BLUE Mountains Labor MP Trish Doyle says the announcement that her party will redirect $1.1 billion for a proposed Great Western Highway tunnel if it wins office would be a deferral rather than a cancellation of the project.
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She says a "comprehensive EIS, a business case, community consultation and a funding plan" are required, but has also said that Blue Mountains residents are "right to want a solution to the problems of trucks thundering through our villages".
Opposition Leader Chris Minns told a western Sydney forum earlier this month that NSW Labor was not convinced the NSW Government had "properly completed its planning" for the 11-kilometre "unfunded tunnel".
"This could be an $8 to $11 billion tunnel," he said.
"It has no business case. And it only has $1.1 billion allocated to it in the budget. And let's be clear, that does not buy you an 11km tunnel under the Blue Mountains.
"The remaining $10 billion cannot be found. It's not in the budget - and is completely unfunded. That $1.1 billion is far better spent on local roads across western Sydney and regional NSW."
Ms Doyle told the Blue Mountains Gazette that Labor's position was "to defer the tunnel for two years".
She said the decision to defer was supported by advice from Infrastructure NSW, which she said recommended pausing the project, and mirrored a Commonwealth Government decision to delay funding for the east and west sections of the highway upgrade for two years.
FLASHBACK:
She said Labor's position was "to approach this proposal with the due diligence it has always demanded".
"We need a comprehensive EIS, a business case, community consultation and a funding plan," she said.
"That will take time to deliver because [Bathurst MP and Deputy Premier] Paul Toole and the Nationals have squandered the last four years talking about it instead of actually doing it.
"Mountains residents are right to want a solution to the problems of trucks thundering through our villages.
"A business case and an EIS would demonstrate whether a tunnel is the best way to achieve this in one or two villages or whether other options, like freight rail, might achieve the same outcome in a different way for every Mountains resident along the highway."
A number of Blackheath community groups and members of the Blackheath co-design committee have called on Mr Minns to support the continuation of planning and design work for the tunnel if elected.
Michael Paag, secretary for the Blackheath Alliance and spokesman for the Blackheath Highway Action Group, said: "We don't believe Labor's decision, based on advice from Infrastructure NSW, to defer the 11km tunnel is right.
"The NSW Opposition and Infrastructure NSW should know the convict-built Victoria Pass, with its 40km speed restriction for all westbound traffic, is literally beyond repair.
"They need to speak to Blue Mountains and Central West residents and small business owners who suffered for weeks on end when, due to extreme weather events, both the highway and the rail line failed."
