Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue speech

Western Parkland City Authority Chair and Western Sydney University Chancellor, Professor Jennifer Westacott AO

Thursday 11 April 2024

Acknowledgements and introductions

Can I start by thanking Chris Brown and Adam Leto for the opportunity to speak today. Can I also acknowledge:

  • Ministers Paul Scully and Catherine King
  • Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun
  • Simon Hickey
  • Geoff Roberts, and
  • Secretary Kiersten Fishburn.

What’s the context?

Australia and Western Sydney are sitting in the middle of huge forces of change. We're at the centre of the world’s fastest-growing region, set to have the biggest middle class in history of 3.5 billion people by the end of the decade. And they want to buy our goods and services, whether that’s:

  • clean, green agriculture products
  • high-tech manufacturing
  • minerals and resources, or
  • skills and capabilities through services.

We are sitting on the doorstep of a massive economic expansion.

The second complementary big force is the changing nature of production. Supply chains are increasingly disintermediated – no one product is made end-to-end in one country. Technology and digitisation will drive how goods and services are produced. Manufacturing, once the domain of cheap labour, has become the domain of high-tech industries and skilled and capable workforces. The other big forces are decarbonisation and climate change. These will change how cities develop – offering up new sources of industry as energy markets substitute fossil fuels with cleaner technology.

What’s the toolkit?

Western Sydney is poised to become the frontier economy and the frontier society. Put another way, we are at the cutting edge of new industries and new forms of value, particularly value-added production. And we have some of the key elements of the toolkit to do it.

We have the Federal Government’s commitment to AUKUS, with the trilateral agreement poised to generate almost 370 billion dollars between now and mid-2050. Pillar 2, in particular, will focus on building advanced capabilities in areas such as:

  • cyber
  • artificial intelligence and autonomy, and
  • quantum technologies.

We have a 24/7 international airport – a 5.3 billion dollar, once-in-100-year opportunity. We have the Federal Government's commitment to high-speed rail. Imagine if it:

  • travelled through Parramatta
  • out to the new airport and Bradfield
  • down to Campbelltown, and
  • on to Canberra and Melbourne.

It would transform Australia.

And around the airport, 20 billion dollars is already being spent on infrastructure, including the Western Sydney Metro. The centres of Western Sydney are undergoing an economic transformation. Bradfield and the area around the airport are ready to be the focus of new industries and new jobs. Western Sydney is poised to take the prize if we take the right set of actions, and the airport is the real kicker.

The power of the airport

The new airport is our most significant, and direct, link into the lucrative markets in the rest of the world. Our exports can be on the same plane as millions of passengers, reaching new destinations. The airport gives us unprecedented access. Combined with the forces of change I've talked about, the airport will open the door to new industries and create new jobs closer to where people live.

And the way I conceive of these industries is around three big forces. The first is the jobs and industries that come from population growth. The second are the jobs and industries that come from having an airport. And the third are the industries that we should chase because we have the skills and capabilities, and access to markets, in Western Sydney that will be at the centre of the new and growing global supply chains.

Population growth

Let me go to our rapid population growth. The population in Western Sydney is expected to grow by 600,000 people to 3.2 million by 2036. If well managed, think about the sorts of jobs that come from a growing population:

  • a massively expanded retail sector
  • high-end health services
  • a multi-billion construction sector year-on-year
  • 235,000 extra homes, and
  • schools and expanded education facilities.

Jobs driven by the airport

The second big driver of jobs, of course, is the airport.

There will be 28,000 jobs associated with the airport by 2031. The airport is already driving huge opportunities in supply chains with new high tech distribution centres appearing around the airport and across Western Sydney. The agribusiness sector alone will be worth more than 580 million dollars. The concept of paddock to plate suddenly becomes a reality. Jobs are created throughout the supply chain, from truck drivers to logistics and food manufacturers to farmers themselves. By the end of the decade, people in the ASEAN countries are expected to spend 8 trillion dollars a year on fresh food.

The airport is a game changer which is why it’s great to see the announcement on the business park today. Huge progress – unstoppable momentum.

