The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) have welcomed the Federal Budget’s focus on Western Sydney Airport but is concerned by the lack of funding for supporting infrastructure and transport links.
WSROC President Cr Stephen Bali said: “As expected, the government has announced $5.3 billion for the construction of Western Sydney Airport, but has left significant uncertainty around funds for supporting infrastructure.
“This is a significant concern for Western Sydney.
“It has taken 200 years to develop the region’s current public infrastructure, including a transport network that struggles to serve two million residents.
“We now have just 20 years to support an additional one million residents, 300,000 jobs, and an international airport.
“The scale of this challenge should not be underestimated,” Cr Bali said.
“WSROC is concerned that Western Sydney rail was not considered a priority. It is just one of many projects that could be funded under the $10 billion National Rail Program,” he said.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“The government has cited the need for a solid business case, but if Western Sydney Airport is the silver bullet for economic growth the Government claims, the project should justify not just one rail link, but an entire rail network,” he said.[/social_quote]
“We argue it is the Australian Government who must ensure that Western Sydney Airport stacks up for the businesses, communities and voters of Western Sydney.
“And it will not stack up if the result of the new airport is traffic gridlock.
“Western Sydney residents have consistently shown a willingness to accept growth when it is supported by appropriate infrastructure investment. Without such investments quality of life will decrease and the community will not accept that,” he said.
There is some hope that additional funding for a Western Sydney rail network will be available as part of the Western Sydney City Deal, and Western Sydney councils will be pushing for this through the City Deal process.
