Sally Sitou (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My electorate of Reid is home to some amazing things: great food, culture, wonderful parks and a great diverse community. But, unfortunately, Reid is also home to Australia's worst roundabout. Residents in the suburbs of Homebush, North Strathfield, Concord, Rhodes, Sydney Olympic Park, Newington and Wentworth Point have suffered for years and years having to contend with traffic to contend with traffic congestion at the DFO roundabout.

The traffic is terrible on weekends, during peak hours and around major sporting events, making it disruptive and unsafe for residents, and my colleague the Member for Werriwa says that she avoids it entirely. For years, previous governments have been talking about fixing this traffic mayhem, making election commitment after election commitment but never delivering. And residents have been patiently waiting for a solution.

When Transport for NSW finally landed on a preferred option, it was estimated to cost $100 million but had no timeline or indication of the level of disruption to the community. Since I was elected in 2022, I have met many times with Transport for NSW to try to get a fix to the DFO roundabout mayhem. I've also met with the management of DFO and the Sydney Olympic Park Authority to make clear that they have an obligation to the local community to do their bit to ease traffic congestion during periods of peak demand.

This year, I was finally advised that the project's cost had increased dramatically, almost doubling, and also required the total demolition of Bressington Park. Neither of these were acceptable nor viable options. So, with the state member for Parramatta, Donna Davis, we have pushed Transport for NSW to come up with an alternate plan that would more quickly improve the safety and traffic flow through the roundabout.

I am happy to say that we have now taken the first step in upgrading the traffic light infrastructure at the roundabout. This is an important first step to improve safety for drivers, and Transport for NSW believes it could be in place in the next 12 months. The local community has waited far too long for Australia's worst roundabout to be fixed. I will continue working with Transport for NSW to improve the situation there.

On a brighter note, this week was an exciting week for Sydneysiders. We saw the long-awaited opening of the new Sydney Metro, a transformative public transport project that will be the biggest change to how my city moves around since the opening of the Harbour Bridge. Sydneysiders were genuinely excited by this product. They lined up from 1 am to get the first metro at 4.54 in the morning. They held up signs, took selfies and posted them online.

Projects like the metro require long-term vision. The metro was a big idea. It required vision to initiate it and see it through. It is right that we pay tribute to all the people involved in its completion, including former Liberal premiers of New South Wales, Mike Baird, Gladys Berejiklian and Dominic Perrottet, as well as the Labor Premier, Chris Minns and transport minister, Jo Haylen. Politics at its best is about having a clear vision.

I look forward to the day when four new metro stations will open in my electorate at Five Dock, Burwood North, North Strathfield and Sydney Olympic Park. These stations will transform our community, allowing us to reduce car dependency, build housing close to transport and create walkable main streets with local businesses. That is my vision for my electorate, and it is a long-term vision that will require some patience, long-term collaboration, and support for residents and businesses through the construction. But the payoff will be a community with better, more modern infrastructure that meets the needs of residents now and in the future, a vision I am proud to share with Reid constituents.

House adjourned at 19:59