METRO//NEWS 9/10/08

Plans unveiled for casino's star turn (Sydney Morning Herald) 
STAR CITY will unveil its plan today to turn the ugly duckling of Australian casinos into a harbour-front entertainment and gaming complex worthy of global attention.


Rudd urged to fund Sydney metro (ABC News) 
A lobby group for property developers says Sydney's North-West Metro rail link should be paid for with money the Commonwealth collects from carbon permits.


Green knows the secret (Blacktown Sun) 
Blacktown Councillor Allan Green says he can help council get investors to develop land it owns within the CBD.


Rail cuts kept under wraps before poll (Sydney Morning Herald) 
RYDE rail commuters will have their train services slashed by half and face seven-minute-longer trips into the city under a new timetable to be announced before the Epping to Chatswood rail line opens in February.


Don't worry about debt, Sydney needs this metro: Sartor (Sydney Morning Herald) 
Talk of abandoning major rail investment, such as the North West Metro, to fix a temporary drop in state revenue is foolhardy.


Proposal to scrap North West Metro for a busway (Daily Telegraph) 
THE $12 billion North West Metro should be scrapped and replaced with a bus transitway or "autotrams", according to a radical new proposal before the Government.


We can't afford to keep Sydney running: Rees (Sydney Morning Herald) 
SYDNEY has grossly under-estimated the population explosion that will squeeze its resources over the next 20 years, but the cash-strapped Premier admits it is "pointless" to promise the billions of dollars in extra spending the city will need.


Headland park now heading nowhere (Sydney Morning Herald) 
SYDNEY'S much vaunted "historic" headland park at Millers Point may fall victim to the State Government's paralysis over infrastructure spending, with construction now likely to be delayed for years because of possible budget cuts.


Inquiry into our transport (Hills News) 
IS THE Hills up to scratch when it comes to public transport and infrastructure?  That's what residents are being asked, following an announcement that a parliamentary inquiry will be held into the woeful transport and infrastructure in north-west Sydney.


NSW infrastructure chief to quit: report (ABC News) 
The New South Wales Opposition says the rumoured departure of the State Government's key infrastructure adviser amounts to a vote of no confidence.


Push to axe south-west rail (Sydney Morning Herald) 
THE $1.36 billion South West Rail Link guaranteed by the former premier Morris Iemma could be shelved and replaced by a $50 million stabling yard under a cost-cutting proposal being pushed by senior Government officials.


Company collapse 'won't delay rail link' (ABC News) 
The New South Wales Government says the financial collapse of a company involved in the redevelopment of Chatswood Station in Sydney's north will not affect the completion of the project.


Squeeze for homes worse than targets (Sydney Morning Herald) 
A SOARING immigration rate means Sydney's suburbs will need to squeeze in a third more apartment blocks and houses than councils and government planners first thought - and that's on top of already ambitious development targets laid out in the State Government's 25-year city growth plan, says one of the state's top planning experts.


Premier lacks will to act, say planners (Sydney Morning Herald) 
IN A brutally honest assessment, one of the most senior NSW planning bureaucrats admits the State Government is in danger of failing to manage Sydney's growth.


Rees seizes the controls of runaway RailCorp (Sydney Morning Herald) 
NATHAN REES will wind the clock back when he announces plans today to overhaul RailCorp's management, and ditch the market-style corporate model championed by the former transport minister and treasurer, Michael Costa.


Rudd denies scuttling funding for metro (The Age) 
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has denied reports he scuttled plans to fund Sydney's proposed North West Metro because it will not win Labor votes.


Rees insists NW Metro plans aren't dead (The Age) 
NSW Premier Nathan Rees has been accused of submitting an infrastructure wishlist to the commonwealth that puts his own political gain ahead of the needs of the state.


Metro 'should have made NSW wish-list' (ABC News) 
A Federal Opposition MP says he is angry that the New South Wales Government did not ask the Commonwealth to help fund the North-West Metro rail project.


Hold on to urban spaces, says Paul Keating (The Australian) 
At a forum to mark World Architecture Day at the Sydney Opera House, former prime minister Paul Keating said the protection of important sites around Sydney Harbour -- and in all Australian cities -- required immediate action.


Rail line vital to new areas (Camden Advertiser) 
CAMDEN Council will "seriously consider" its role in the development of the South West Growth Centre if the proposed South West Rail Link project does not run to schedule.


Labor's transport deafness continues (Hills News) 
EVERYBODY is aware that Sydney's future prosperity and sustainability depends on a proper transport system and this includes more rail lines radiating like fingers from the city to the far paddocks of suburbia.


Urban metro system would be good for commuters: Rudd (ABC News) 
The Prime Minister has given another strong hint that he would like to see a new urban train system funded as one of the major new infrastructure projects.