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Multi-billion dollar budget blowouts; botched projects; and job losses – Andrew Constance cannot be allowed to do Australia what he has done to New South Wales.

His decision to resign from the NSW cabinet and parliament to contest the federal seat of Gilmore will leave his successor with a list of messes to clean up, including:

  • City and South West Metro: scheduled to blow out to $16.8 billion - more than $4 billion over budget.
  • Metro West: scheduled to blow out to $27 billion - $3 billion over budget - and will open at least three years behind schedule in 2023.
  • Eastern Suburbs Light Rail: blown out by $2.9 billion - $1.3 billion over budget.
  • Western Sydney Airport Metro: An Infrastructure Australia report revealed that the cost of the project exceeded the benefits by $1.8 billion.

The Minister also presided over a series of botched transport projects including:

  • River Class Ferries that are unable to operate at night, came filled with asbestos and cannot travel under bridges if passengers are on the top deck.
  • Emerald Class Manly Ferries that need reinforced hulls before they can safely cross the heads and which leak.
  • The ‘Ferry McFerryface’ embarrassment.
  • The $2.4 billion New Inner City Rail Fleet which was unable to fit the tracks, still cannot operate safely and is yet to carry a single passenger.
  • The Parramatta Light Rail which has had its crucial second stage put on hold by Mr Constance, leaving hundreds of homeowners and business people in limbo.

Thousands of high quality manufacturing jobs were exported from New South Wales on Mr Constance’s watch. Transport infrastructure that should have been built here was instead built overseas often resulting in an expensive and poor quality product including:

  • Ferries built China and Indonesia.
  • Buses built in Malaysia.
  • Trains built in South Korea and China.
  • Metro carriages built in India.
  • Light rail vehicles built in France and Spain.

Shadow Minister for Transport Jo Haylen said: “Andrew Constance will leave a legacy of billions in blowouts, of botched project after botched project, and of sending hundreds of quality New South Wales manufacturing jobs offshore.

“The first test for Mr Constance’s successor will be if they are up to the task of cleaning up the mess he made in the transport portfolio.”