Corrections Minister Geoff Lee,the state member for Parramatta,also revealed the cost of the light rail extension would be $3 billion,although the government would not confirm that estimate.
Premier Dominic Perrottet with local MP Geoff Lee and Cities Minister Rob Stokes at the Parramatta light rail in late 2021.Nick Moir
The mega-project has a question mark over it after NSW Cities Minister Rob Stokes last month amid rising costs and labour shortages – with the Beaches Link motorway and second stage of the light rail the most likely to be deferred.
Mr Lee told a Business Western Sydney conference on Thursday he would continue to fight within his own government to get the project funded following Mr Stokes’ “not so positive messages”. But he also urged the federal government to chip in as it did with projects such as WestConnex.
“Why doesn’t the federal government help? These things are always supported,but they don’t show us the money,” he said.
Later Mr Lee told theHerald:“It’s easy and it’s self-serving just to say ‘I support it’. It’s not too late. They can always make election commitments,I’ve seen how elections work.
“They co-fund lots of things that we do. How much do they want[to win] the seat? That’s what I ask. Stop stuffing around. They can afford things when they choose to,just like us.”
But a spokesman for federal Cities and Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher said the federal government had not received a request from the NSW government to help fund the project.
Mr Elliott said a final business case for stage 2 was currently being prepared and an investment decision could not be made until that was ready. He did not confirm the $3 billion price tag.
Although fundamentally a state issue,the Parramatta light rail extension is a major issue in the marginal federal seats of Reid and Parramatta. The second stage would connect Parramatta with Wentworth Point,an isolated high-density community of 15,000 north of Olympic Park,in Reid.
The Liberals hold Reid on a margin of 3.2 per cent and it is considered a key battleground for both major parties. Labor holds Parramatta on a margin of 3.5 per cent but long-serving incumbent MP Julie Owens is retiring.
The planned stage two extension would link Parramatta with Melrose Park,Wentworth Point and Olympic Park.Wolter Peeters
The government picked up a 4.2 per cent swing in 2019 in Parramatta and Prime Minister Scott Morrison is bullish about the Liberals’ prospects;he campaigned on Wednesday with candidate Maria Kovacic,who is facing Labor’s Andrew Charlton.
On Thursday Premier Dominic Perrottet said on the government’s review of major infrastructure projects.
Last month Mr Stokes told theHerald the problem was not so much finance but market capacity. “The government’s dance card,if you will,for mega-projects is full right now. Our project partners are run off their feet,” he said.
The $2.4 billion first stage of the light rail project,linking Westmead,Parramatta,Camellia and Carlingford,is due to open next year.
Business Western Sydney executive director David Borger,who hosted Thursday’s forum,has warned that without the promised extension,.
Jacqueline Maley cuts through the noise of the federal election campaign with news,views and expert analysis.