Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure. Will the minister update the House on the progress of Western Sydney international airport, including its positive impact on job creation and driving our economic comeback from the COVID-19 recession?

Alan Tudge (Aston, Liberal Party, Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lindsay for her question and for her tireless advocacy for Western Sydney. She is an absolutely incredible advocate in that regard. Anybody who has been out to Western Sydney recently—and, of course, the member for Sydney, who lives there—knows that the landscape in Western Sydney is being transformed as the Western Sydney international airport is coming to fruition. The largest earthmoving exercise is underway as we speak, out there in Western Sydney, in a year—

Ms Templeman interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will pause for a second. The member for Macquarie will leave under standing order 94(a).

The member for Macquarie then left the chamber.

Alan Tudge (Aston, Liberal Party, Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

By early 2022, we'll start the terminal construction, thereafter the runway and, by 2026, that airport—which we agreed to when we first came to government—will be completed. That will make an enormous difference for all those residents—

Dr Freelander interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will pause. The member for Macarthur can join the member for Macquarie.

The member for Mac arthur then left the chamber.

Alan Tudge (Aston, Liberal Party, Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That will make an enormous difference to all those residents out there in Western Sydney. They will be able to go to a local airport and it will be a domestic carrier, an international carrier, full service, discounted services, right from day one—what a service that will provide.

But what's more, as the member for Lindsay knows, this project is all about jobs: jobs now and jobs in the future. Right now, over 11,000 jobs are being created during the construction period alone. Once it's in the operational phase, 28,000 jobs will be created. So many of those jobs will be in Western Sydney itself. We set ourselves a target of 30 per cent of jobs being in Western Sydney and we're already above 50 per cent—we're tracking at 54 per cent of those jobs being in Western Sydney, as the member might know. That percentage means individuals working locally, being able to feed their families, supporting local cafes and the like.

But it's not just this airport that is creating the jobs in the development of it there, it's also the infrastructure which we're putting around it. As the member would know, just recently we announced further funding to go towards the development of the rail line to connect the airport to the Sydney Metro from the day that it's open. That's a massive $11 billion project. The sod will be turned later this month and it will create 14,000 jobs as well over the next few years.

So we have 11,000 jobs from the Western Sydney Airport; 14,000 jobs in that rail; 4,000 jobs in the other infrastructure which we're doing around the Western Sydney Airport; and 28,000 jobs coming during the operational phase. This is an absolute jobs bonanza—this project and the infrastructure which we're building around it. That is good news for families, good news for Western Sydney and good news for the government's comeback from the coronavirus crisis.