Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) president Cr Tony Hay thanked outgoing deputy premier and transport minister John Watkins for his continued support of key Western Sydney public transport infrastructure projects and urged the State Government to reaffirm its commitments to these projects.
"I wish Mr Watkins well in his future life outside Parliament," Cr Hay said.
"Whilst WSROC has disagreed with the Government on specific transport issues from time to time, we have also respected Mr Watkins’ accessibility and willingness to meet with us to discuss these issues.
"In particular, we have greatly appreciated Mr Watkins’ continuing support for key public transport infrastructure projects in the region, especially the North West Metro, South West Rail Link and planning for the Western Metro.
"We know that Mr Watkins had to convince sometimes very sceptical ministers and treasury officials of the value of these projects – and now we are greatly concerned about what will happen to them with his resignation.
"We urge the Premier to reaffirm his Government’s commitments to these projects and to assure the Western Sydney community that there will be no going back, despite Mr Watkins’ departure.
"It is critical to the region’s future that the new Minister for Transport get on with the job of actually building the infrastructure as planned and on schedule," Cr Hay said.
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