19th March, 2026.
My question is directed to the Minister for Roads, and Minister for Regional Transport, who works really hard for me and my community. In light of the Government's announcement of the relocation of Glebe Island industries to Port Kembla by 2030, and the inevitable increase in heavy vehicle freight trips and work trips between metropolitan Sydney and Port Kembla, will the Minister update the House on the timing of funding, construction and delivery of transport infrastructure such as the Picton Road diverging diamond and the Maldon-Dombarton rail corridor project?
Ms Jenny Aitchison, Minister for Regional Transport, and Minister for Roads: I thank the member for Wollondilly for her question. She is a great advocate for her community. It is easy to work with members on all sides of this Chamber when they advocate 100 per cent for their communities, like the member for Wollondilly does. That is why she is here after 12 years of neglect by members opposite of her community, which was left to bear the brunt of housing growth with no infrastructure. That is one of the big issues she is here to address. The Minns Labor Government has been working with her and other members to address the housing challenges that our State is facing. We are delivering a game-changing new precinct at Bays West with up to 8½ thousand well-located homes above the new Bays West metro station. As part of that transformation, we will relocate a lot of the port's bulk operations to Port Kembla.
We are planning and delivering road upgrades right along the corridor from Sydney to Port Kembla, and I am pleased to share that the Minns Labor Government is investing $270 million to upgrade roads around Port Kembla. Transport is working with other agencies to identify the key priority roads for those upgrades which, depending upon the preferred route, could include Springhill Road, Five Islands Road and the widening of the Princes Motorway. All those things are important. We are also getting on with delivering the $400 million Mount Ousley interchange, which will improve safety and capacity for freight on the M1.
To the member's question around Wollondilly, the Minns and Albanese Labor governments are also investing $125 million in planning for the upgrade of Picton Road and the Picton bypass. As part of that, we have prioritised planning and design of the western section of Picton Road. I know that has been a big concern. It involves widening approximately five kilometres of Picton Road between the Nepean River and Almond Street in Wilton and upgrading the existing Picton Road and M31 Hume Highway interchange into a diverging diamond layout. Transport has been progressing delivery readiness for those projects so we can get on the ground and do them. We know that when we are working in very constrained areas, we cannot just start work. We have to get the planning right because there is a lot to do. We need to commence property acquisition, and we need surveys and investigations of utilities and other infrastructure, so that we minimise both the time we are there and the disruption to the community. That is not all we are doing. [Extension of time]
Towards the end of last year we announced a $65 million investment for upgrades to seven key corridors in south-west Sydney—or, as I like to call them, the magnificent seven. One of those projects is to upgrade the Hume Motorway between Narellan Road at Campbelltown and Picton Road at Wilton. That will improve traffic flow along that critical freight route, which already carries 52,000 cars a day. Under members opposite, we did not see the required investment in infrastructure, but we are getting on with the job. To the question on Maldon‑Dombarton, as part of our Port Kembla announcement, we have also committed to investigating a new rail freight pathway. We have released the Draft Illawarra-Shoalhaven Strategic Regional Integrated Transport Plan, which identifies progressing the Maldon-Dombarton freight corridor as a potential action. The Maldon‑Dombarton link is also being considered through the Illawarra Rail Resilience Plan. I can see the planning Minister nodding his head because we are working on that. That plan will be finalised later this year.
We have a lot of projects in the pipeline for Wollondilly. That is a great tribute to the member for Wollondilly. It is also a tribute to this Government, which has a plan for growth, not just the old way of popping the houses in and relying on the members representing those communities to stay mute. A few of those members are still sitting in the departure lounge on the backbench. They do not speak up for their communities. They are happy to say that they will not rock the boat as long as they can keep their seats. Members like the member for Wollondilly show that there is now a change here. We are building the infrastructure that is required. Wollondilly has been bearing the State's housing burden for too long. The Minns Government is tackling those problems, not avoiding them. We are working with local members across the State to deliver the infrastructure they deserve.