NSW Opposition Supports Western Sydney Projects and Community Transport

In the Budget reply speech, the Leader of the Opposition announced that they would scrap the CBD Metro project and support the development of the North West and South West rail lines. While this is the position that the Opposition has held for a while, it is good to hear them standing behind this promise and supporting these projects for the people of Western Sydney. Hopefully these are not empty promises. They depend on what the current Government does with the Metro contracts before the next election. Scrapping the Metro releases a lot of capital to invest in other ways. Liberal Party discussion of the NW and SW Rail Links and the Metro; click here.

The other interesting thing mentioned by the Opposition Leader was the fact that they would double the budget in the Community Transport Program. This is something Community Transport providers have been asking for for a long time. Compared to the huge infrastructure spends being promised, it only requires an increase of $3.9m to double the size of this program and this will benefit many disadvantaged people all over NSW. $3.9m represents about 1/800th of the increased money committed to transport infrastructure projects in the budget or 1/1000th of the transport services budget; a very small amount in the context of the transport budget. See the Liberal Party commentary on Community Transport; click here.

It was interesting that the Government has, by creating the idea of the 'Transport Super Department', taken the Liberal Policy and taken it one step further by including Roads.