Shadow transport minister Anthony Albanese has slammed NSW transport minister Andrew Constance for rejecting the Federal Opposition’s $3 billion commitment to the Sydney Metro West project, labelling the move hypocritical and childish.
Constance last week said he doubted Labor would be able to follow through with its recent promise to provide $3 billion for a rail line to the future airport in Western Sydney, and another $3 billion for Sydney Metro West.
Addressing Labor leader Bill Shorten’s commitment, Constance on July 2 said, “You’re untrustworthy when it comes to these dollars because your state counterparts when they were last in office promised all of these projects and didn’t deliver a thing.”
This did not sit well with Labor, given Constance just a few days prior was pushing for attention to be granted to Sydney Metro West from his Coalition colleagues in the nation’s capital.
“Canberra need to seriously start to look at this project to make this work,” Constance told the Sydney Morning Herald last week. “If I can get Canberra also interested in this it has the potential to be even more fantastic.”
With Constance now rejecting Labor’s commitment to – if it wins the next Federal Election – provide NSW with the funding Constance is asking for, Labor’s deputy leader and transport spokesperson, Anthony Albanese, hasn’t hesitated to comment.
“Mr Constance is more interested in politics than delivering Metro West,” Albanese said on July 3. “He should dump the hypocrisy and grow up.”
Albanese said all levels of government had to work together to deliver the rail line, which will connect the Sydney and Parramatta CBDs with a high-frequency metro service.
“Australians want political representatives to focus on outcomes, not politics,” Albanese said.
“Metro West is a good project. That’s why NSW Labor leader Luke Foley, who understands the importance of infrastructure investment to tackling traffic congestion and boosting economic productivity, has promised a state Labor Government would fast-track construction. It is also why Federal Labor has committed funding.
“Instead of playing political games, Mr Constance should press the Turnbull Government to get behind this important project.”