NSW Farmers inspired by tech billionaires’ support for its Blue Mountains tunnel proposal
NSW Farmers’ Association is delighted to see its idea for a tunnel to be built through the Blue Mountains- connecting Western Sydney with the Central West of NSW- has grabbed the attention of two of the world’s tech billionaires.
NSW Farmers’ Association has outlined in its discussion paper Growing NSW’s Food Economy the importance of a sub three hour journey between Sydney and the Central West- a major food producing region, and Western Sydney, the heart of Australia’s food manufacturing sector.
President of the Association, James Jackson, said it’s encouraging to see Tech billionaires Elon Musk and Mike Cannon-Brookes discussing the cost of such a project on social media.
“Good on Jeremy Buckingham for tweeting Elon Musk about our proposed tunnel. It’s time the NSW Government made it a priority to look beyond the Great Dividing Range and see the enormous economic opportunity the tunnel would have for regional NSW and Western Sydney.
“One of the biggest challenges to growing the state’s food economy is the inadequate east-west transport connections between the food bowl that is Western NSW, and Sydney.
“Poor transport connections means the just-in-time food supply chains needed for fresh food exports isn’t possible and it’s jeopardising the international competitiveness of agricultural commodities, by adding 30-40 per cent to the cost of agricultural production.
“There would also enormous tourism opportunities for regional towns like Bathurst and Orange, as well as for Western Sydney if people were able to travel by fast train through the Blue Mountains.
“With the state election a matter of weeks away, we’re urging Gladys Berejiklian, Michael Daley and all MPs on Macquarie Street to take a leaf out of Elon and Mike’s book and think about what’s possible when it comes to state-changing transport infrastructure projects,” Mr Jackson concluded.
Date: Thursday 17 January 2019
Media Contact: Kathleen Curry | Public Affairs Director | 0429 011 690