Today the NSW Liberal Government granted the Transport Minister unchecked powers to close down public transport. The Greens will always stand up for effective and accessible public transport. 

Welcoming news that Sydney University has added its weight behind the campaign for light rail along Parramatta Road, the two local state members said the Liberal State Government needed to meet community expectations and jump into the 21^st century with its transport planning.

Today the NSW Government has announced a Sydney Metro station at Waterloo.

Member for Newtown Jenny Leong says that it’s reasonable that the local community has concerns about the implications of the decision, particularly around public and affordable housing, and transport accessibility.

NSW Greens Member for Newtown Jenny Leong, which covers the Redfern area, and Jan Barham, Housing spokesperson have responded to today’s announcement that a private Metro station will be built in Waterloo highlighting the serious housing concerns.

Two thousand existing public housing residences will be demolished to make way for the development.

Member for Newtown Jenny Leong says:

“The announcement by the state Government today will see Urban Growth taking over the development of large parts of our Redfern/Waterloo public housing community. This is cause for serious concern – not because redevelopment of public housing isn’t needed, but because Urban Growth’s track record in our area has seen some pretty devastating outcomes – including the selloff of the Australian Technology Park site and massive proposed overdevelopment at North Eveleigh.

“While we acknowledge the Government’s commitment that the number of social housing dwellings will be maintained in the new development, we need to ensure that these dwellings will continue to house the same number of residents.

“We have seen cases of redevelopment of public housing where the number of dwellings has been maintained but with a significant reduction in size. As a minimum we need a commitment that there will be no reduction in the number of bedrooms or number of residents that can be housed.

Media Release

Greens MP for Newtown Jenny Leong today announced a win for inner city cyclists and bike commuters, with confirmation of 50 secure bike spaces to be installed at Redfern Station.

This announcement is part of a NSW Government active transport initiative, which will install secure bike sheds at more than 40 train stations and transport interchanges around Sydney and surrounding regions.

Ms Leong said, "This is a fantastic initiative for people who ride to Redfern station every day, giving them free, secure bike storage.

“It’s recognition that bike riders are entitled to facilities like this as they are actively promoting healthy and sustainable commuter options and easing congestion on the roads.

After years of community pressure by Lift Redfern and other groups, a lift is now operational at Redfern Station. It operates on Platform 6/7, giving access to the Inner West line.

The Greens are disturbed by the fact that while cities around the world appear to be closing motorways and investing in public transport, the New South Wales Government appears to be doing the exact opposite. The Greens will always support investment in public transport. 

The Greens believe that people have the right to inexpensive, efficient, accessible and safe public transport. Today we called on the Labor and Liberal parties to stop wasting public money on polluting tollways and invest in public transport. 

Accessibility at our train stations is a serious risk to safety for those who struggle up and down the stairs, and limits the full participation in society of all members of our community. Read our speech calling on the Government to ensure all train stations in the Newtown electorate are made accessible. 

The Greens have a vision for world-class public transport to create more liveable communities, transform how people in NSW connect with each other and access schools, universities and work. The Greens Transport Plan for Liveable Communities will improve our quality of life, alleviate traffic congestion, reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and end the era multibillion dollar toll roads.

WestConnex will do nothing to deal with traffic congestion and should be abandoned. It will dump more cars on our inner-city streets and boost carbon emissions. Homes in our community will be bulldozed, while our vibrant bars, restaurants and small businesses will be forced to close, as King Street becomes another Parramatta Road.

Dr Mehreen Faruqi holds the transport portfolio for The Greens, and is leading the campaign to Transform Transport.

The Greens are pushing for the NSW Government to take the following action:

• Invest in public and active transport projects and infrastructure, and move more freight onto rail,
• Cancel unnecessary and polluting toll road projects such as NorthConnex and WestConnex,
• Adopt bold modal share targets for public transport, alongside a clear strategy for achieving them.

Locally, in the electorate of Newtown, we are campaigning for accessible train stations, an additional station for the Surry Hills light rail, integrated cycleways and better bus timetabling. 

*Authorised by Jenny Leong 383 King St Newtown 2042. Funded using Parliamentary entitlements.