Airport City Summit 2024 Keynote: Professor Jennifer Westacott AO

Listen to Jennifer Westacott AO, Chair of the Authority, address the Airport City Summit 2024 on the progress underway at Bradfield City Centre and across the Western Sydney Aerotropolis as we work to unlock the unlimited potential of our region. 

Transcript

Thank you Chris, and thank you Adam, and thank you for your leadership and the opportunity to be with you today.

Can I also acknowledge the traditional owners and we accept with humility, their gracious Welcome to Country, and I commit my Authority to work alongside First Nations people in the important work that we are going to do.

Can I acknowledge the amazing gathering of leaders we have here today and thank Minister Scully and Mayor Ed Manon for their terrific remarks.

Australia and Western Sydney are sitting in the middle of huge forces of change. We are at the centre of the world's fastest growing region, set to have the biggest middle class in history of 3.5 billion people by the end of the decade.

And they want to buy our goods and services. Whether it's clean green agriculture products, high-tech manufacturing minerals and resources, or skills and capabilities through services. We are sitting at the doorstep of massive economic expansion.

The second complimentary big force is the changing nature of production. Supply chains are increasingly disintermediated, no one product is made end to end in one country. Technology and digitisation will drive how goods and services are produced. Manufacturing, once the domain of cheap labour, has become the domain of high-tech industries, and skilled and capable workforces.

The other big forces are decarbonisation and climate change. This will change how cities develop, offering new sources of industry, as energy markets substitute fossil fuels with cleaner technology.

Western Sydney is poised to become the frontier economy and the frontier society. Put another way, we are at the cutting edge of new industries and new forms of value, particularly value-added production.

And we have some of the key elements in the toolkit to do it. We have the Federal Government's commitment to AUKUS, with a trilateral agreement poised to generate almost $370 billion between now and mid-2050.

Pillar two in particular we're focusing on building advanced capabilities in areas such as cyber, artificial intelligence and autonomy, and quantum technologies.

We have a 24/7 international airport, a $5.3 billion once in a 100-year opportunity.

We have the Federal Government's commitment to highspeed rail -imagine if it travelled through Parramatta, out to the new airport and Bradfield, down through South Western Sydney, and on to Canberra and Melbourne - it would transform Australia.

And around the airport, $20 billion is already being spent on infrastructure including the Western Sydney Metro. The centres around Western Sydney, like this economic powerhouse in Liverpool, are undergoing economic transformation. Bradfield and the area around the airport are ready to be the focus of new industries and new jobs.

Western Sydney is poised to take the prize if we take the right set of actions, and the airport is the real kicker. The new airport is our most significant and direct link to the lucrative markets in the rest of the world. Our exports can be on the same plane as millions of passengers reaching new destinations.

The airport gives us unprecedented access combined with the forces of change I've talked about, the airport will open the door to new industries and create jobs closer to where people live.

And the way I conceive of these industries is around three big forces.

The first is the jobs and industries associated with population growth. The second are the jobs and industries that come from having an airport. And the third are the industries which we should chase because we've got the skills and capabilities, we've got the access to markets in Western Sydney, and we will be at the centre of these new and growing global supply chains.

Let me go to rapid population growth. The population in Western Sydney is expected to grow by 600,000 people, to 3.2 million people by 2036. If well-managed, think about the sorts of jobs that are going to come from a growing population. A massively expanded retail sector, high-end health services, a multi-billion dollar construction industry year on year, a huge visitor economy, 235,000 extra homes, and schools and expanded teaching and research facilities.

The second big driver of jobs of course, is the airport. There will be 28,000 jobs associated with the airport by 2031. The airport is already driving huge opportunities in supply chains, with new high-tech distribution centres appearing around the airport and across Western Sydney.

The agribusiness sector alone will be worth more than $580 million. The concept of "paddock to plate" suddenly becomes a reality. Jobs are created through the supply chain, from truck drivers, to logistics, food manufacturers, and through to the farmers themselves.

