The Leader of the State Liberals once again has Penrith in his sights.
Ahead of next week’s Shadow Cabinet meeting being held in Penrith, Mark Speakman is making it clear that the area is one of his top priorities.
“Western Sydney is the heartland of the economy of New South Wales and it’s also now the cultural hub for New South Wales,” Speakman told the Weekender ahead of Monday’s Shadow Cabinet visit.
“Half of the population of Sydney live west of Parramatta and around the Western Parklands City will be a really important part of the development of the New South Wales economy and accommodating our growing population.”
Currently, there is no Liberal candidate endorsed by the party ahead of the 2027 State Election, but Speakman is keen to get the Liberals out in the community.
“I’d like to have a Liberal candidate sooner rather than later, but it certainly won’t be happening this year, but I’d be hoping that we’d be doing it as quickly as possible,” Speakman said.
“We really want to get Liberals on the ground and having a voice to western Sydney and Penrith in particular.
“It is suffering under a cost-of-living crisis just like the rest of New South Wales, there are people turning up to Penrith Community Kitchen in suits, so it is affecting all levels of society, and we know that housing affordability is a critical issue around Penrith as well. The median price for housing has jumped five per cent in the last 12 months to $917,000, that’s a whopping amount for a median house in what should be an affordable area.”
Cost-of-living is a major issue facing Penrith and Speakman confirmed, if elected back to power, his Government would work to slash red tape regarding new housing.
“Like the rest of New South Wales, the priority is to make sure that people can afford to live, addressing the cost-of-living crisis and a big part of that is housing affordability,” Speakman said.
“At the moment it is not feasible for a developer to build any significant green field development or in-fill development west of Homebush and that’s partly due to record levels of state charges and taxes which makes it uneconomic.
“So, you can have all the announcements about rezonings and transport orientated development around train stations but unless it’s feasible for builders to build, you are not going to get the extra supply you need to address the affordability crisis.”
Next week not only will the Shadow Cabinet meeting be held in Penrith but there will be a chance for the community to air their concerns.
“It’s an important hub for western Sydney and we are not just having a Shadow Cabinet meeting, we are also having a community function beforehand at Panthers to hear from the community,” Speakman said.
“Unless you are out there hearing on the ground what’s happening, you don’t necessarily have a great view of what the problems are.”
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.