In a first, eight regional mayors have come together to discuss the biggest challenges facing the sprawling area to Sydney’s south and west.

Hosted by Wollondilly Council, the agenda was broad and according to Mayor Matt Gould it sets in place a framework for improved cooperation in the future.

High on the discussion agenda was the grand opening of the new Western Sydney Airport scheduled for next year which will see 10 million passengers pass through the terminal each year. It will provide a potential tourism boom for the eight council areas, with the new airport within 60 to 90 minutes of most of the region’s LGAs.

Mayor Gould said the airport opening in 2026 will see “a transformation” for the region and “the Mayors want to see it link strongly to Port Kembla”.

Commenting after the first meeting of eight Mayors from the Illawarra, Southern Highlands and Macarthur, Mayor Gould said the airport opening and other essential improvements to transport links would “bring together new economic opportunities between the Illawarra and Macarthur regions”.

A Wollongong-based transport expert, Dr Philip Laird, has welcomed this new spirit of collaboration and cooperation between our regional council leaders.

Philip has been frustratedly lobbying for the completion of the Maldon-Dombarton rail link for decades. He was pleased this was one of several important transport issues discussed at this month’s Picton meeting.

With a booming population in Sydney’s south-west, accessing Wollongong and the Illawarra more frequently as their favourite beach and recreation destination, the mix of cars and trucks on our roads is an increasingly deadly mix.

Philip previously told The Illawarra Flame that about 7000 trucks used Mount Ousley daily. “What other city in Australia has to put up with this imposition?” he asked.  

Mayor Gould told The Flame the mayors also discussed greater “transport connectivity and the need for roads and public transport, including the South West Rail Link, Picton Road upgrades, Appin Road upgrades and the Maldon-Dombarton line”.

Dr Laird is worried that the growing population pressures and the added demands on transport networks once the new airport opens could overwhelm the existing infrastructure.

“Given the large increase in housing in Wilton in recent years, the time has come for a railway station there,” Philip said. “It ties in with the Maldon-Dombarton rail link and near Menangle to Mittagong rail deviation.”

Mayor Gould said he was pleased to have hosted the first of these mayoral meetings for “an initial discussion on how we can work together as neighbouring councils. The councils will aim to work together with state and federal governments to see positive outcomes for all of our regions.”