Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

During the recent Christmas break, one of the most illustrative political farces was the naming—or I should say the misnaming—of one of Sydney Harbour's new ferries by the New South Wales Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Mr Andrew Constance. While it kept many people amused for a few days, the saga of lies, bluster and wastage of public money is tragic rather than comic, to my view. My electorate of Macarthur is undergoing rapid change from what was once a rural area to a high-density urban area with high-rise units lining the railways and rapid development of new housing estates to the north, to the south and to the east. The state government has recently approved further high-rise development along the rail corridor to the east. However, one element that's been missing and completely absent is that of public transport infrastructure and planning for it. All transport experts agree that a rail link to Western Sydney Airport is essential, yet Mr Constance has repeatedly said that there will not be a rail link until many, many years in the future. I call on Mr Paul Fletcher, the Minister for Urban Infrastructure and Cities, to bypass the New South Wales minister for transport and deal directly with the New South Wales government to get a rail link to the Western Sydney Airport as soon as possible so that it's there on day one. It is urgent that the planning and the building start now and not years in the future.