5th August, 2026.
My question is directed to the Premier. Last Friday the Minns Government announced that Sydney Water will double the servicing capacity across Wilton from 4,000 to 8,000 homes. In July 2025, Infrastructure NSW stated it was preparing the Greater Macarthur and Wilton Infrastructure Plan, outlining the phasing of enabling infrastructure to support the 30,000 new homes that will be built in the next 20 years. Will the Premier update the House on how the New South Wales Government plans to deliver on its commitment to provide the infrastructure to support homes and jobs?
Mr Chris Minns ( Kogarah—State Premier of New South Wales)
I thank the member for Wollondilly for her question. It is a big interest for her and her fast-growing community. Large numbers of people are moving into that area of the State and it needs enabling infrastructure to cope with that change. I report to the House that there have been significant investments for that part of New South Wales, including major investments like the $200 million Spring Farm Parkway Stage 1, the $122 million Appin Road improvements, the $45 million Appin Road and St Johns Road intersection upgrade, and the wastewater and resource recovery facility investment, which is close to half a billion dollars.
In addition, the Minister for Education and Early Learning, and Deputy Premier has informed me of a new high school to be built and opened at Wilton in term 1, 2027, and of a new primary and preschool for Wilton to also open in term 1, 2027. There is also a list of roads and enabling infrastructure, which there is not enough time to go through in question time. That is essential infrastructure for a fast-growing community that should have been supplied progressively over the past decade but was not. We are now trying to push out not nice-to-have but much-needed infrastructure in the shortest time possible. But we are running up against bandwidth issues trying to build and construct roads, schools and public transport infrastructure in that time. That is our obligation. We are going to do it, but we need to make sure that the infrastructure keeps pace with population.
I make another point about New South Wales's longer term plans, which—this is important—has to do with a more equalised distribution of population growth in the metropolitan Sydney Basin. Under the Liberals and The Nationals there was an explicit and deliberate policy to put new entrants to Sydney on the western fringe of Sydney and not allow or build new housing and new dwellings closer to Sydney's CBD in the inner west, the northern suburbs and the eastern suburbs. That strategy was not hidden. All new entrants would go on the western fringes of Sydney, which would have to deal with the accompanying challenges of rapid population growth. That was bad enough, but it was done with no infrastructure. So the Government is doing two things: one, taking a more balanced approach to new entrants to Sydney, including infill development where infrastructure already exists; and, two, building new infrastructure for fast-growing communities like the member's electorate of Wollondilly.