The Tourism & Transport Forum Australia (TTF) has described the Prime Minister’s approval of the Western Sydney Airport Plan as a historic decision that will transform Western Sydney and provide additional aviation capacity for Australia to take advantage of the unprecedented growth in the Asia-Pacific.

“Today has been a long time coming. We’ve had so many false starts on this critical aviation project that very few thought we would ever see the day when the Federal Government gave the green light for a Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek to be built – but here we are at last,” said Margy Osmond, TTF CEO.

“The Western Sydney Airport has the potential to fundamentally change the way Sydney operates. If we get the precinct right it will be an economic asset that will support the creation of thousands of new businesses and jobs for the residents of Western Sydney.

“We know that the commuting experience of thousands of Sydneysiders will only get worse if we don’t bring jobs to the western suburbs and that is what this aviation hub will do with the right infrastructure in place that will connect it to the Sydney CBD and the broader Western Sydney region.

“TTF has been a vocal advocate of building transport infrastructure including fast rail to the new Airport to ensure it can reach its full potential. I’ve said before we don’t want it to become a ‘hitchhiker’s airport’ – we must have an ironclad plan to deliver rail as soon as possible.

“It is important also to acknowledge and applaud the broad bipartisanship on the Western Sydney Airport. We have only reached this point after so many previous false starts because the major parties are committed to building this airport in the national interest.

“The Western Sydney Airport will become a symbol of what we can do in Australia if we have a consensus between our major political parties on the path forward on these types of major economic initiatives.”