New South Wales Government plans to establish the new suburb of South West Creek in Sydney fail to address the most critical ingredient for successful communities - public transport.
Planning Minister Anthony Roberts’ announcement of the planned suburb to the south of the new Western Sydney Airport should have been accompanied by a plan connect it to the Sydney rail network.
The suburb’s expected 30,000 residents must have access to rail services, particularly people working in new jobs in and around the airport and those working closer to the Sydney CBD.
If no rail line is built, the new suburb will be serviced by just one road in and one road out.
Without rail, the new development will worsen traffic congestion, which is already eroding Sydney’s quality of life and acting as a hand brake on the city’s economic growth.
The new airport has the potential to act as a catalyst for the growth of well paid jobs in Western Sydney.
But we must get the planning right.
That includes ensuring that there is a clear public transport plan in place before we make ad hoc decisions for new land releases.
That is why Federal Labor has already committed to the construction of the Western Sydney Rail along the north-south corridor
This north-south line will not only connect the new airport to the passenger rail network from the day it opens, but also make it easier for people to move around within the Western Sydney region.

THURSDAY, 23 NOVEMBER, 2017