Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts. Will the minister please update the House on the progress of Western Sydney airport and how this project will benefit people in Western Sydney, including creating critical jobs as we continue our economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic?

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lindsay, who is absolutely committed to delivering economic opportunities for the people of Western Sydney, based upon our very comprehensive rollout of infrastructure for Western Sydney and leveraging the economic opportunities that come with that, working closely with the Berejiklian government in New South Wales.

Western Sydney airport, a $5.3 billion investment—do you know, there needs to be 25 million cubic metres of earth moved? I was at the site just the week before last. They've already moved 10 million cubic metres, and it's on track to be completed by 2022. So the airport is on track to open by 2026 to take 10 million passengers a year. Some 28,000 jobs, direct and indirect, will be generated within five years of the airport opening. Of course, that's on top of the jobs created during the construction process, and we're hard at work with tenders out for the airside works and pavements. The tenders for the terminal have already closed.

This is part of a much bigger plan. The Commonwealth and New South Wales governments are again working together on the metro, which is the rail connection to the airport, with a $5.25 billion Commonwealth commitment. There's the M12 motorway, which will connect to the airport. There's the Northern Road, which is a $1.6 billion project. It's 35 kilometres long, and there are six stages, three of which are complete. In fact, on my visit to the airport, I was struck by the fact that Luddenham has changed significantly with that part of the Northern Road now completed so that it no longer crosses the Western Sydney airport site. And, of course, there is the Western Sydney City Deal—three levels of government working together to leverage this massive piece of infrastructure. It's an integrated plan. It's job-generating infrastructure. It's about integrated urban planning. It's about business and investment attraction. It's about governance through the Western Parkland City Authority. It's three levels of government working together to deliver jobs and deliver economic opportunity. We're not just building an airport, we're not just building a rail line, and we're not just building roads. What we are doing is transforming Western Sydney in a project that will deliver jobs and prosperity for Western Sydney, for the nation and for all of us who will benefit from this extraordinary project, which is on track. And 2026 is going to come very soon.