensure the success of the airport”.
Mr Warren’s passionate call comes after a recent address by Federal Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher to local businesses and other community representatives, where he claimed rail for WSA was “not vital”.
This is despite the Minister’s own Department’s document An Airport for Western Sydney – Building Western Sydney’s Future stating that “rail will also play a vital role in supporting both the growth of Western Sydney and the proposed airport.”
The minister went further, saying that “experts have identified three possible options for train lines to Western Sydney Airport” – none of which connected to Campbelltown, the region’s major city.
Mr Warren said the minister’s statement was “seriously inconsistent’’ with his own government’s previous plan for the WSA, as well as community and business expectations.
Mr Warren also labelled the minister’s comments “absurd, nonsensical and fatuous”.
Minister Fletcher’s comments follow the Berejiklian Government’s continued failure to provide any real plan for jobs or concrete commitment for vital infrastructure to support the WSA – including rail.
“When it comes to policy and commitment for the Western Sydney Airport, the Berejiklian Government’s silence is deafening,’’ Mr Warren said.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“It’s one thing to build an airport, but we need to construct an airport that connects road to rail, links people to jobs and capitalises on the economic opportunities that comes with building a major airport.[/social_quote]
“The absence of a plan for rail connecting Campbelltown, a regional city with a major hospital, university and an existing rail line connecting us to the rest of Sydney, is absurd and a serious oversight.
“This clearly highlights a very serious issue where we have both Federal and State Governments that clearly lack the capacity to manage major projects effectively”.
The fact that the government had to build a train line to Mascot years after it was needed should tell anyone with a ounce of concern for our environment would have trains as vital to connect Camden and Campbelltown to BC Airport. A simple construction of a line from Leppington to Camden and the airport would take thousands of cars off the road and save workers and users to and from this great development hours every day but this Coalition Government is obliged to the motor industry so no rail until a Labor Government is elected