Dr Andy Marks: Community is key for Western Sydney’s reboot
We have an opportunity to embrace a new phase of visionary infrastructure, less to do with building things and more about communities, writes Andy Marks.
Opinion
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As a music-obsessed kid in the ’80s, I almost believed “we built this city on rock’n’roll”. There was no sign of anything else being built in Western Sydney. We had a half-finished M4, a dusty Cumberland oval and rows of fibro houses.
As for aspirations, it was pretty much accepted that “higher education” was for kids east of us. I’m yet to be convinced rock’n’roll is not critical infrastructure, but teenage me would be amazed at the West’s recent transformation. We not only have a fully connected M4, we have a new stadium at Parramatta, and “smart” housing developments with heat-reducing tree canopies and passive cooling.
Most importantly, we have multiple university and TAFE campuses in our region. I am biased, but with good cause. Education changes lives.
University and TAFE qualification rates for Western Sydney residents more than doubled in the past 30 years. Making education accessible is unequivocally the most effective way to break poverty.
Kids in Liverpool, Bankstown, Parramatta and Campbelltown can walk into a local campus confident in their path. That’s what the best infrastructure does: it provides choices, creates pathways and makes connections. The $5.6 billion Western Sydney Airport is on track. The metro network is rolling out across the north and southwest, and the Parramatta light rail project has been accelerated.
But building stuff isn’t the vote winner it once was. Multi-billion dollar projects taken to the most recent Federal and State elections didn’t quite produce expected boosts.
Voters want to understand how infrastructure actually improves lives. That question was recently answered in the most unexpected way.
The sudden mass work-from-home pivot forced a rethink. All of a sudden, digital infrastructure was more important than roads and rail. Fast, reliable internet became essential. But the story wasn’t the same for everyone. Many jobs don’t lend themselves to work-from-home.
Nurses, teachers, drivers, and tradespeople relied on road and rail during the pandemic. Most of those workers live in Western Sydney. And many, especially nurses and teachers, are in female-dominated, relatively low-paid professions. The way we value those essential workers needs a rethink.
In that light, the Berejiklian government’s $120 million free preschool extension is a hugely significant social infrastructure investment. It addresses a big federal stimulus omission and supports women in the workforce.
Social infrastructure is good for families and the economy, as is digital connectivity. A Greater Sydney Commission report found households southwest of Sydney “have lower rates of internet access”. Like missing rail links, digital infrastructure gaps must be addressed.
The pandemic also saw the region fall back in love with public space. Suddenly given back hours wasted on congested commutes, people filled our parks. We have an opportunity to embrace a new phase of visionary infrastructure, less to do with building things and more about communities.
Dr Andy Marks is Director of the Centre for Western Sydney and Assistant Vice-Chancellor at Western Sydney University
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