The Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue has released a policy paper, ‘Wollongong and the West’, which outlines the opportunity to increase connectivity between South West Sydney and the Illawarra region.

The paper explores the benefits of linking the key locations of Port Kembla and Macarthur to the future growth and prosperity of the state’s economy.

It identifies the current infrastructure development pipeline including Western Sydney International Airport and the Bradfield Aerotropolis as gamechangers for the NSW economy and supports further connections between the Illawarra and Western Sydney.

These would include a dual-track freight and passenger rail line to boost the visitor economy opportunity in both regions, due to their proximity and diversity of offerings.

The paper proposes that this increase in connectivity could capitalise on and support growth industries such as manufacturing, defense and renewable energy, which will be boosted by current funded infrastructure projects and merge into the national freight network to improve productivity and reduce inefficiencies.

And further, with the current pressures on housing and the physical development constraints on the Illawarra region, increased transport connectivity could alleviate some of the demand by diverting prospective residents to the nearby green-space-rich Macarthur. With both regions sharing world-leading tertiary education institutions and increasing global connectivity, there is an opportunity to bridge the regional gap for mutual benefit.

The paper notably considers the opportunity to position the Illawarra as “South West Sydney’s playground”, as it features numerous stunning beaches and a strong creative-arts scene alongside other destinations such as the Southern Highlands. In turn, South West Sydney could provide the residents of the Illawarra region with cultural experiences and events that are less accessible in their area.

Increasing connections between the two regions would allow for the development of visitor economy strategies, highlighting the strengths and diversity of each area and benefit both residents and visitors to both areas.

Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue suggested that a business case be jointly funded by the NSW and Australian Governments, with hopes that a credible plan could be developed to build the Macarthur-Kembla link under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) delivery model, which has a proven successful track record, such as in the Sydney Metro projects, and is of interest for a variety of industries.

Read the paper here.