NSW Government Abandons ANZ Stadium Redevelopment

The NSW government has abandoned plans for a $800 million redevelopment of ANZ Stadium, instead electing to reroute funds into the state’s $3 billion acceleration fund.

The recently announces acceleration fund is set to prioritise smaller, “shovel ready” projects across the state, creating up to 20,000 new jobs.

NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, said the decision is in response to the widespread loss of jobs in the state due to the COVID-19 induced economic devastation.

“We are now not only guaranteeing our infrastructure pipeline, we will be looking for opportunities to fast-track projects to provide jobs as early as we can,” Berejiklian said.

It was not announced which projects the $800 million from ANZ Stadium would be put towards, however the state government said it was focused on creating jobs in the wake of recovery from drought, bushfires, and COVID-19.

NSW deputy premier, John Barilaro, said the ANZ Stadium project was no longer possible due to the health and economic consequences of the current pandemic.

“The communities of NSW have been through an incredibly tough period with continued drought, horrific bushfires and now Covid-19 and the best path to recovery is creating jobs,” Barilaro said.

“An unprecedented crisis calls for an unprecedented recovery and redirecting funding from Stadium Australia to job-creating infrastructure builds is the right thing to do for the people of NSW,” he said.