The Case for the Southern Aerotropolis

With established centres and skilled communities in place to be further utilised, the undeclared Southern Aerotropolis presents tremendous opportunity for sustainable growth.

Image: Georges River proximity to Sydney Airport and Sydney CBD

The work of the Greater Sydney Commission and, more recently, the Western Parkland City Authority, has demonstrated the city-shaping qualities of the proposed Western Sydney Airport. This work provides a model on how NSW can leverage the economic benefits of Global Sydney and the airport and port to grow jobs, especially knowledge jobs, south of the airport in Bayside LGA and the South District to create a Southern Aerotropolis.

The Southern Aerotropolis has the established infrastructure, assets and features that are being planned for the future Western Aerotropolis and arguably much more. There are also three existing airports connected to the port and industrial precinct. The area is served by freight lines and existing passenger heavy rail line. There is potential to grow a radial bus network to fill in the gaps in public transport services.

The case for the Southern Aerotropolis can be summed up as:

− Position and proximity; − Strategic centres of activity, education, research and innovation; − Infrastructure; − Untapped large local skilled workforce; and − Unrivalled liveability.

Future prosperity south of Sydney Airport, in the Southern Aerotropolis, has not been fully explored in successive metropolitan strategies, despite the obvious opportunities for job growth; its proximity to the Harbour CBD, the network of centres; the existing infrastructure that connects to our key national and international gateways, Sydney Airport and Port Botany; an untapped large skilled local workforce; and unrivalled liveability.

Position and Proximity

Proximity to Sydney Airport and Port Botany means proximity to the world (international and national gateways). Sydney Airport, and its relationship with the CBD, the port, strategic transport links and access to workers and existing business activity, will continue to attract businesses and industries that prize such proximity, established transport links and economic opportunity, even as the Western Aerotropolis evolves. The opportunity around Sydney Airport is also important for those industries that seek proximity to areas south of Sydney including Wollongong, which is only 72km to the south.

The strategic centres of Hurstville and Kogarah are very well connected to the airport for passengers and workers via a short 14 min rail journey. COVID-19 has changed opportunities and realities, with individuals now looking for liveable, green, walkable and amenity-rich environments, within reach of the Sydney CBD, where they commute to 2-3 days a week. New market forces and preferences for hybrid working will lead to more decentralised economic activity, giving rise to locations such as Hurstville and Kogarah.

Strategic Centres of Activity, Education, Research and Innovation

In a physical area similar to the Western Aerotropolis, the area south of Sydney Airport, covering the Local Government Areas of Bayside, Georges River, Canterbury Bankstown and Sutherland, has a gross regional product of $51 billion and includes:

7strategic centres

945,000 residents

480,000 workers

350,000 jobs

2,223 hectares of employment, urban services and industrial land

3airports (Sydney Domestic Airport, Sydney International Airport and the Bankstown Airport);

1port (Port Botany) While the growth of large industrial operations is anticipated to continue migrating westwards, employment lands in the Eastern and Central Cities (including Bayside) will continue to play a vital role in supporting Sydney’s economic growth. This includes Kogarah, a designated strategic centre and health and education precinct with St George Hospital (South Eastern Sydney Local Health District’s largest hospital), an accredited teaching hospital of the University of NSW. Kogarah is also home to a major private hospital, TAFE NSW- St George, and an Australian-first Microbiome Research Centre attached to the clinical campus at St George Hospital.

Recent research from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has shown that Kogarah has all the hallmarks of an emerging innovation precinct in the medical sector.¹⁴ As identified in the Kogarah Investment Attraction Strategy, the Kogarah Strategic Centre also has a local workforce comprised of the 'dream demographic' :

− Kogarah enjoys a large segment of the ‘dream demographic’ of talented workers-residents aged 20-40 who hold tertiary qualifications. Over 54% of Kogarah’s population has attained a Bachelor’s Degree or higher in comparison to 40% for Greater Sydney. − Recent reports have highlighted the importance of soft skills such as empathy and caring for others as necessary in the long-term for the healthcare sector given that automation, robotics and artificial intelligence will perform most manual and cognitive tasks. Deloitte’s Building the Lucky Country Report 2019 notes that human skills such as customer service, sales, and resolving conflicts are the most indemand skills in 2019.¹⁵

People and governments have never been more focused on ‘place’, with an emphasis on liveability, walkability and access to open spaces. The vibrant, energetic and diverse Hurstville Strategic Centre sits at the heart of the Southern Aerotropolis. As an established cultural precinct, it has the capacity to be the home for universities, government offices, creative industries and commercial activities looking for a more liveable location close to the airport, the Harbour CBD or the port.

