Critical infrastructure in Western Sydney missing as funding plan comes to ends

Leppington Progress Association's Cynthia Meta is campaigning for infrastructure upgrades in Western Sydney. (ABC News: Nabil Al-Nashar) A representative of community group Leppington Progress Association is urging for key infrastructure upgrades in Western Sydney. Advocates are calling on the Commonwealth to work with the state government and local councils to develop a new 10-year plan. Minister for Western Sydney Prue Car says the NSW government is "investing record amounts to close this gap". Link copiedShareShare articleWestern Sydney mum Cynthia Meta says many in her community feel fed up with the lack of infrastructure in the city's south-west. From overcrowding at her local hospital's emergency department to a desperate need for better roads, Ms Meta said her neighbourhood had "fallen right behind". Ms Meta said parts of her local government area still did not have wastewater connections. "We're in the middle of a housing crisis — there are thousands of potential blocks but the developers can't buy them or develop them because there's no potable water or wastewater." Local advocates want a new 10-year infrastructure plan. (ABC News: Nabil Al-Nashar) She showed the ABC correspondence from her local MP that suggested wastewater connection may not come to her area until 2028 or 2032. Ms Meta felt if the state government did not have the funding to address the issues it was their job to lobby for federal funds. The long-time Leppington local represents a group called Leppington Progress Association, which she said had been campaigning for infrastructure upgrades for more than a decade. Ms Meta pointed to Rickard Road as an example, the main lifeline connecting Leppington Station to the newly developed town centre. The new high school is under construction in Leppington on Rickard Road. (ABC News: Nabil Al-Nashar) She said the road, which was in desperate need of upgrades, often experienced bad congestion, particularly during peak hour. On that same road, a new high school is under construction and another primary school is being renovated, leaving students to walk down muddy roads due to lack of footpaths. "You have little children walking to this new school they're building on country roads that have not been upgraded in eons," Ms Meta said. When asked about Rickard Road, Camden Council's general manager Andrew Carfield said: "We do have funding to deliver the road design, but funding has not yet been made available to deliver the actual road upgrades." He said the not-yet-available funding for road upgrades would include delivering "a whole new roadway with footpaths to support the growth of our community". Andrew Carfield said planning is underway for key road infrastructure. (ABC News: Nabil Al-Nashar) It comes as a decade-long federal government plan to fund road infrastructure in Western Sydney, which successfully delivered major billion-dollar projects like the M12 Motorway, the Northern Road upgrade and more, comes to an end this year. The M7-M12 interchange is set to open in the next few weeks, adding another puzzle piece to the major roads network, connecting the new Nancy Bird Walton Airport to Western Sydney. But local advocates said now was not the time for the government to take its foot off the throttle. The toll-free M12 motorway opened in March after four years of construction. (ABC News: Nandini Dhir) The Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue called on the federal government to work with the state government and local councils to develop a new 10-year program prioritising key infrastructure projects that would go beyond building roads. "We'd like to see the federal government take the lead again," the dialogue's chief executive Adam Leto said. Mr Carfield agreed that a longer-term strategy was needed, such as a 10-year plan, which could help streamline investment and infrastructure decisions from planning through to delivery. Adam Leto has called on the federal government to better fund Western Sydney projects and planning. (ABC News: Nabil Al-Nashar) Another point of concern was the pace of growth in the region. "We [Western Sydney] are forecast to grow by an extra 1.3 million people by 2041," Mr Leto said. He said social infrastructure, health infrastructure and major transport and infrastructure projects need to take priority. Prue Car says addressing infrastructure deficits would take time. (ABC News: Adam Griffiths) NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Western Sydney, Prue Car, acknowledged that addressing the infrastructure deficit would take time, "but we are investing record amounts to close this gap". "The Minns Labor Government is delivering record investment in the schools, roads and hospitals that Western Sydney waited too long for under the former Liberal-National Government," she said in a statement. Ms Car said the state government would work with the Commonwealth to "secure support for key projects" affecting the area. A spokesperson for t

Critical infrastructure in Western Sydney missing as funding plan comes to ends

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Critical infrastructure in Western Sydney missing as funding plan comes to ends

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