The Minns Labor Government is turning their back on Macquarie Park as a world-class innovation precinct and delivering a major blow to our state’s future economic prosperity.
Shadow Minister for Planning and Public Spaces and Shadow Minister for Housing Scott Farlow said the Government’s housing agenda needs to cater for homes, jobs and recreation, and that today’s announcement is a short-sighted attempt to address Sydney’s housing crisis.
“The Macquarie Park master plan was building a world-class innovation precinct with tens of thousands of new jobs, more than 7,000 homes, schools and open space,” Mr Farlow said.
“Today the Government is ripping that up and turning their back on Sydney’s Silicon Valley, which already supports more than 72,000 high value jobs.”
“The Government don’t want employment and housing to co-exist, with Chris Minns proposing a choice between 23,000 jobs and 5,000 build-to-rent apartments.”
“Macquarie Park is home to the Australian Headquarters for 9 of the 100 largest companies in the world. It is Australia’s original innovation district and plans for the area need to complement housing and jobs, not pit them against each other.”
“This is what we can expect when Chris Minns signs up to a national housing target with no consultation or advice from the Department of Planning,” Mr Farlow said.
Shadow Minister for Jobs, Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, Mark Coure, said this is the latest slap in the face to the New South Wales innovation industry from a Government that continues to show it is not interested in innovation.
“The innovation industry has already been subjected to significantly cut grants and subsidies by the Minns Labor Government, and now they’ve decided to go after the state’s innovation precincts” Mr Coure said.
“Startups and founders were already starting to look interstate due to the policy uncertainty coming from Chris Minns and his out of depth Ministers. The removal of essential commercial real estate that they need to operate and innovate is going to unfortunately result in more businesses deciding to go elsewhere.” Mr Coure said.
Member for Ryde Jordan Lane said that Macquarie Park is an integral centre for the Northern Sydney community that is already creating a vibrant innovation precinct of the future which delivers both housing and jobs.
“The Ryde Local Government area already has 23 State Significant Development Applications planned for Macquarie Park with 20,000 apartments. Allowing Built-to-Rent to replace commercial will destroy job opportunities for our local Northern Sydney community,” Mr Lane said.
“The Minns Labor Government has not delivered any infrastructure to support this growth. There is no Catherine Hamlin Park, no bus interchange, no intersection upgrades.”
“The latest masterplan that this Government is releasing has insufficient realistic, achievable infrastructure to be delivered in the foreseeable future,” Mr Lane said.