Riverwood Public Transport

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-148113

Hansard session: Fifty-Eighth Parliament, First Session (58-1)

Riverwood Public Transport

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (16:25:46):

Each and every day thousands of commuters in our local area use our public transport network. Whether they are going to work, university, school or just out and about, people have historically used public transport to get where they need to go. We are fortunate enough to have two train lines in the St George area, the T4 Illawarra line and the T8 Airport and South line, which provide access to many different parts of Sydney. Those train lines are important parts of our public transport network, keeping our local economy moving and ensuring that people can travel as effectively and safely as possible. However, as our area continues to grow, with more housing being built every day, our public transport network is unfortunately struggling to keep up.

Residents are facing long commutes into the city, packed like sardines in crowded carriages, with frequent delays, some of which bring the whole network to a standstill. Week after week my office receives more complaints than ever. Trains are consistently late. Severe overcrowding is giving public transport in the St George area and throughout New South Wales a bad name. That is especially true on the T8 Airport and South line, with stations like Riverwood carrying the burden of a rapidly expanding population. Riverwood has experienced unprecedented growth and will continue to experience it in the near future. In fact, approximately 420 new homes will be built over the next few years, of which approximately 50 per cent will be social and affordable housing and the remaining 50 per cent made up of private dwellings.

While additional housing is an important asset for our community in the long term, I have always said that housing should go hand in hand with the delivery of supporting infrastructure, and my community deserves only the very best of additional supporting infrastructure. Assets like road upgrades, more parking, recreational spaces and public transport will make a significant difference to those who choose to live in Riverwood, a wonderful part of our local area. However, at the current rate, the public transport network in Riverwood will not be able to keep up with this new Government's broader housing push. That is not good enough. My community deserves so much better. We should not accept a substandard network that cannot meet our needs, and it appears that Government members agree—or at least they claim to.

In the lead‑up to the 2023 State election, Labor made a clear commitment to the people of Riverwood. It pledged to bring express train services to Riverwood station. While I appreciate the enthusiasm for the public transport network, it has now been over a year since the election and we are still waiting. Despite the promises, no express train services have been introduced to Riverwood station. Commuters are still being herded onto slow, overcrowded trains during peak times, many of which are scheduled too infrequently to meet the growing demand. In fact, recent train timetable changes implemented by those in the Labor Government have meant that Riverwood station has seen cuts to services, resulting in fewer trains stopping at the station.

The Liberal-Nationals are proud to have a history of record investment in the New South Wales public transport network. In our time in government, not only did we improve services and timetables but we also delivered significant upgrades to public transport networks to commuters across the State, including the brand‑new metro that recently opened. However, it appears that this Labor Government's priorities are flawed. Whilst it is happy to take responsibility for the infrastructure the former Government signed and delivered, it will not spend the money to improve public transport in New South Wales. This is not good enough. Both my community and the people of New South Wales deserve better. They deserve a government that will put their needs first and invest in the future.

I truly believe that we need to ensure that our public transport network remains a viable option for generations to come, which is why I will continue to take up the fight for better outcomes in this space. I thank the members of my community who have contacted my office about this serious issue. I sincerely appreciate their experiences and frustration. Rest assured, I will hold this Labor Government to account and continue the fight for express services at Riverwood for the best public transport network in my community.