Perrottet said the arrangement for the rapid bus links was for the federal government to provide 80 per cent of the funding for the $1.6 billion project and the state the rest.
“The[federal] Infrastructure Minister Catherine King needs to stump up the cash ... for this project to get underway,” he said. “It’s an 80:20 funding arrangement.”
However,a spokeswoman for King said funding of the rapid bus links had been a matter solely for the NSW government from the time a so-called city deal for western Sydney was signed in 2018.
Under that deal with the Commonwealth,the NSW governmentcommitted to opening the rapid bus links to the airport before the first planes are due to take off in late 2026.
The standoff over funding comes despite warnings from the state’s transport agency that money was needed by July this year to avoid the airport opening without the rapid bus links from Liverpool,Campbelltown and Penrith.
Despite the warnings,Perrottet said he could guarantee that the transport infrastructure would be in place when the new airport opens in four years.