Image: Staff from Calvary Health Care, Kogarah ¹⁴ University of Technology Sydney, Pilot study to investigate the dynamics of the Kogarah Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, 14 May 2021 ¹⁵ Georges River Council, Kogarah Investment Attraction Strategy, p. 12

Georges River Council is also investing millions of dollars in major public domain upgrades including the Palm Court car park conversion and the Civic Precinct transformation. The Civic Precinct will provide a new civic and cultural heart for the Hurstville City Centre which will include a range of public benefits including new public plazas, library, gallery, auditorium and theatre space and Council chambers.

On the edge of the Southern Aerotropolis is ANSTO, the most significant innovation precinct in Australia, (one of four GSC-led Collaboration Areas in the Southern Aerotropolis) and its importance is recognised in the Greater Sydney Commission’s Place Strategy for ANSTO:

ANSTO’s Innovation Precinct will become a globally connected, vibrant and inclusive community with researchers, start-ups and industries creating inspired solutions in partnership for a sustainable world. The Innovation Precinct will be a campus that will be connected through walking and cycling links. It will be surrounded by the existing natural landscape and have centres of activity with a mix of lifestyle, cultural, commercial, business and mixed used spaces.¹⁶

The Place Strategy highlights the unique contribution that ANSTO can make as Australia’s centre of innovation. The concept of ANSTO’s Innovation Precinct is informed by international examples, including the Grenoble Innovation for Advanced New Technologies (GIANT) Innovation Campus in Grenoble, France. GIANT demonstrates that a concentration of nuclear research infrastructure can be developed into an innovation ecosystem where people live, work and spend leisure time. Organisations such as the Brookings Institute highlight the role of quality public transport and walkable place to key centres for them to grow.

Image: Artists impression of proposed Georges River Civic Centre* *The image shown does not comply with existing planning controls. property and planning decisions should not be informed by this image.

¹⁶ ANSTO Place Strategy, p.12

Infrastructure

There are three airports in the Southern Aerotropolis: the Domestic, International and Bankstown Airport. Port Botany is located just north of Sydney Airport and combined, this precinct is a major contributor to the economic wellbeing of Australia. Infrastructure NSW’s State Infrastructure Strategy explains the importance of these international gateways:

Global Sydney is home to two of Australia’s most economically important air and sea gateways. Sydney Airport is Australia’s largest airport with more than 45 percent of international passenger traffic.¹⁷ Port Botany is Australia’s second busiest container port and handles more than $60 billion of trade.¹⁸

This focus of activity is unusual for a major city. Infrastructure NSW has been unable to identify comparable cities that co-locate their international gateways in such proximity and so near to their primary commercial area.

Some vital statistics:

Sydney Airport handles more than 100,000 airline passengers each day, or 40 million passengers a year, supported by some 16,000 airport workers and tens of thousands of ‘meeters and greeters’.

Port Botany moves around 5,000 containers on average every day, or around 2.5 million per annum. The vast majority arrive and depart by road. These infrastructure facilities are extremely important to NSW, connecting primary producers and businesses (both small and large) across the State’s regions with global markets. Australia is a long way from its global trading partners. Efficient international gateways are essential to support the competitiveness of NSW’s goods and services exports, to attract international investment and highly skilled knowledge workers and to get imports to consumers cost effectively.¹⁹

Image: Sydney Airport and Port Botany

¹⁷ Sydney Airport Corporation 2009, Sydney Airport Master Plan ¹⁸ NSW Treasury, 2012-13 Budget Paper 4. ¹⁹ Infrastructure NSW State Infrastructure Strategy p. 48 ²⁰ Future of freight for Sydney Trade Gateways – L.E.K Consulting p. 5

There are over 100,000 trains each year that move through the Airport Line (Green Square, Mascot, Airport Domestic and Airport International Train Stations).

Port Botany is one of Australia’s largest container ports and a vital asset for the state and national economy. Around 1,600 ships carrying over 2.5 million containers pass through Port Botany each year. These ships provide the essential and everyday goods needed by the people and businesses of NSW and take the state’s valuable exports overseas. The Port handles 99.6% of NSW’s container volume. The Port also handles 100% of NSW’s bitumen, 98% of LPG, 90% of bulk chemicals, and 30% of refined fuels.

