Sunday 25 October 2026 - Opening of Western Sydney Airport
In 2015 I was given Ministerial responsibility for Western Sydney Airport.
By the time my responsibility ceased, in May 2022, the massive earth moving task was finished; all three major contracts (runway and taxiways; terminal; landside works) had been let; and construction was well under way.
Today, 25 October 2026, Western Sydney Airport opens for scheduled passenger traffic.
Congratulations to all involved in delivering this very large and complex project on time and on budget. WSA’s board and management team have done an excellent job. Officials at the Commonwealth Infrastructure Department can take a lot of credit.
But most important was the political leadership: the Abbott Government’s 2014 decision to build WSA; the Turnbull Government’s work including, critically, developing and executing a strategy to build Sydney’s new airport without the involvement of the owners of Sydney’s old airport; and the Morrison Government’s work to execute diligently and methodically on this huge project. The Albanese Government maintained the key directions we established including reappointing Paul O’Sullivan as chair of WSA.
My own role in the project has been a highlight of my political career. To see the airport open today is deeply moving. I well recollect my first few visits to the site, looking at the rolling hills and grazing cows and trying to imagine how it would all be transformed.
Unsurprisingly there has been some sniping in the past few days. Why are there not more airlines signed up? Why is the metro not ready yet? Or my personal favourite, from an AFR journalist who did a ‘test run’, darkly warning that there are no petrol stations or toilets to be found once you leave the North Shore.
In fact, this airport is very well placed on day one - and it will grow steadily and strongly for decades. By the middle of the century it will be Sydney’s biggest airport, having expanded in stages as has been carefully planned for.
Major infrastructure projects deliver their benefits over many decades. That has been true for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and it will be true for Western Sydney Airport.
The benefits will be felt profoundly in Western Sydney. It made little sense that our city of over five million people had only one airport offering scheduled passenger services - and it was deeply unfair that this one airport was located on Sydney’s extreme eastern fringe.
But WSA will serve people right across Sydney. It will bring more choice and, over time, more cheap flights from low cost carriers.
The opening of Western Sydney Airport is good news for Australia - and proof that our often criticised political system can deliver outcomes for the long term good of the nation.
I am very glad to have played a part in this project, and absolutely delighted to see Western Sydney Airport open today.