Industries we should chase

Now, let me go to the industries we should just run for. And we should run for them because, as I said, we are in a prime position:

  • we are sitting on a 24/7 airport
  • we have a highly skilled population
  • we have world-class education facilities, and
  • we have the existing industry base to build on and expand.

Let me go to advanced manufacturing first.

Advanced manufacturing is about using new forms of production and using new materials to take us into those global supply chains. If Australia doubled its current share of the global supply chain in advanced manufacturing, our stake would be worth almost 200 billion dollars to the economy. This is the opportunity that sits in Western Sydney – where manufacturing already makes up 12 per cent of the economy. The job of economic development is to first protect the manufacturing base that's here.

The second is to grow the new capabilities and the new industries, particularly things like advanced packaging of semiconductor devices. These devices are crucial to:

  • our defence forces
  • our communications networks
  • renewable energy, and
  • future computing.

So, I would love Western Sydney and Bradfield to be a critical base for the semiconductor industry in Australia.

The second is the jobs and capabilities that come from the defence-related industries around AUKUS, things like:

  • the missile guidance systems
  • the electronics, and
  • again building off our manufacturing base.

There are also the huge opportunities that exist in medical devices and medical technologies, and the aviation-related industries. Why wouldn't we want to become one of the global hubs for engine maintenance or training pilots and airline workers?

Then if we go to space, the opportunity exists to produce the electronic componentry for satellites in Western Sydney. These industries are huge economic multipliers and we should just go hard at them as a country, particularly in Western Sydney, and that’s what we are trying to do at the Western Parkland City Authority.

We were set up under a Commonwealth-State agreement and our focus is on the three areas around the airport to drive both industry attraction and industry alignment – and to push those opportunities out across Western Sydney. We have comparable powers to a development corporation and these have been vital instruments in the creation of new cities and precincts.

Our focus includes generating more and higher value jobs. That’s 200,000 new jobs

  • 100,000 in the high-tech precincts around the airport, and
  • 100,000 across Western Sydney

And to deliver the city of Bradfield as a high-tech, future industries city. We need to build a future that’s not just made in Australia, but a future made in Western Sydney.

The precincts

So, how are we tracking on these tasks? At the three precincts around the airport – the Agribusiness precinct, the Northern Gateway logistics hub and the Bradfield City Centre – there is:

  • 8.7 billion dollars’ worth of development in the pipeline
  • generating 80,000 jobs, and
  • the Authority is working with the private sector, governments and agencies
  • to deliver a 24/7 integrated agribusiness, freight and logistics hub.

These investments are transforming Western Sydney, along with Sydney Water’s more than one-billion-dollar investment to establish an Advanced Water Recycling Centre.

Bradfield

Now, if I turn to Bradfield, we have prepared a Master Plan for:

  • 10,000 homes
  • 80 high rise buildings up to 15 storeys high
  • 2 million square metres of mixed-use space including offices and places for advanced manufacturing research and production
  • 36 hectares of open space
  • a 2-hectare Central Park.
  • major swimming and recreation areas to attract people to live and work in the city and create unprecedented liveability, and
  • world-class sustainability, targeting net zero and nature-positive outcomes.

We have now been through the public exhibition period. We are currently responding to the Department to finalise the Master Plan. We’re incorporating this feedback to make sure the Master Plan is finished right for our neighbours, Councils, and the community. We will get this done in weeks, not months.

On top of that, we are releasing a land development strategy. It outlines the dynamic approach to development at Bradfield. We know that a city of this scale cannot be built to full capacity all at once. It will take time to realise the full potential of the city and its high-tech precincts. Practically speaking, development must be able to adapt to the changing needs of growing industry sectors as they move through the innovation life cycle. And we know that the city will scale up as the airport scales up.

In addition the first building, the Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility is well and truly under construction. It is a 3,500 square metre building providing working and tenancy space and new equipment to train existing and new manufacturers. The building will be full of small and medium businesses, major research bodies and large companies. Final expressions of interest have gone out for tenants.

We have also submitted the development application for the second building comprising more than 12,000 square metres.

Civil works across the broader site have started with the government de-risking development with over one-billion-dollars of investment for:

  • roads
  • services, and
  • key buildings to drive industry and jobs growth.

