Badgerys Creek: Turnbull gets tough on Sydney Airport Group with May deadline

EXCLUSIVE: THE Turnbull government will build Badgerys Creek airport itself if Sydney Airport Group can’t commit to the project by mid-May.

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THE Turnbull government will build Badgerys Creek airport itself if Sydney Airport Group can’t commit to the project by mid-May.

The Daily Telegraph ­understands the Commonwealth is preparing to take on construction of the $5 billion project, which will generate tens of thousands of jobs, if Sydney Airport walks away from the proposal.

Federal Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher yesterday warned the government has “no intention of letting this drag out”, suggesting the government will not budge on its mid-May deadline, despite Sydney Airport’s call for more time to consider the proposed terms.

Badgerys Creek Airport artist’s impression / Supplied

“It has four months, until mid-May, to accept the ­notice of intention,” he said.

“If Sydney Airport Group accepts, it will build and ­operate Western Sydney Airport. If not, the government is prepared to do it.”

Mr Fletcher said the government could still go to another private company with similar terms, though his comments suggest the government is leaning towards building the project itself.

Sydney Airport insists it is entitled to nine months to consider the offered terms, while the government argues the company is “substantially familiar” with the proposal, meaning it should only get four months to mull it over.

The infrastructure: The airport will be a major generator of jobs.

Mr Fletcher said time was running out. “As a private company Sydney Airport Group has to consider the interests of its shareholders; the government’s job is to act in the public interest,” he said. “Now the ‘Notice of ­Intention’ has been issued, the clock is ticking for Sydney Airport Group.”

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims last week said it would make sense for the government to build the airport and sell it later, which would also promote healthy competition.

\Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher preparing for construction of Badgerys Creek Airport. Picture: Hollie Adams

Sydney Airport, which has first right of refusal for the new airport, said it would need “material support from the Commonwealth to make (the project) commercially viable”. The government, meanwhile, believes it is stumping up enough in funding for road infrastructure and other works.

If the government were to build the airport, it would enter into a management agreement with a company to run it airport. The government insists the new airport will be open for business within a decade. “The government is ­determined to get Western Sydney Airport operating by 2026,” Mr Fletcher said.

The first artist’s impression of the new Badgerys Creek airport to be built in Western Sydney.

COUNCILS HOLD KEYS TO UNLOCK LAND SUPPLY

Jason Tin

THE state government has backed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s call for councils to approve development applications quicker to combat rising house prices.

The PM warned Sydney councils were taking too long to get applications moving, with the city lagging behind Brisbane, and said local governments had to streamline planning laws to boost housing supply.

NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes (right) said the state welcomed Mr Turnbull’s comments. “We agree that local councils have a really important role to play in dealing with development applications, particularly for housing, efficiently and dealing with technical issues and resident objections in a timely manner,” he said.

“We know that delay can add cost to the development process. So the quicker and more efficiently councils process DAs can only be helpful.”  When asked about Mr Turnbull’s remarks for stamp duty concessions potentially helping more people buy property, Mr Stokes said housing affordability was a shared challenge. “And that means government at every level needs to look at various levers they have and use them as effectively and efficiently as possible to make it as easy as possible for families to afford a home,” he said.

Mr Stokes, recently at odds with his federal colleagues when he called for a rethink around negative gearing, said the state was pumping unbudgeted stamp duty revenue into infrastructure to unlock new housing opportunities. “This is one of the reasons why we are seeing the highest levels of housing supply in Sydney for more than a generation,” he said.

Opposition treasury spokesman Ryan Park urged “every single politician” to spend the summer thinking about how to address housing affordability. He agreed councils had a role to play in that.