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

My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Western Sydney Airport is on track to be Australia's next international transport hub, handling up to five million passengers a year. This will bolster the Australian economy and Western Sydney's economy with job opportunities, especially for locals. How committed is the government to building the much-needed rail link that will connect the community and those in Fowler to the new airport and to the three major CBDs of Sydney? Can you guarantee we will not be the forgotten people when allocating funding and resources?

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Lindsay, do not interject while a minister is approaching the dispatch box. I give the call to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government.

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

Thanks very much to the member for Fowler for her question. I know she is an incredibly passionate advocate, alongside the many members on this side of the House, for Western Sydney, an important part of not only the New South Wales economy but the whole nation's economy. I have been at the Western Sydney International Airport most recently, and it's 50 per cent complete. The terminal is just about to hit top-out. I've stood on the new airstrip. It has been terrific to see that. Most recently, I was at the rail project, where Peggy, the tunnel borer, came through, and we're seeing that project well and truly proceed. As well as the over $5 billion that we're committing out of the infrastructure investment pipeline on the airport itself, we're committing, alongside the New South Wales government, $4.4 billion in infrastructure to make sure that Western Sydney International Airport is connected and for the people of that area. It is an incredibly important project. It's an incredibly important economic development area, not just for New South Wales but for the whole of the country. I look forward to being there at its opening in 2026.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the member for Makin—the member for Gippsland, it may be your birthday, but you're getting close to a warning as well. I'm generous, but I'm not that generous.