How prophetic the Bells Line of Road was built by the Americans during World War Two following the attack on Darwin.

Now we are faced with an expansionist and erratic China on our doorstep, which by stealth already leases the port of Darwin.

We need a safe, fast, reliable transport route out of Sydney for both defence and to grow the Central West.

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If Graeme Burke's proposed tunnel from Mount Victoria to Penrith will take too long then build a tunnel from Hartley to Katoomba now.

Transport for NSW's half-baked Great Western Highway duplication will only result in a decade of road disruption and transport delays.

We have the technology to build a 19-kilometre tunnel from Hartley to Katoomba and it won't require the Americans to build it.

It just takes a minister to find the courage to admit the current plan is out of date.