Best of the West: Photos show how Western Sydney has transformed

Western Sydney once used to be considered the city’s problem child but now it stands on the cusp of a decade of unprecedented growth.

It was once considered the problem child of Sydney.

Rundown, neglected and plain-old forgotten, the city’s west — and its many faces stretching from the foot of the Blue Mountains to the outer edges of the inner west — was viewed as the cause, not the shining solution, of many of Sydney’s issues.

No longer.

With unprecedented billions flowing into the area, an airport which promises to link it directly with the rest of the world, and a cultural and educational revolution under way, Western Sydney stands poised to usher in a decade of growth which will completely alter the face of the entire state.

Nearly seven years after The Daily Telegraph launched its groundbreaking Fair Go for the West campaign, which saw then-premier Mike Baird commit to a slew of election promises, the region is developing at hyperspeed.

The tracks are being laid on the $2.4 billion Parramatta Light Rail, revolutionising transport around Sydney’s rapidly growing second CBD.

The Greater Sydney Commission, launched in 2016 following the Telegraph’s 57-day campaign, initiated a desperately needed co-ordinated viewpoint of land use in the vast west.

Parramatta Light Rail construction on Church Street.

Artist impression of the proposed M12 Motorway which includes the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport train line.

Work rumbles ahead on Western Sydney International Airport and the newly named aerotropolis suburb of Bradfield, while the recently approved Powerhouse Parramatta promises an unrivalled cultural drawcard in the west.

Projects such as the Sydney Zoo in Bungarribee have transformed barren paddocks into places of wonder and education.

In just five years the face of the Greater West has changed remarkably, with the region’s progress to be captured in a landmark report by the Centre for Western Sydney to be unveiled tomorrow.

The Mid-Term Report Card, outlining the NSW government’s performance in Western Sydney halfway through its current term, asked local businesses, cultural groups, charities, migrants’ services, policy bodies and residents their opinions on the city’s progress.

Report author, Western Sydney University’s assistant vice-chancellor Andy Marks, said the document captured a snapshot of a region destined to boom.

“It was inevitable – the rate of growth, the diversity, the mix of people, the sheer energy of the region means it was always going to rise up,” Dr Marks said.

“We got a really good mix of businesses, charity and residents offering their honest views.”

And while respondents praised unprecedented levels of investment in roads, rail and health infrastructure, key concerns continue to remain over housing and education.

“Housing, housing affordability and homelessness are issues that continue to pervade the west,” he said.

The mixed results are backed by the stats – while life expectancy has improved slightly in Western Sydney over the past five years from 83 years to 83.4 years, it still lags behind Sydney at 85 years.

Homelessness is still a big issue for Sydney’s west. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

It’s all the more important as rates of birth in the west continue to lead the state – with Western Sydney’s 15,260 babies in 2019 topping NSW’s regions once again.

The key takeaway, according to Dr Marks, was a “recognition that we’re starting to see that Western Sydney is a mixed bag”.

“The government is starting to recognise that if you just treat it as a big block, you won’t get the best out of Western Sydney,” he said.

“This report lets the Westies have a say.”

According to Christopher Brown, the founding chair of the regional think tank, Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue, the region’s changed face in five years would usher in a new level of aspiration for residents.

“Western Sydney is now Sydney’s solution, not it’s problem,” he said.

“Five years ago your aspiration was to get home from the train station safely.

“Now it’s the solution to growth, to health … why can’t the cure from cancer come from Western Sydney?”

SYDNEY’S LAND OF OPPORTUNITY GIVES GLIMPSE OF FUTURE

Ben English, Editor

Seven years ago, when we launched Fair Go for the West, the region of Western Sydney was viewed by the broader population as a problem.

What we set out to do was examine whether that was true by looking at the facts. We also wanted to see if there was another story to be told.

As it turned out, the data bore out the fact that, for decades, Western Sydney had been let down by governments of all persuasions due to a lack of resources, attention and — not to put too fine a point on it — love.

There was a deficit in spending on education, police, health, infrastructure and transport that was contributing to poorer life outcomes for its residents.

And they didn’t really feel like they had been heard.

So The Daily Telegraph sought to campaign for a fairer outcome and to redress these gross imbalances. We asked locals across the region what they wanted.

The data showed there needed to be more effective linkages for people between where they lived and where they worked, a greater focus on safety and better facilities for schoolchildren to be able to realise their potential in the classroom, among other issues.

As a result, The Daily Telegraph crafted a list of priorities – the top of which was an international airport in Western Sydney. It also included a major arterial connection to the CBD, which turned out to be the WestConnex, a better transport system around Parramatta, which resulted in the light rail, and a significant sea-change in our attitude to culture in Western Sydney, which resulted in our recommendation for the Powerhouse Museum to move to Parramatta.

These were all achieved and were all giant strides for the region’s future.

But there is one more thing that I believe we achieved which is less tangible, yet perhaps more precious than money and concrete — confidence. The west is no longer snobbily viewed as Sydney’s problem child.

It is now seen more commonly as a place of opportunity. And the economics bare this out; the population is younger, its ethnic diversity is a big plus and it is far more dynamic than the city’s other regions. There are also more entrepreneurs per capita and more small businesses per capita.

In short, if you want to see Sydney’s future, look west. This week we celebrate that revolution, with our new campaign, Best of the West.

Originally published as Best of the West: Photos show how Western Sydney has transformed