WestConnex at best is a bandaid solution that will cost billions and create decades of perpetual development for short-term benefit. The fact the NSW Government had to dissolve local councils to remove opposition is testament to the project’s lack of popular support. Common sense around longer-term sustainability holds that perpetually building roads is not the answer. There will be road and lane closures for years while WestConnex is constructed, making life hell for motorists.
Sydney in the early 20th century had a thriving tram network, reaching from the Eastern Suburbs and the North Shore to all the way out west. Sydney’s tram system was one of the biggest in the world – until it became a victim of its own success. Pressure from private car, bus operator and road lobby groups including the NRMA led to the gradual closure of lines from the late 1930s. This generally went against public opinion, and shows the power lobby groups have held over NSW governments going back nearly a century. Parallels can be seen today. We need to get big money out of politics to better serve public interests.
Daily use of the WestConnex could mean coughing up $30-40 in tolls per day, including tolls on connecting roads. Studies show people try to avoid tolls and the possibility of rat runs is a real concern, and now the M4 – the last toll-free highway going out west – will no longer be toll-free.
Experts have deemed WestConnex unfeasible as the project plan is incomplete. Planners currently have no answer for traffic dispersion in local areas, and project spokesmen have said further roads and tunnels will be needed to relieve congestion. The estimated $17.8 billion dollar project could likely reach $30 billion.
At the very least this project seems rushed, with demolitions and construction beginning in areas without prior council approval, indicating concerns that the entire plan could be overturned. Recently there are claims of asbestos being used in the road base, and houses being undervalued by hundreds of thousands of dollars in the compulsory acquisitions. A review of compulsory acquisition laws by barrister David Russell was handed to the government two years ago but has been kept under wraps. It will soon be released.
One reason for the alleged undervaluing could be the government simply lacks the money for an immense project like this. Much of the budget was to come from leasing a 50.4 per cent stake in Ausgrid, NSW’s state-owned energy enterprise, to the Chinese on a 99-year contract for a whopping $10 billion. Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison vetoed the sale for reasons of national security. For more information, follow the WestConnex Action Group on Facebook or ask your local council.
