The Berejiklian Government has been encouraged to fund the upgrade of Picton Road to at least a dual carriageway linking the Illawarra and south-west and western Sydney.
The call has come from Member for Wollongong, Paul Scully, in a Notice of Motion in the Legislative Assembly this morning.
Mr Scully's Notice of Motion said:
I give notice that on the next sitting day I will move that this House notes that:
- Infrastructure Australia's Urban Transport Crowding and Congestion report published in August 2019 recognises the importance of upgrading Picton Road;
- Infrastructure Australia notes that without an upgrade to Picton Road "The Illawarra Region would therefore find itself relatively isolated from the benefits of business investment and employment growth around Sydney's second airport";
- Calls on the Berejiklian Government to fund the upgrade of Picton Road to at least a dual carriageway linking the Illawarra and south-west and western Sydney.
Mr Scully's initiative follows a similar call by Federal Member for Cunningham, Sharon Bird, who yesterday accused the Federal Government of not taking the Illawarra's infrastructure needs seriously.
"Infrastructure Australia has provided a very clear warning to the NSW Government in its recent report on urban congestion that unless an upgrade to the Picton Road takes place, the Illawarra will be isolated from business investment and jobs growth around the development of Sydney's second airport.
"We need to get a move on the upgrade of the Picton Road and the completion of the Maldon-Dombarton rail line.
"Further recalcitrant delays by the Berejiklian Government on these two important projects, will leave Wollongong and the Illawarra isolated from the massive opportunities available from the development of the second Sydney Airport and that should be unacceptable to our community.
"The NSW Government needs to start taking the infrastructure links of the third largest city in NSW seriously", Mr Scully said.
