with Ed Husic MP

Anyone who knows our area knows we live in a boom town . The Blacktown council area welcomed over 100,000 new residents in the last decade . ^{[ 1 ]} While the pandemic has seen parts of Sydney shrink , the northwest has kept on growing . Riverstone and Marsden Park recorded the country ’ s largest population increase in the last two years , ^{[ 2 ]} and a further 200,000 people are expected to make the area home in the near future .

People from all walks of life are drawn here by new homes and a vibrant atmosphere where small businesses can succeed . But sustainable growth requires new and better infrastructure to keep us

connected to jobs , services and the wider region .

Unfortunately , the state and federal governments have not kept up with change in our part of the world , and local transport networks are now stretched to breaking point . For many locals , the suburban dream is becoming a congestion nightmare .

Bumper-to-bumper traffic is an everyday sight on Richmond Road . Efforts to widen this vital artery have not accounted for future demand . Meanwhile the M9 motorway , which would run parallel to the M7 , was first mentioned by the NSW Government eight years ago . ^{[ 3 ]}

This would take the pressure off other major roads and bring new jobs and

opportunity to the region . Incredibly , the project remains ‘ under investigation ’ with no updates in over a year . ^{[ 4 ]}

Public transport is a similar story . The Western Line has long been overcrowded and unreliable – a product of dealing with three times the customers it was designed for . The Northwest Metro offers great service to the Hills District but ends at Tallawong .

It should be extended to St Marys to bring more of our area onto a train line . And rather than modern , multistorey facilities , commuter carparks in places like Schofields are little more than concrete slabs .

Both the state and federal governments like to talk a big game on infrastructure – and they love a hi-vis

photo opportunity . But when it comes to the places that need it most , they have simply failed to follow up .

It shouldn ’ t be this way and it doesn ’ t have to be . Governments should plan and work together to ensure transport evolves with our cities and regions . That the outer suburbs aren ’ t saddled with tomorrow ’ s residents and yesterday ’ s network .

I ’ ve been making this case for years now , and I promise to keep bothering ministers and those that serve them until they finally deliver for the northwest .

[ 1 ] https :// www . blacktown . nsw . gov . au / About-Council / Our-city / City-profile ; https :// www . abs . gov . au / census / findcensus-data / quickstats / 2011 / LGA10750 [ 2 ] https :// www . abs . gov . au / statistics / people / population / regional-population / latest-release [ 3 ] https :// roadsaustralia . weebly . com / m9-motorway . html

[ 4 ] https :// www . transport . nsw . gov . au / corridors / oso