Received

After touching down at Sydney's new second airport, visitors to the city will face an arduous journey on a buckling public transport network.

The $11 billion airport now under construction is one of the NSW government's signature projects, with both major political parties excited by the prospect it could offer the city's oft-ignored west.

But neither Labor nor the Liberals can agree on how to get commuters there and back.

Labor has committed to extending the under-construction Western Sydney Airport line to the north and south, but it won't match plans to build two other lines connecting the area to Parramatta and Bankstown, citing a budget black hole for the multi-billion dollar project.

Labor leader Chris Minns accused the government of planning to sell off government assets such as Sydney Water to pay for the metro, despite Premier Dominic Perrottet ruling it out.

"Unfunded infrastructure means more privatisation for NSW," Mr Minns said.

His party will instead spend an extra $305 million to ensure rapid bus routes already promised by the coalition are in place before the airport's opening in 2026.

Transport expert Geoffrey Clifton says the bus links, while important in the short term, will not be enough down the track.

"We need to make sure that people can get to and from the airport, otherwise it's going to be a white elephant," Dr Clifton told AAP.

One in 10 Australians live in western Sydney and its population is growing at double the rate of the rest of NSW.

Connecting travellers to the hubs of Bankstown, Liverpool and Parramatta will be essential to the airport's success.

"If the Labor Party isn't proposing to build (the metro lines) straight away, they certainly need to be protecting the corridors," Dr Clifton said.

"Putting buses on the road is the bare minimum."

Mr Perrottet was scathing of Labor's decision to drop the projects, saying it would "leave tradies high and dry with up to 4000 apprentice jobs to vanish."

Without a direct link to Parramatta, travellers will need to get off the metro at St Mary's and catch an existing heavy rail service to Sydney's second CBD, with luggage in tow.

While the rail network has historically been reliable, structural issues - like ageing infrastructure and a tangled network - leave Sydney more vulnerable than newer networks like Brisbane and Perth.

Dr Clifton says a series of disruptions in the weeks leading up to the election uncovered an ongoing backlog of maintenance issues.

Much of Sydney's rail network was built more than 100 years ago and the unique geography of the city, which results in several lines converging near the city centre, causes one incident to ripple across the entire system.

"Investing in maintenance is not glamorous, but it's essential for the future of our transport network," Dr Clifton told AAP.

The metro project was in part envisaged to increase the reliability of the entire system, removing rail traffic from a terminally congested network, but not everyone is happy with it.

The transport union has railed against the metro's driverless trains, which Dr Clifton posits contributes to Labor's lukewarm disposition to the format.

Sydneysiders are no strangers to industrial action.

A protracted union dispute over pay and the design of the state's new inter-city trains brought the city to a standstill in 2022, forcing passengers onto an already stretched bus system.

Both sides have promised plans to tackle bus shortages that have led to service cancellations and delays across the state.

Labor and teal candidates have jumped on the issue, attacking the coalition for privatising the operation of the routes.

Independent candidate for Pittwater Jacqui Scruby says the privatisation of bus services on Sydney's northern beaches has been "a disaster".

"We've got primary school sport that's been going for decades and they're thinking of cancelling next term because the buses aren't showing up," she told AAP.

But Dr Clifton says privatisation doesn't necessarily result in an inferior service.

While the sell-off of UK's rail network showed how privatisation can go wrong, Japan's super-efficient, privately-operated rail system is an example of how it can work well.

Other potential fixes have gone unaddressed by both sides.

Recent analysis by Dr Clifton and the Australian Timetable Association found Sydney's light rail network is slower than foreign cities, with the city's long awaited stretch from Circular Quay to Randwick averaging a dismal 11km/h.

Timing traffic lights to always show green for trams would be a relatively inexpensive way to speed up travel times.

Light rail vehicles, which can carry over 200 passengers, must often wait at intersections for a handful of cars to pass.

This would require a cultural shift for transport authorities, hamstrung by Australia's car-centric mindset when compared to European and Asian counterparts.

"Further improvement would have to be at the expense of other users of the road network and that's politically tough," Dr Clifton says.

© AAP 2023

Most victim-survivors of coercive control want the behaviour to be criminalised while also fearing it would not actually improve safety.

