The WestConnex Delivery Authority, set up to plan and build the 33 kilometres of motorway projects, had called the meeting to address what it viewed as misinformation about the project. Concerned residents took to the streets of Newtown to protest the proposed development earlier this month. Credit:James Alcock But Mr Cliche and Christopher Swann, the project director of the planned new M5 East tunnel, largely struggled to convince the audience, who remained sceptical about the worth and design of the motorways. One of the concerns was the impact of a major interchange just south of Sydney Park in St Peters, where the new M5 East tunnel is planned to emerge. "Would you take your kids to a park that is right next to smoke stacks and a six-lane motorway?" asked one woman,who was pregnant, and said she moved to the area to live across from Sydney Park.

Mr Swann said: "The answer to that, in short, is yes I would. I have a young family, I enjoy Sydney Park, I am very confident that Sydney Park will be even better in the future than it is today." Sydney Motorway Corporation chief executive Dennis Cliche. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Another fear among residents and locals is that the government will install clearways on busy retail strips near the motorway, such as King Street, Newtown. Mr Cliche and Mr Swann insisted that was not the case; King Street would have no clearway. And residents were also concerned the motorway would cause a traffic nightmare on local streets near entrances and exits in the inner west, such as around St Peters and, further north, around Haberfield.

The WestConnex proponents also argued against this, but had no traffic modelling to present. The impact on local streets was still being determined, Mr Swann said, and would be included in part of Environmental Impact Statements not yet released. But Mr Cliche insisted the whole project needed to be completed. The Opposition Leader, Luke Foley, said last week Labor did not support the third stage of WestConnex, a tunnel under the inner west to link new M4 East and M5 East tunnels to the north and south. Mr Cliche argued against this idea. "The challenge for us and for anybody is over a project that is spanning 10 years, as we have seen in the last week, the difficulty of governments agreeing long term," Mr Cliche said. "And whether or not stage three, as you know it is an election issue right now, all I can tell you is that from our perspective, our evaluation is that the entire project must be built," he said. "The best results for the community, and for the economic viability of the project, are delivered when the entire project is done. To do parts of it does risk exactly what you are saying."

Numerous attendees questioned why WestConnex had not released a full business case. Mr Cliche said the project's documents were being reviewed by the federal government's advisor, Infrastructure Australia, with that review to be released shortly.