Northern Beaches Members of Parliament Ignored as Entire Northern Beaches Miss Out on Labor’s Bus Boost

In a blow to local commuters, the Minns Labor Government has today announced that the Northern Beaches will not be a recipient of the 3,000 additional weekly bus services being rolled out across Sydney, with various routes across Greater Western Sydney and the Eastern Suburbs receiving more than 100 additional weekly services to meet demand.

The announcement comes despite repeated calls from Independent Members for Wakehurst and Pittwater, Michael Regan MP and Jacqui Scruby MP, and Liberal Member for Manly, James Griffin MP, for improvements to local bus services.

NSW Parliament’s Hansard records show that since the Minns Government came to office in 2023, Northern Beaches Independent and Liberal MPs have collectively used Parliamentary mechanisms on 70 separate occasions to call for improvements to local bus services. That equates to more than one Parliamentary intervention every sitting week.

Mr Griffin said the announcement was not only a slap in the face for local commuters but also raised serious questions about how seriously the Minns Labor Government takes the Northern Beaches.

“The NSW Labor Government have been in power for nearly four years and have ignored the Independent and Liberal calls to rip up the bus contract. Instead, they have relied upon the former NSW Liberal Government’s B-Line to do all the heavy lifting for our public transport,” Mr Griffin said.

“Northern Beaches MPs have raised the issue of poor bus services in NSW Parliament on 70 separate occasions this term, made countless representations to the Minister, met with the bus operator, conducted community surveys and held public forums, but none of it mattered because the Government found funding and resources to deliver 3,000 additional weekly services across Sydney without allocating a single one to the Northern Beaches.”

In 2024, the independent Members for Warringah and Wakehurst hosted the Transport and Traffic Forum which gave the Transport Minister an opportunity to hear firsthand about the frustrations of local commuters. Two years later, residents are entitled to ask what came of it, with no meaningful improvements delivered.

“Commuters are rightly fed up with community forums, social media posts spruiking a constructive meeting and endless promise to raise their concerns with the Minister. They need tangible improvements to local bus services and a State Government that gives the Northern Beaches the same priority as the rest of Sydney,” Mr Griffin said.

“Today’s announcement confirms that regardless of whether the local Member is Independent or Liberal, the Minns Labor Government is not interested in delivering for Northern Beaches commuters.”