Keneally should make Parramatta heart of Sydney's transport network

"The number of jobs and people working in Parramatta has grown significantly in the last ten years, but the public transport infrastructure to bring these people from where they live has been strangled by NSW Labor's obsession with roads," Ms Rhiannon said.

"Parramatta is the geographical heart of Sydney, but in terms of public transport infrastructure, the NSW Labor government has left it somewhere near the bowel.

"People travel to work in Parramatta from the north and south, but the only way to get there by rail is from the east and west.

"It is madness that Parramatta isn't directly connected directly via rail to centres like Liverpool, Castle Hill and Epping.

"Residents of Parramatta have been promised the Epping link for so long they're more likely to believe in the Tooth Fairy than this much needed infrastructure actually going ahead.

"The reality of modern Sydney is that not all of the jobs are not going to be into the CBD, but that's how our public transport system is organised.

"The public transport network in Sydney is a series of bee-lines heading straight for the centre.

"If Sydney is going to cope with projected increases in population, we need to embrace decentralisation, and that means connecting our centres with high-quality public transport.

"Sydney doesn't have a public transport network, it has a series of straight lines all going to the same place.

"Businesses and even state departments have been moving to Parramatta for years now, but the state government hasn't seen fit to invest in bringing the public transport network into the 21st century," Ms Rhiannon said.

For information: Lee Rhiannon - 9230 3551, 0427 861 568