NRL Penrith stadium project under scrutiny

New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet’s decision to proceed with the A$300M ($213M) rebuild of National Rugby League side Penrith Panthers' stadium, while "dumping other suburban stadium projects for budget reasons, is set to come under the microscope." The Labor opposition has called on the government to "produce documents to the upper house about why it has dumped the projects and why it is proceeding with the Penrith project, given other pressing budgetary needs." Australian Labor MP John Graham said, "We will be scrutinizing this decision closely. We will be asking questions about what drove it, who knew about it and its impact on the local community." In July, the Penrith stadium project "quietly morphed into" what appears to be a multimillion-dollar development, involving the state government compulsorily acquiring the 11-hectare site next door and the construction of an entirely new stadium (London GUARDIAN, 8/11).