[dropcap]A [/dropcap]rail connection from day one is critical if Western Sydney Airport is to be the massive catalyst for job creation forecast by experts, says Dr Mike Freelander.
The federal member for Macarthur says that’s why Labor will provide $400 million to work with the NSW Government to get these works under way as soon as possible, contingent on a positive assessment from Infrastructure Australia.
He says as a result of a commitment made in April of last year, a Shorten Labor Government will start the first stage of building a rail link from Leppington via Bringelly to the new Western Sydney Airport.
This would boost economic growth in the region by up to $3.6 billion annually.
Overall, the project will create more than 43,000 direct jobs and support up to 98,000 jobs indirectly in Western Sydney.
Dr Freelander says it will:
- Extend Sydney’s South West Rail link from Leppington via Bringelly to the new airport;
- Build a new outer orbital train line from Macarthur in the south to St Marys in the north, which would also service the airport.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“If developed properly, the new airport will be a game changer for Western Sydney, especially in terms of job creation,’’ says Dr Freelander.[/social_quote]
“However, without adequate infrastructure, it is likely that South West Sydney will miss out on the opportunities it provides.’’
Dr Freelander says that as part of the recent City Deal, the Turnbull and Berejiklian Coalition governments had recognised the need to build a line from St Marys to Badgerys Creek via the airport.
“However, it is evident that their plan includes no link from the Macarthur region to the airport and for an extension to Rouse Hill in the north-west,’’ he says.
Dr Freelander said “state and federal governments had plenty of time to consider the dire need of adequate infrastructure prior to finalising their City Deal’’ – the Western Sydney needs rail Scoping Study was available in September 2016.