And we’ve released the tender for the digital and telecommunications package – the digital glue that's going to hold the city together. And today, in conjunction with the Minister, I'm pleased to announce the release of the first Superlot for development. This will include 1,000 homes and a focus on affordable and innovative housing forms. It will have up to 16 buildings that are 15 storeys high and be a mix of:

  • residential
  • commercial
  • crucial services like child care
  • educational and research facilities, and
  • retail.

This will be a place where:

  • people work
  • they live, and
  • they have a high quality of life with their families.

We are trying to do this differently.

The EOI is focused on outcomes in respect of:

  • jobs
  • industry
  • culture, and
  • quality urban form.

Against those requirements, and we are saying to the market, you tell us how to develop this Superlot. And we are encouraging a collaborative partnership approach with Government to achieve the right outcomes.

We are open to exploring ways that we can progress the design of the Superlot so that the project is well advanced and, subject to approvals, construction can commence early to enable development on the ground as soon as possible.

I now want to show you how the city will come together by the time the airport opens and out to 2030. Here’s a picture from last week showing:

  • substantial progress on the AMRF
  • the roads going in, and
  • the Metro station.

Now cast forward:

  • The AMRF’s first building will be finished by the middle of this year, and
  • You’ll see equipment and people in there.

Now fast forward to the opening of the airport:

  • We’ll see the AMRF’s second building completed
  • roadworks finished
  • Central Park completed
  • the Metro operating, and
  • stage one of the Superlot under construction.

Now if we go to 2030, you can see a substantial city starting to take shape. This demonstrates the value of getting the planning right. We will deliver this city in an orderly way – not the haphazard approach. This is a massive opportunity for the market:

  • to get in on the ground floor of Australia’s newest city
  • next to Australia’s newest airport on a site that is completely unencumbered.
  • A chance to innovate and a chance to grow.

Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility

We are creating a dynamic city. Not a business park, not an isolated residential area, but an integrated city where we are driving new industries and innovation. And the most important industry will be the advanced manufacturing ecosystem.

It is no coincidence that the first buildings we are constructing are the AMRF.

The first building will assist manufacturers to overcome barriers in implementing new technologies. The second building will focus on driving semi-conductor packaging.

For Western Sydney, our vision is to industrialise our NSW semiconductor specialities through the AMRF. And what will happen is that the AMRF will nurture a manufacturing ecosystem.

Almost 30 companies have expressed interest in starting projects in the first building. Projects range from modelling new factories to the development of new and improved processes for:

  • additive
  • composite, and
  • machined parts.

Many of the big corporations are coming to Bradfield because of the AMRF. Companies will locate their production and manufacturing facilities here, and we’ll build that ecosystem around those two buildings. This will scale up and multiply.

Education

In addition to the AMRF we have developed a new way of training and educating people to build the skills of the future.

Industry told us that we needed to take early action to drive new skills to complement the industries and investment we wanted to attract. We’ve spent the last few years developing and delivering the training for these new industries, with industry in the driver’s seat.

We have 40 companies signed up to participate in economic development ranging from:

  • GE
  • BAE Systems
  • Vitex Pharmaceuticals, and
  • the giant Hitachi – that’s double the original number of industry partners.

Now that the Master Plan has been released, we are focused on getting the MOUs into deals – translating into jobs and direct investment.

Conclusion

So, to conclude, what I’ve tried to do today is:

  • to show you the progress
  • show you the vision, and
  • show you the ambition.

This is about taking a once-in-100-year opportunity of land around a once-in-100-year airport, to change the economic and social dynamics of Western Sydney

This is about:

  • jobs and industries
  • housing, and
  • infrastructure coming together like an iron triangle to achieve prosperity.

We must start thinking about the airport and the region around it like the Snowy Mountains Scheme. This is the biggest game in town. It’s the envy of other states. This is about changing people’s lives and opportunities.

It will take all of our energy, effort and combined focus to realise the nation-changing opportunities in front of us.

It's about good jobs, close to where people live. It's about ambition. It's about vision. It's about giving every person in Western Sydney a chance to realise their unlimited potential.