The placement of the proposed intermodal freight terminal at Moorebank is an issue that will affect everyone.  The site identified for the Moorebank intermodal is prime, urban, riverfront land.  This land should be used to assist the government in meeting its housing crisis identified in the draft Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney, by using the development as a premium riverside residential lifestyle precinct.

Placing a heavy industrial facility in the middle of a residential area is negligent and will be detrimental to our community.  The proposed site is located in a basin which allows pollution to lie, rather than easily move away. The NSW Planning and Assessment Commission have already recognised that the air quality in the Liverpool area is generally well below guidelines.  Additional diesel emissions and particulate matter released from this proposal will prove dangerous for residents, especially children and the elderly.

The M5 motorway and surrounding roads in the South West Region are already suffering from chronic traffic congestion and this will significantly worsen with the 10,000 additional truck movements per day expected from the new Intermodal – that’s an extra truck every 8 seconds, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  It will also mean $750 million worth of works will be required on major road and rail connections to accommodate this outdated proposal.

The good news is that there is a smart alternative, and this is to build the new Intermodal at the site of the new international airport at Badgerys Creek. Here, it can connect with existing and planned major transport routes while also reducing traffic on our roads.

Decades ago, when Moorebank was put forward as the site for the Intermodal, Sydney was not facing a chronic housing crisis and cities didn’t value their rivers like we do now.  If developed into premium riverside homes, the Moorebank site, worth $482 million, has the potential to help alleviate the current housing crisis identified in the Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney.

A plan to revitalise the Liverpool area by embracing natural assets, such as the Georges River, and utilising land to its full potential presents an opportunity to lift the socio-economic status and improve overall health in the area.  Liverpool should be considered as a prime location for the government’s Liveable Communities Programme which has been successful in other locations.

Please sign for the health and wellbeing of our community, especially those most vulnerable in our community; for the survival of our river; for good future planning for New South Wale; and ensure the Intermodal is built in the right location – Badgerys Creek.