In addition to serving as “The Gateway to Australia”, Sydney Airport processes 45% of Australia’s air freight imports and exports through its facilities each day, with high priority goods ranging from overseas retail items to high-value fresh produce, including seafood, meat, fruit and vegetables.

Although the Greater Sydney Area population is forecast to continue growing strongly, freight volume through the trade gateways is forecast to grow even faster to meet strong consumer demand for imported manufactured goods.²⁰

The airport and port precinct and the Southern Aerotropolis is supported by important existing infrastructure, including the vital strategic transport infrastructure, to move both goods and people, including the T8 and the T4 rail lines, and key arterial roads A3, A6, A1, M5 and WestConnex M4-M5 link with the M8. There are also plans to extend the M6 south to Wollongong and for future mass transit infrastructure to Miranda.

The NSW Government has outlined a vision to evolve Greater Sydney from a city of three interlocked cities to six interlocked cities, encompassing Wollongong, Newcastle and the Central Coast. This will link every port - integrating the Southern Aerotropolis like never before.

Untapped Large, Local Skilled Workforce

The large, local skilled workforce in the Southern Aerotropolis of 480,000 workers creates the opportunity for new businesses to thrive and grow. The Kogarah Strategic Centre is the focus of the 'dream demographic' - a young, skilled and welleducated demographic. This demographic also extends along the higher density suburbs of the T4 line, including Carlton, Allawah, Hurstville and Penshurst. These communities also represent the aspiration of the people of the south and can be the driving force of the Southern Aerotropolis.

The four larger LGAs that comprise the Western Parkland City (Penrith, Liverpool, Campbelltown and Fairfield) have a combined of population of 823,000, a local workforce of 390,000 and 330,000 local jobs. The four LGAs of the Southern Aerotropolis have a population of 945,000, a workforce of 480,000 and 350,000 local jobs. However, the WPC LGAs have a much better job to worker ratio. For every local job in the WPC, there is 1.18 resident workers. In the Southern Aerotropolis, there is one local job per 1.37 resident worker ratio, highlighting the job deficit south of the airport and the need to grow jobs in the Southern Aerotropolis. More importantly, growing jobs in the Southern Aerotropolis can take advantage of this very large, skilled local workforce.

As Sydney grows to a future population of 8 million by 2056, it should focus on a greater and fairer distribution of economic opportunity and access to services including health, education, cultural and open space. Realising the benefits of the Southern Aerotropolis will help to rebalance Greater Sydney.

Image: Hurstville Night Markets

Unrivalled Liveability

The quality and liveability of Greater Sydney will depend on the creation of many great places; a key objective of 'A Metropolis of Three Cities'. The quality of future Sydney will also depend on not only a '30-minute city', but also 20-minute neighbourhoods. The 20-minute neighbourhood is about ‘living locally’ - giving people the ability to meet most of their daily needs within a 20-minute walk from home, with access to safe cycling and local transport options. The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us about the importance of the quality of neighbourhoods, for community and economic wellbeing.

Throughout the South District, there are many smaller town centres and villages. For example, within Georges River there is Penshurst, Peakhurst, Lugarno, Mortdale, Riverwood, Oatley and Oatley West. With appropriate investment in local infrastructure, such as walking, cycling, local public transport, cultural and community facilities, open space and the public realm, there would be a network of 20-minute neighbourhoods in the Southern Aerotropolis, making it a place of many great places.

Much of the south is set within a green natural environment, with significant urban tree cover, large bush parks and beach and river foreshore access. In Georges River, its green natural environment is also complemented by a harmonious diverse community, which is reflected in the events and the dining experiences of the area. It has been acknowledged that long-term planning needs to confront the climate emergency and that ‘green’ is now the guiding principle. Regardless of mitigation efforts, some places are, and will be, hotter; the people of Western Sydney will endure more hot days than the people in other parts of Sydney. The South District presents amenity advantages, with its liveability, walkability and access to green spaces.

Our experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic have demonstrated the importance of local centres and creating, supporting and investing in 20-minute neighbourhoods. Such investment would further enhance the liveability of the Southern Aerotropolis which would, in turn, attract additional private investment and build on the opportunity for job growth.

Image: Oatley Park adventure inclusive playground