By the end of the decade people in the ASEAN region are going to spend $8 trillion a year on fresh food. The airport is the game changer, which is why it's great to see today, an announcement about funding the business park. Huge progress. Unstoppable momentum.

Now let me go to the industries we should just run for.

Let me go to advanced manufacturing first. advanced manufacturing is about using new forms of production and using new materials to take us into those global supply chains.

If Australia doubled its current share of the global supply chain in advanced manufacturing, our stake would be worth almost $200 billion to the economy.

This is the opportunity that sits in Western Sydney where manufacturing already makes up 12% of the economy.

The job of economic development is to first protect the existing manufacturing base. The second is to grow new capabilities and new industries particularly in things like advanced packaging of semiconductor devices. These devices are crucial to our Defence Forces our communications networks, renewable energy and future computing.

So, I would love Western Sydney and Bradfield to be a critical base for the semiconductor industry here in Australia.

The second is the jobs and capabilities come from defence-related industries around AUKUS, things like the missile guidance systems, the electronics, again building off our manufacturing base. There are also huge opportunities in medical devices and medical technologies.

And now think about the aviation-related industries. Why wouldn't we want to become one of the global hubs for engine maintenance, or training pilots, or training airline workers?

Then, if we go to space, the opportunity exists to produce the componentry for satellites in Western Sydney. These industries are huge economic multipliers and we should just go hard at them as a country, and we should go really hard at them for Western Sydney.

And that's what we're trying to do at the Western Parkland City Authority.

We were set up under a Commonwealth-State agreement and our focus is on the three areas around the airport, to drive industry attraction, industry alignment, and to push those opportunities out across Western Sydney.

We have comparable powers to a development corporation, and these have been vital instruments in the creation of new cities and precincts.

Our focus is about generating more and higher value jobs. That's 200,000 new jobs -- 100,000 in the high-tech precincts around the airport, and 100,000 across Western Sydney. And, of course, to deliver Bradfield as a high-tech future industry city. We need to build a future that's not just made in Australia, but a future made in Western Sydney.

So how are we tracking on these tasks?

At the three precincts around the airport, the Agribusiness Precinct, the Northern Gateway Logistics Hub and the broader area around the airport, and of course Bradfield City Centre itself, there is currently $8.7 billion worth of development in the pipeline, generating 80,000 jobs. And the Authority is working closely with the private sector, governments and agencies, to deliver a 24/7 integrated Agribusiness Freight and Logistics Hub to unlock that potential of the agribusiness sector. These investments are transforming Western Sydney.

Now if I turn to Bradfield, we have prepared a Master Plan for 10,000 homes, 80 high-rise buildings up to 15 stories, 2 million square metres of mixed-use space, including offices and place for advanced manufacturing, research and production. 36 hectares of open space, a two-hectare Central Park, major swimming and recreation areas to attract people to live and work in the city, and create unprecedented liveability, and world-class sustainability targeting net zero and nature-positive outcomes.

We have been through the public exhibition period. We are currently responding to the Department to finalise the Plan, and we're incorporating this feedback to make sure the Master Plan is finished right for our neighbours, for councils, and the community. We will get this done in a short period of time.

On top of that, we are releasing a Land Development Strategy. It outlines the dynamic approach to the development at Bradfield. We know that a city of this scale cannot be built to full capacity all at once. It will take time to realise the full potential of the city and its high-tech precincts, and we know that the city will need to scale up as the airport scales up.

In addition to the first building, the Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility is well and truly under construction. It is a 3,500 square metre building, providing working and tenancy space, new equipment to train existing and new manufacturers.

The building will be full of small and medium businesses, major research bodies and large companies. Final Expressions of Interest have gone out for tenancies.

We've also submitted the Development Application for the Second Building, comprising more than 12,000 square metres.

Civil works across the broader site have started with the Government de-risking the project with over $1 billion of investment for roads, services, and key buildings to drive industry and jobs growth.

