Radio personality Alan Jones joins rally against Parramatta light rail construction
Business owners and residents have rallied against the 2020 light rail construction date in western Sydney with radio personality Alan Jones joining the protest.
Parramatta
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- Stage one of Parramatta light rail given planning approval
- Church St businesses concerned about light rail construction
Business owners and residents have rallied on Church St to fight the incoming light rail construction.
Sydney City councillor and leader of the Small Business Matters party, Angela Vithoulkas lead the charge for protests against the planned 2020 start date.
“It’s cold comfort for businesses to have this light at the end of the tunnel when they can’t keep food on the table to feed their families because light rail has driven away their business,” Ms Vithoulkas said.
“It’s a big fight to take on Transport and the state but I’m hopeful that all our voices will be heard, it’s going to be a long fight, what we’ve seen on George St and in Newcastle is that it’s not going to be easy.”
Ms Vithoulkas is currently involved in a class-action suit against the state government.
The $2.1 billion, 12km Sydney project, which she is taking to court is running a year late and facing another $1.2 billion law suit from contractor Acciona.
Radio personality Alan Jones also spoke at the event, attended by around 40 supporters, claiming he has been unable to get a clear answer on the reasoning behind the choice of transport or the route from all levels of government.
“I spoke to former premier Michael Baird and Brad Hazzard and I asked them and they couldn’t answer,” Mr Jones said.
“What we’re going to see here is the same as we’ve seen in the city and these businesses, the backbone of our economy, don’t deserve that, they deserve better.”
Small business owner Ray Wehbe said he and other businesses along Church St feel ignored by both the state and Transport NSW.
“They’re preparing an alibi for when things go wrong,” Mr Wehbe said.
“I’ve been at my place for 17 years and since this started we’ve had a lot of stress about losing our business and our livelihood.”
Dundas resident Vera Myronenko also attended the rally, because she has seen the changes in Parramatta.
“I lived here as a child and when I moved back to buy my forever home everyone said I wouldn’t last six months because its so different than what it used to be,” Ms Myronenko said.
“I don’t understand why the centre of the city which is already accessible needs a light rail.”
Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance recently made an announcement to defer the start of works on Church St as response to local business concerns.
“We want to give businesses as much certainty as we can, and have heard loud and
clear that shops and eateries on Church Street would like as much time as possible to
prepare for Parramatta Light Rail construction works,” Mr Constance said.
“Our priority is to ensure local business owners have all the support they need well in
advance of, and during construction. These businesses need certainty so we are
making a rock-solid commitment that construction will not start in this dining strip until
2020.”
Similarity Parramatta State MP Geoff Lee, who also attended the rally, said the benefits of the new transport system would far outweigh the negatives, calling on those opposed to the decision to speak up.
“Why haven’t Parramatta councillors moved a motion to say they don’t support the route, if that’s their opinion,” Mr Lee said.
“Parramatta Light Rail will transform our city and suburbs … It will also take thousands of cars off our roads and it will connect our major employment, housing, educational, health and entertainment areas.
“We are totally committed to delivering for our community. We need state-of-the-art
public transport to tackle congestion and to make our city and suburbs the best place
to live. I am always available to talk to any people in our community about light rail.”