NSW Greens Roads & Transport spokesperson, Dr Mehreen Faruqi MLC, says we have reached ‘peak toll road madness’ following news today that the cost for the F6 extension toll road could top 18 billion dollars.
The estimate is triple the cost of rail upgrades such as the Thirroul tunnel that the Greens say would slash travel time from Wollongong to Sydney.
Dr Faruqi said that $18 billion bill for the toll road, that would potentially be routed through Royal National Park was ‘just obscene.’
‘The Liberal/National Government has now stopped even pretending to care about the public good in the Illawarra. They just want to get as many of these toll roads past the point of no return so they lock NSW in to their out-dated 1950’s vision of cars, tolls and motorways,’ she said.
‘The NSW Government is apparently ready to spend $18 billion on the F6 extension, that’s half a billion dollars per kilometre, but is crying poor over public transport upgrades like the Thirroul tunnel that would slash the time people spend commuting to Sydney and at a fraction of the cost.
‘This is all history repeating itself. Just like the WestConnex, there is no full business case, no public cost benefit analysis and no real consideration of alternatives. This is further confirmation that the toll road lobby dictates the transport agenda in this state.
‘The Transport Minister might think that the Thirroul tunnel is “pixies at the bottom of the garden stuff” but it is the N SW Government living in a fantasy land if they think people will continue to accept toll road after toll road over investment in public transport,’ Dr Faruqi said.