Coercive control is a form of family violence involving long-term control and manipulation, but does not necessarily involve physical abuse.

More than nine in ten female victim-survivors believe the behaviour should be criminalised, according to a study led by scientists from Monash University.

Some 1261 adult victim-survivors took part in an anonymous online survey in early January 2021.

Overall, 87.5 per cent of people surveyed backed the push for criminalisation however the majority did not think it would actually increase safety.

"It's easy to show photos of bruises and broken bones. How do you explain a broken brain?" one survivor said.

Most believed the benefits would be felt away from court or policing, according to lead researcher Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon.

She said many thought it would boost community awareness, which could then flow on to more support systems and referral pathways.

"There has been increased attention in recent years of the ways in which the criminal court system can traumatise victim-survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence," Professor Fitz-Gibbon said.

"While in principle the majority of victim-survivors in this study supported criminalisation of coercive control, they were also acutely aware of the barriers and risks of engaging with the justice system."

NSW criminalised coercive control in late 2022 and Queensland is in the processes of doing so, with the backing of the parents of the late Hannah Clarke.

Ms Clarke was doused in petrol by her estranged husband Rowan Baxter and burned alive, along with her three young children Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey.

Just one in three Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander victim-survivors believed legal reforms would improve safety, with many concerned about potential impacts on already over-criminalised populations.

Many survey respondents also described having existing laws against them and were worried new laws could give offenders more ammunition if they were not implemented correctly.

© AAP 2023

Dolphins forward Felise Kaufusi doesn't believe his previous brushes with the NRL judiciary led to him receiving a four-game suspension that has rubbed him out of Friday's blockbuster Brisbane derby against the Broncos.

Kaufusi fronted the judiciary in Sydney on Tuesday and failed in his bid to have a grade-two charge for a late hit on Newcastle halfback Jackson Hastings decreased to a grade one.

His former Melbourne teammate Jahrome Hughes was also suspended for two games after losing a battle to have a similar grade-two charge reduced for a late shot on Gold Coast playmaker Tanah Boyd.

But while Hughes will miss games against Wests Tigers and Souths, Kaufusi is staring at a month on the sidelines starting with this weekend's maiden Brisbane derby against the Broncos.

Flanked by Dolphins assistant coach Kristian Woolf, Kaufusi was visibly emotional as he came to terms with his sanction.

The tough Tongan international will also miss games against St George Illawarra, North Queensland and South Sydney.

A successful downgrade would have resulted in Kaufusi, who has developed a reputation for playing the game on the edge, escaping with a $3000 fine and no suspension.

"Not at all," Kaufusi replied, when asked if his reputation had influenced the panel's verdict.

"It'll take some time for this to sink in, I'm pretty disappointed with the verdict.

"I thought we had good grounds to fight the downgrade, but I guess the panel didn't see it that way."

The argument put forward by Kaufusi's lawyer, Nick Ghabar, admitted that the veteran's contact with Hastings was late, but only marginally.

He contrasted Kaufusi's hit with a grade-one charge given to Sydney Roosters centre Joseph Suaalii for a tackle on Warriors fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad from round two.

Ghabar argued Suaalii was "grossly careless" and maintained Kaufusi withdrew his force upon making contact with Hastings which and indicated a duty of care for his opponent.

But that argument didn't wash with the panel of former referee Paul Simpkins and ex-Australian international Bob Lindner, who reached a unanimous verdict within half an hour.

Their judgement supported the match review committee's original grade-two charge and because Kaufusi had contested the charge his punishment was bumped up from a three-game ban to a four-match suspension.

Ghabar was also forced to defend Hughes, who appeared via video link alongside Storm football manager Frank Ponissi.

Hughes, like Kaufusi, rolled the dice on Tuesday in the hope he could be free to face the Tigers.

But Ghabar's argument - centred on claiming Hughes was bracing to avoid getting kicked in the face - held no sway with Lindner and Simpkins, who again backed up the match review committee's original sanction.

Hughes' suspension could not have come at a worst time for the Storm, as they desperately seek to bounce back from losses to Canterbury and the Gold Coast in successive weeks.

© AAP 2023