14 April 2011
A swift decision by the Federal Government to support the North West rail link will boost business confidence in Sydney, according to the Urban Taskforce. The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and the NSW Premier, Barry OFarrell, today met and discussed ways they could work together on transport and infrastructure issues.
The Urban Taskforces chief executive, Aaron Gadiel, said that Sydney – in particular – has not fared well under the Federal Governments infrastructure funding plans.
The Federal Government has allocated $5.2 billion to Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast, Mr Gadiel said.
Theres a real risk that Sydney will miss out, if the Federal Government does not respond to the transport priorities of the NSW Government.
The reality is that Infrastructure Australia did not classify any of the former state governments Sydney infrastructure projects as ˜ready-to-proceed, including the Parramatta to Epping rail link.
There is no powerful reason why the Federal Government should remain locked into this project, given that no substantial work on this project has taken place for many years.
Mr OFarrell is right to prioritise Sydneys North West and South West heavy rail links first, out of the large number of potential public transport projects.
These long promised links will help ease Sydneys congestion pressures and encourage more businesses to invest in the city.
Mr Gadiel said that the decision by the Federal Government to develop a sustainable population policy suggests that the federal government wants to be involved in the future shape of urban communities.
“This responsibility carries with it the obligation to fund our cities’ infrastructure requirements as the demand for housing, shopping precincts and new workplaces continues to grow,” Mr Gadiel said.
“The Federal Government needs to support Sydney, in the same way as its supporting the other mainland state capitals.
The Urban Taskforce is a property development industry group, representing Australias most prominent property developers and equity financiers.
