Western Sydney update The Future of the Western Sydney Economy Keynote Address: The Honourable Anthony Albanese, the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure (19 April 2013) The Sydney Business Chamber, with the support of the Federal Department of Infrastructure and Transport, hosted the Future of the Western Sydney Forum, seeking solutions to reinvigorate the Western Sydney economy. The Forum brought together hundreds of key stakeholders from industry, government and community organisations to discuss the critical challenges and opportunities facing the Western Sydney economy. Stakeholder feedback Forum participants were broken up to small groups and asked to identify critical challenges and opportunities for the Western Sydney economy. Responses centred around six themes: 1.The Big Picture 2.Badgerys Creek Airport 3.Governance 4.Transport and Infrastructure 5.Education 6.Culture The Big picture Participants generally saw the key challenge for Western Sydney as being addressing the growing jobs and housing deficit within the region. The pressures on infrastructure of more than 180,000 residents leaving the region for employment each day was acknowledged as unsustainable With its strong linkages with UWS as well as the already established justice precinct, Parramatta should be positioned deliver new knowledge based employment for an increasingly educated population. Participants saw the need to identify the regions “centres of excellence” and build on their strengths to help drive new innovative precincts – Macarthur Park, Eastern Creek, Westmead.

Badgerys Creek Airport Western Sydney is crying out for a major employment catalyst. Strong support for an airport to help make it happen. Need to connect with local community to get them on board Need to communicate benefits to local community – with a focus on the benefits for individual communities Opportunity to create aviation precinct on surrounding land Recognise role of freight, maintenance and associated industries An airport would provide significant opportunities in other industries and drive investment in new infrastructure. An airport would work as an enabler for growth in areas like Eastern Creek which could become, “the switching room for Australia” with an intermodal hub linked to the air freight network Governance A number of participants identified the need for stronger governance and for western Sydney to begin speaking with “one voice”. As the geographical centre of Sydney, Parramatta was identified as having a primary role in building opportunities. Western Sydney is however far more than Parramatta and there is a need to unlock potential and build on the strengths of areas across the region. Community consultation needs to be focussed on a regional scale to ensure benefits are spread and opportunities placed in areas of best fit. Better alignment between local and state government services is vital if we want to build prosperity. Need standardised regional boundaries s across agencies to improve alignment. Defined regional plan with clear accountabilities and roles for local/state/federal governments Bigger councils are needed, but we need to redraw all council borders to make sure they align with strategic centres Size matters for influence If governments are unwilling to make the change, Western Sydney needs an accepted ‘peak council’ to speak on the regions behalf

Transport and Infrastructure Job and population density can help to lead to more sensible transport decisions Flexible working arrangements including the option of working from home needs to be part of he strategy in reducing congestion on major roads Too much emphasis on to and from city – providing infrastructure that seeks to address the issue of the daily commute (Western Sydney to the City) is unsustainable over the longer term Light rail for Parramatta should be embraced Education Campuses are in the wrong place – consolidation required Need to bring businesses onto campuses – build the strengths of the region Culture Build on the established cultural infrastructure Leverage the regions cultural diversity to promote Western Sydney as a great place to live work play