And we've released the Tender for the Digital and Telecommunications package, the digital glue that's going to hold the city together. And today in conjunction with the Minister, I am pleased to announce the release of the first superlot.

This will include 1,000 homes, and a focus on affordable and innovative housing forms.

It will have 16 buildings, or up to 16 buildings, of about 15 stories high. There'll be a mix of residential, commercial, crucial services like childcare, education and research facilities, and retail.

This will be a place where people work, where they live, and where they have a high quality of life with their families.

We are trying to do this differently. The Expression of Interest is focused on outcomes in respect to jobs, industry, culture, and quality urban form.

Against those requirements we're saying to the market - you tell us how to develop this superlot. And we are encouraging a collaborative partnership approach with government to achieve the right outcomes.

We're open to exploring ways that we can progress the design of the superlot, so that the project is well advanced, and subject to approvals construction can commence early, to enable development on the ground as soon as possible.

I want to show you how the city will come together by the time the airport opens and out to 2030.

Here's a picture from last week showing the substantial progress on the AMRF. The roads going in, and the Metro station.

Now cast forward. The AMRF's First Building will be finished by the middle of this year. You'll see people and equipment, you'll see manufacturers working in there, starting to drive those new industries and new jobs.

Now, fast forward to the opening of the airport. We'll see the AMRF's Second Building completed. We'll see road works finished. The Central Park completed. The Metro operating and Stage 1 of the superlot under construction.

Now if we go to 2030, you'll see a substantial city starting to take place. This demonstrates the value of getting the planning right. We need to deliver this city in an orderly way, not a haphazard approach.

But this is a massive opportunity for the market to get in on the ground floor of Australia's newest city, next to Australia's newest airport, on a site that is completely unencumbered.

A chance to innovate, a chance to grow.

We are creating a dynamic city, not a business park, not an isolated residential area, but an integrated city where we are driving new industries, new jobs, and innovation.

And the most important industry, will be the advanced manufacturing ecosystem system.

It's no coincidence that the first buildings we are constructing are the AMRF. The First Building will assist manufacturers to overcome barriers in implementing new technologies, the Second Building will focus on driving semiconductors.

And what will happen is the AMRF will nurture a manufacturing ecosystem.

Almost 30 companies have expressed interest in starting projects in the First Building. Projects ranging from modelling the new factories, to the development of improved processes for additive, composite, and machine parts.

Many of the big corporations are coming to Bradfield because of the AMRF. Companies will locate their production and manufacturing facilities here, and we will build the ecosystem around those two buildings. This will scale up and multiply.

In addition to the AMRF, we have developed a new way of training, and teaching, and educating people to build the skills of the future. Industry told us we needed to take early action to drive the new skills to drive investment attraction. New micro-credentials in these specific areas, driven by industry, driven in detail by industry, and industry's feedback with over 1,500 learners and 43 micro-credentials developed, this is what will attract investment.

We have 40 companies signed up to participate in economic development, ranging from GE, BAE Systems, Vitex Pharmaceuticals, and the giant Hitachi, that's double the original number of Industry Partners.

Now that the Master Plan has been released, we are focused on getting those MoUs into deals, translating into jobs, and direct investment.

So to conclude, what I've tried to do today is to show you the progress, show you the vision, and show you the ambition.

This is about taking a once in a 100-year opportunity of land, around a once in a 100 year airport, to change the economic and social dynamics of Western Sydney. This is about jobs, industries, housing, and infrastructure, coming together like an iron triangle to achieve prosperity.

We need to think about the airport and the region around it like the Snowy Mountain Scheme. This is the biggest game in town. It is the envy of other states. It's about changing people's lives and opportunities. It will take all our energy, effort, and our combined focus to realise the nation-changing opportunities in front of us.

It's about good jobs, closer to where people live. It's about ambition. It's about vision. It's about making sure that every person in Western Sydney can realise their unlimited potential.

Thanks very much.