Labor, Liberal parties trade barbs over Woollahra train station

NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully has accused the Liberal Party of not supporting plans to restart work on Woollahra train station and rezoning for up to 10,000 new homes in Sydney’s east.

Mr Scully could not confirm when exactly serious consideration was first given to resuming work on the “ghost station” during a budget estimates hearing on Monday.

“I think we probably first talked about it in 2023. We probably talked about it again in 2024 and we’ve most certainly spoken about it in 2025,” Mr Scully said.

Mr Scully turned the tables on Liberal MLC Scott Farlow during proceedings, asking him “where are you guys at?” in regard to the Woollahra redevelopment.

When Mr Farlow refused to answer the question and instead pressed on with his own of Mr Scully, the Planning Minister said: “So you don’t support it?”

“We’ve had the opposition confirmed this morning that they don’t support this plan,” Mr Scully continued, repeating the claim at least five more times.

Mr Farlow did not directly address the claim.

Located between Edgecliff and Bondi Junction, Woollahra station would be the first new heavy rail station in more than a decade.

Rezoning of land around the station, as well as nearby Edgecliff station, would “enable up to 10,000 new homes’, according to the government.

Work on the rezoning is expected to take two years, with the government claiming no major upgrades would be needed to water and wastewater in the area.

Work on the station was abandoned in the 1970s amid fierce pushback from locals, with Premier Chris Minns stating on Sunday that he “accepts” not all locals will like the plan.

“The truth of the matter is, to combat Sydney’s housing crisis, everybody’s going to have to do their bit,” he said.

“It’s a decision that won’t be met with universal happiness with everyone in the local community, and I accept that.”

Speaking on ABC radio on Monday morning, Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said he supported the Eastern Suburbs Line going to Woollahra.

“As for the uplift, we’ve got a 10,000 (homes) figure at the moment, but the government doesn’t provide any explanation of how they’re going to get there,” he said.

Mr Speakman admitted plans by the government to charge developers a fee per home in the area as a form of value capture “may well be fair”.

Liberal Vaucluse MP Kellie Sloane also told the ABC that she did support the station and said the math “just doesn’t stack up” on the new homes number.

“There are far more questions raised yesterday than answers … to put 10,000 people in Woollahra, the 21-storey towers proposed by Chris Minns would be 95 (towers),” she said.

“It just seems a bit fanciful.”

Ms Sloane said half of the suburb of Woollahra was already made up of flats and apartments “and 30 per cent semi, so that’s 80 per cent medium-to-high density”.

During estimates, Planning Department secretary Monica Gibson said officials had done modelling work with Treasury in regard to Woollahra and Edgecliff.

“That information has led us to the up to 10,000 homes across these two areas,” she said.

“We’re starting from a need to do a lot of detailed master planning work over the next couple of years to get into understanding the specifics about what’s possible”.

As for the number of affordable homes, Mr Scully said those details still needed to be worked out, but he was “hoping it would be up around the 10 per cent mark”.

“It’s zero at the moment,” he said under questions from Greens MLC Sue Higginson.

“I don’t want to massively pre-empt some of the detail that’s going to be worked through by the diligent officers of the Department of Planning, assisted by other agencies.”

Mr Scully also dismissed any investigation into rezoning Long Bay prison.

“I haven’t asked that any work be done with it,” Mr Scully said.

“There’s a whole lot more specialist services as part of the corrections portfolio that are part of that Long Bay area.”

Former Liberal minister David Elliott earlier this year floated a longstanding proposal to redevelop Long Bay prison into additional housing.

Mr Scully also dismissed claims that Woollahra or plans for new homes at Burwood were Mr Minns’ much-touted “Plan B” following the failure of the Rosehill racecourse sale.

He said the government was working on several projects to boost housing supply.