Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

LE () (): My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Last year the government appointed a so-called expert panel to review Western Sydney's transport infrastructure needs, which the Prime Minister stated would take the politics out of planning. The report was completed in April and recommended $200 million in urgent infrastructure investment across Western Sydney. Why has the government not made the report publicly available? When will it be released, considering that the government appointed the expert panel who made the recommendations?

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank very much the member for Fowler for her question and for her championing the cause of Western Sydney, alongside so many of those on this side of the House who know what an important economic powerhouse it is for the nation. Can I just say a few things in relation to this. The Australian government of course are committed to ensuring appropriate infrastructure is in place for Western Sydney's growth, prosperity and livability. The Australian and New South Wales governments are investing $4.4 billion already in the Western Sydney Infrastructure Plan, with the Australian government committing over $3.5 billion to that. In fact, just last week I was there with the New South Wales Minister for Transport, alongside a number of the members of this place, as Peggy the tunneller tunnelled through on the Western Sydney international airport rail link. It was terrific to see that that investment was there.

We will continue to work in partnership with the New South Wales government. As you know, they are a new government, and they also are undertaking a review of their infrastructure pipeline at the moment. We've provided the report from the Western Sydney transport infrastructure panel to them, and we'll continue to work through that. The report is not public, but, as you know from media reports, it has made a number of recommendations around business cases, which is the right thing to do to start that planning for future investment over the next decade, and we'll be making decisions about that alongside and in partnership with the New South Wales government.