Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s $231m Western Sydney funding blitz
Peter Dutton will try to win over Sydney’s crucial western suburbs by unveiling a multi-million-dollar cash bomb to unlock the region’s new airport and choked roads.
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Peter Dutton will try to win over Sydney’s crucial western suburbs by unveiling a $231 million funding blitz to unlock the region’s new airport and choked roads, it can be exclusively revealed.
The Opposition leader will use today’s Daily Telegraph Future Western Sydney summit to unveil the multi-pronged cash bomb, which – combined with prior commitments announced ahead of the election – takes the Coalition’s pledged funding for Western Sydney infrastructure to more than $1.7 billion.
Mr Dutton will outline his vision for the region in the coming years, saying his government
understands that “investing in infrastructure is crucial to realising Western Sydney’s full potential”.
He is expected to tell the Future Western Sydney Summit – which seeks to shine a light on the needs and issues facing the our city’s western suburbs – the total $1.7 billion will be a “game-changer” for the region.
“I want Western Sydney to be the economic powerhouse that we know it can be. Part of that is ensuring we build the roads and the infrastructure that western Sydney needs,” he said of the new funding.
“These investments will be a game changer for western Sydney: it will mean better roads and less congestion. It will mean less time spent on roads and in traffic and more time spent with your family.”
“It will also take pressure off the broader Sydney network which we know is critical. Greater Western Sydney’s population is projected to hit 3.2 million by 2036. We must invest now to keep pace with this growth and make sure the community doesn’t fall behind.”
Mr Dutton on Friday will reveal the Coalition will pump $117.5 million into completing the final leg of the Mulgoa Road corridor upgrade in Penrith and $50m to duplicate Edmondson Ave in Liverpool.
Another $18.8m will also go to business cases to investigate upgrades to semirural roads surrounding the future freight hub which is the western Sydney airport, and $15m to plan future upgrades to the Old Windsor Road-Windsor Road corridor and Werrington Arterial Stage two business case.
Upgrades to the intersection of Pennant Hills Road and Moseley Street in Carlingford will get $15m, with another Pennant Hills intersection at Evans Road to receive $10m, while the Dundas intersection at Kissing Point Road entry to Quarry Road to get a $5m overhaul.
The Coalition has already committed to matching Labor’s $1 billion announcement to buy up land for future rail or Metro lines in south-west Sydney between the Western Sydney Aerotropolis, Macarthur and Leppington, as well as $500m to upgrade Fifteenth Ave, a key road linking Liverpool with the new western Sydney airport.
They’ve also matched $25m to upgrade Toongabbie Bridge.
The funding doesn’t include anything to safeguard the future of a potential rail or Metro link between St Mary’s and Tallawong – something Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described as the “missing piece” of Sydney’s rail network, when he announced funding for south-west rail last month.
The NSW Government has committed funding for a business case for a future rail or Metro link between St Marys and Tallawong.
The Coalition will need to win voters over in a raft of Sydney seats to be any chance. Labor-held Parramatta and Werriwa are crucial, while safe Labor electorates like Macarthur will have to be flipped for Mr Dutton to form majority government.
Read more on Future Western Sydney here.
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Originally published as Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s $231m Western Sydney funding blitz
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