The final locations are still subject to a cabinet approval and senior government sources said those are likely to include Crows Nest,Bankstown and Kellyville or Bella Vista. Other suburbs which had been part of ongoing government discussions were Sydenham,Waterloo on the City and South-West rail line and Burwood and The Bays precinct.
The latter two would provide another indication that Minns intends to push ahead with the $25 billion Metro West line despite repeatedly refusing to guarantee its future.
A senior government source who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential internal deliberations said that even if those locations were not included in the initial list of seven sites they were still likely to be subject to a significant density boost.
TheHerald approached Minns and Planning Minister Paul Scully’s offices for comment. Both declined.
Minns on Tuesday night used a speech at the annual Sydney Institute dinner to call for bipartisanship in addressing the housing shortage,an issue he has placed at the centre of his leadership since Labor won government in March.
Arguing the “great reforms both nationally and in NSW” had been bipartisan,Minns said he was clear-eyed that his reforms wouldn’t be universally popular.