Hunter Mayors say they’re in Sydney to push for a Newcastle Airport freight precinct including $49 million for cargo infrastructure, and a Hunter Region Deal for jobs, similar to that made for Western Sydney.
The Hunter Joint Organisation is a coalition of Councils also asking for better roads funding to support a booming population, projected to reach over one million people in coming decades.
They’ll meet with the Premier and senior ministers in coming days.
Deputy Chair and Port Stephens Mayor Leah Anderson says the airport can be a strong economic driver.
“The fact we’ve now delivered an international terminal, we’re now looking for support from all levels of government,” she said.
With the Hunter’s population expected to reach over a million people in coming decades, they’re also asking for more infrastructure support.
“We know that we need to unlock housing, but with that [comes] the headache of how do we get the funding that we need to be able to provide the infrastructure?” Cr Anderson said.
“We get a certain amount of funding from developer contributions, but it’s certainly not enough when it comes to large scale infrastructure solutions that we’ll need,” she said.
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| Leah Anderson. Credit: Port Stephens Council |
