Want SBS in heart of multicultural Sydney

A Labor Government says if elected, it will commission a feasibility study into the relocation of the Sydney-based headquarters and studios of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) from Artarmon to Western Sydney, alongside the provision of a multi-purpose space for content creation and public use.
It also announced that Western Sydney University’s planned Bankstown CBD vertical campus will get a new $7.2 million world-class Digital Discovery Centre, which will support digital technologies and support capabilities enabling development, prototyping and testing of technologies.
Joining Federal Labor MPs for the announcement, Mayor Khal Asfour said relocating SBS to CB City would mean it had a new home in the heart of multicultural Sydney which was more directly aligned with its Charter.
“Our residents are global citizens with global family, business and personal links to the whole world. Their stories are truly representative of SBS,” he said.
“Canterbury-Bankstown is one of the most multicultural cities in Australia. Our City thrives on diversity, harmony and respect for each other’s different cultures.”
Mayor Asfour said SBS’s relocation to Canterbury-Bankstown would make sense, following a commitment for a new $1.3 billion Bankstown Hospital and with Western Sydney University proposing to construct a new 7,000-student campus in Bankstown.
Based on SBS’s 2018 annual report, the sale of the current SBS site at Artarmon is likely to generate up to $90 million, which would significantly offset the cost of building a new home for the broadcaster in Canterbury-Bankstown.
It’s estimated, the project would also create around 400 construction jobs and generate $85 million for the local economy, and a further $100 million a year ongoing.