Today’s announcement by the NSW Liberals that a 51% share of WestConnex has been sold to the Transurban consortium is the nail in the coffin for many of Sydney’s drivers who will now be at the mercy of a monopolised toll road regime for decades to come.

Jenny Leong MP, NSW Greens spokesperson on WestConnex said:

“WestConnex is the largest transfer of public funds into private pockets in this country and this sale is the apex of the Liberal’s wholesale sell out of the NSW public. This deal is more about providing a payoff to their big business mates than it is about serving the people of Sydney with efficient and affordable transport options.

Greens Member for Newtown, Jenny Leong MP, has slammed the latest sell off of land around Redfern station reported in the SMH today and called for the sell-off to be immediately stopped.

“Shamefully, this isn’t an isolated incident in our local area - the wholesale sell-off of public land around Redfern station started with the Australian Technology Park site, is happening just down the road in Waterloo, and it’s clear from these latest leaked documents that the Liberal’s privatisation agenda continues.”

The electorate of Newtown covers parts of Surry Hills, including the Devonshire St section of the CBD and South East Light Rail Project. As such, many local issues have been raised with us relating to the impact that this project has had on our community.

The overarching problem appears to be a result of a lack of transparency about decision making, failure to consult meaningfully or address concerns raised by locals, as well as a constant blame-shifting between Government departments and private contractors
with no-one taking overall responsibility for resolving the problems.

The good people who live and work in the electorate of Newtown, including the suburb of Surry Hills, are strong advocates for public transport. However, ‘public’ transport delivered by private contractors which prioritises private interests over community
needs is not acceptable to us.

The real financial and emotional impact of the NSW Government’s privatisation obsession has been felt by the people who live and work in Surry Hills.

Read more here

Greens NSW MP and Transport Spokesperson, Dr Mehreen Faruqi MLC and Greens NSW MP, Member for Newtown and WestConnex spokesperson, Jenny Leong, have reacted to the NSW Budget announcements on funding for WestConnex, the F6, Western Harbour Tunnel and Beaches Link.

May 2018

Westconnex, Sydney Metro Privatisation, and Bill McKibbon: A report from Jenny Leong MP, Member for Newtown, on the week that was in the NSW Parliament.

Jenny Leong spoke on the outsourcing by the Liberal Transport Minister of the delivery of transport in this state to private companies.

Can you help us get 10,000 signatures on our petition to make every train station in the electorate of Newtown accessible? 

Sign up here to volunteers to help gather signatures with us at the station closest to you.  

Parents with prams, people in wheelchairs, older people and anyone with a mobility issue shouldn’t have to struggle to get to work or the shops, visit friends or travel to medical appointments.

Redfern station is one of the busiest stations on the Sydney trains network – but only 10 out of the 12 platforms only have stairs. There are no lifts or ramps at Macdonaldtown, Erskineville, Stanmore, Petersham, Lewisham and St Peters train stations. It's time for the Transport Minister to pay attention. 

The Liberal government has pushed ahead with privatisation of bus services in Sydney’s Inner West, with an announcement that the contract has been awarded to Transit Systems. Commenting on the signing Jenny Leong, MP for Newtown says:

“There has been a huge groundswell of people in the inner west demanding the buses are kept in public hands.

“Many people in the inner west don’t own a car and rely on buses as a primary mode of transport. This is an essential service that should be kept in public hands.

Today Jenny spoke in favor of a motion to censure the Minister for Transport Andrew Constance for misleading the people of New South Wales and wasting $100,000 of tax-payer funds on a rigged ferry naming competition. 

As a result of incredible community-led campaigning, the Berejiklian government was again forced to debate the privatisation of Inner West buses. Read Jenny's speech in parliament supporting the campaign, and opposing the privatisation of public transport.