At 4.30pm the Lord Mayor Clover Moore introduced the people’s petition: “The community has been promised an upgrade for more than 20 years, under both Coalition and Labor governments. The community does not want this debate to turn into a blame game between the major parties. What the community wants is action. Responses to my calls to the Minister this year indicate that Redfern station is being considered as part of a review for future upgrades. I understand that funds have been allocated to upgrade 35 stations to make them accessible as part of the Transport Access Program. The need for equitable access to Redfern station is urgent. It should be included in the first round of upgrades under the Transport Access Program.”
NSW Minister for Transport, Gladys Berejiklian, then gave her response, acknowledging the efforts of the thousands of people who put their names on the petition and brought the issue to Parliament: “That is why we have petitions – so that the message reaches this Parliament on a matter that the community feels strongly about.” She said that she too felt strongly about improving public transport and that this is why one of the first actions she took as a Minister was to release the Transport Access Program.
However, Ms Berejiklian said that Redfern station was not included in the list of the stations that will be upgraded: “The number of people who use it means that its upgrade is much more complex than that required at an average suburban station. Obviously it requires more extensive work, which will be more costly. I reiterate that this Government is committed to increasing the number of stations with easy access facilities, especially those that have high usage … We appreciate the challenges that must be addressed at Redfern and I acknowledge that people are experiencing difficulty accessing it. However, the Government is reviewing that situation and I look forward to making further comments about accessibility at our railway stations.”
Jamie Parker, Greens MP for Balmain, then asked whether the Government could give a timeframe for a review of Redfern station: “Will it be this year, next year, or the year after? The community needs an assurance that there will be progress on the matter.” The discussion concluded on that note.
After the debate, member of Lift Redfern, Joel Pringle, said: “We were hoping for a commitment from the Minister, or for the Minister to announce something, even if it wasn’t something immediate, but for some plan, something for the future. It’s a long-running issue,” Mr Pringle said. “We now know that we need to build from where we are now. We’ll keep the pressure up and we’ll make sure that we get that disability access for Redfern station.”
Irene Doutney, City of Sydney Greens Councillor and Lift Redfern supporter, said: “I would have liked to have heard some details or some inclination from the Minister about what could and should happen in the future. Instead of just saying that she’s looking at it, she could have given us some sign about when she’s going to look at it. So I think it’s very disappointing. I think the residents of Redfern, Waterloo, Eveleigh, Darlington and everybody else that uses Redfern station have been betrayed by this government: it doesn’t give a stuff about the people.”
During the debate Ms Berejiklian and Member for Strathfield Charles Casuscelli underlined the lack of action from the previous Government, with Mr Casuscelli adding: “If anyone should offer an apology, it is the former Member for Heffron – she should apologise to the petitioners for not having done something sooner.”
Cr Doutney said: “It’s true, the Keneally Government didn’t do anything and they should have, they had plenty of time to do something, so I think that criticism is justified, but those days are over. All they’re interested in is making points off each other, instead of actually caring about the community, and that’s what we’re about. We’re about the community, we’re a broad church, and it’s just ridiculous that they will use that as an excuse not to do what needs to be done.”
