A recent report by the Sydney Morning Herald has claimed that the Federal Government ignored recommendations made by an infrastructure review committee who assessed the transport needs of Western Sydney and called for $200 million of business case funding.
Announced in October 2022, the review was completed in April 2023, a month out from the release of the 2023-24 Budget. Commissioned by Infrastructure Minister Catherine King, the review recommended that further investment be made into Sydney’s future Metro network, extending the new line north to Tallawong and as south as Glenfield.
The Herald report says the choice made by the Federal Government to not release nor act on the recommendations that it had “irked” panel members. The panel was Chaired by former Western Parkland City Authority Chair CEO Sarah Hill, senior bureaucrats David Mackay and Kiersten Fishburn, Council Execs Kerry Robinson and Lindy Deitz, business representatives Sue Lawrence and David Borger and academics Andy Marks and Awais Piracha.
The NSW Government’s Budget, to be released later this month, will include a $40 million allocation to fund the business case to extend the Metro to Tallawong. The independent review commissioned by the Federal Government claims the extension would benefit the likes of Bidwill, Willmot and Tregear and provide opportunities to add and improve social housing dwellings in the north-west.
The review also included a recommendation to provide public shuttle buses to the future Western Sydney Airport in the interim, before more permanent public transport measures could be made. Bus routes in the region were slammed for a lack of frequency and access, with Oran Park cited as one community that struggles with issues such as traffic, road width and train station proximity.
The review endorsed immediate funding for the business cases of seven priority road corridors around Western Sydney Airport, upgrading the Cumberland line between Schofields and Leppington and upgrading The Northern Road from Borrowdale to Londonderry, which ultimately fell on deaf ears.
“(A failure to address public transport in Western Sydney) will have adverse consequences for urban development, transport users, the community, sustainability and productivity,” the review reads.
While the Metro West will be potentially altered by the NSW Government, the federal review did not touch on the line, but did support Premier Chris Minn’s notion that more stations should be created to minimise large gaps between stops.
Additionally, the review committee believed that three pilot programs to improve walkability and public access, as well as land-use planning and sustainability research. The Federal Government allocated $200 million over two years to the national Major Projects Business Case Fund, but this is a national fund, and it is unsure what projects in NSW, let alone Western Sydney, are included. The Federal Government also claims that it has pledged $3.5 billion to the Western Sydney Infrastructure Plan.
