Ten major infrastructure projects fast-tracked to haul Sydney out of COVID slump
Ten major infrastructure projects will be fast-tracked in a bid to shake Sydney out of the COVID slump; and Guy Sebastian wants similar drastic action to rebuild the city’s live entertainment scene.
NSW
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A new metro rail line, dam and motorway are among 10 major infrastructure projects to be fast-tracked under new planning assessment rules as the NSW government looks to reboot Sydney after the worst of the COVID slump.
Ahead of next week’s crucial State Budget, Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said that despite being a “tough year,” 2020 will ultimately mark a “turning point” for Sydney.
“We will be able to come roaring out of this with a renewed sense of just how lucky we are, and how well we have managed during this challenging time,” he said.
Planning Minister Rob Stokes said a new accelerated planning program would prioritise “strategically important” projects, including a new Western Sydney Metro station and the M12 Motorway, which would connect the M7 with the Western Sydney Airport precinct.
There are also plans for a new dam at Dungowan, near Tamworth.
Mr Stokes declared the government would scrap more than 170 restrictive planning guidelines that were putting a handbrake on development.
He said the government was “bonfiring” the guidelines which added “no value and clog up the system”.
“The removal of these redundant or duplicated policies, guidelines and rules will reduce backlogs and bottlenecks, cut costs for applications and make the planning system easier to navigate,” Mr Stokes said.
And in another bid to increase investment in Sydney, Mr Stokes will on Friday launch a $14 million online planning tool to streamline the application process for developers.
“We have listened to industry and know that a key issue is accessing clear and simple information on what contributions are required for a development,” Mr Stokes said.
Mr Perrottet told The Daily Telegraph the coronavirus pandemic has provided a “great opportunity” to “open up Sydney”, saying: “We are already seeing that, with more flexible trading arrangements, and the onus is on us to ensure we keep that going.”
The announcements came as prominent Sydneysiders declared now is the perfect time to kickstart Sydney’s recovery from the COVID slowdown.
Businessman and Bradfield governor Tony Shepherd said now is “a great time to rebuild” because NSW has proved “resilient in adversity”, adding we have “managed the pandemic better than any other state in the country”.
Mr Shepherd said the state government should embrace technological innovation for Sydney’s future, including “smart roads” to support future driverless cars.
He believed such vehicles will come sooner rather than later and change the way we use our roads.
Better communications infrastructure could ensure state roads can take advantage of the cars of the future, he said.
Committee for Sydney Chairman Michael Rose believed the government’s priority should be to “get the message out that Sydney’s open,” and “getting Sydney people to start using the CBD again”.
Mr Rose, also a Bradfield governor, welcomed a recent push to outdoor dining amid the pandemic, declaring public spaces should be made “as inviting, attractive and accessible as possible”.
From today, Sydneysiders and tourists will be given more options to eat and drink by the harbour, with an alfresco dining scheme expanding to Darling Harbour. More than 20 venues can apply for more outdoor dining space with a single application that can be approved within a week.
“This is all about (getting) more patrons through the door,’’ Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello said.
However performer Guy Sebastian has called for drastic action to make Sydney a world-class live entertainment city again.
The chart-topping singer said live music and entertainment was a powerful, yet simple, way of bringing people together and building community as we try to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It needs to be from the ground up and it needs to be as drastic as the lockout laws that decimated it in the first place,” Sebastian said. “We are not going to get out of this with a mild-tempered fund that just ticks boxes. We are going to get out of it by creating real cultural change.”
A way of creating that change would be for councils and governments to implement initiatives to incentivise musicians to be part of the community.
Sebastian also believes music lessons in schools are vital.
“Councils need to put in place initiatives like a roster system where musicians are paid and that can actually viably instil culture back in to this state and this country,” he said.
Sebastian will perform at The Daily Telegraph’s Bradfield 2020 event at Luna Park today on behalf of The Sony Foundation
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