The NSW premier has outlined his vision for the state, flagging increased infrastructure and city-building as well as new ministries to drive the economy and make the state more liveable.
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In an address to business leaders at the Sydney Opera House he said the government he's been part of for the past decade had delivered "mega projects on a mega scale".
"Now we must deliver in the face of uncertainty and in the midst of adversity," he said on Thursday.
"We can and we will."
Mr Perrottet flagged future infrastructure projects as a jobs' driver similar to the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the Great Depression.
Projects like the Sydney Metro and motorways will have a similar transforming effect on the city, but his vision is to make the city "liveable, workable and beautiful".
"Our starting point is we want everyone to enjoy the world's best quality of life no matter what your postcode is," he said.
It's an expansion of the "three cities" idea former Sydney lord mayor Lucy Turnbull brought to the same event five years ago.
But while Ms Turnbull's focus looked west to Parramatta and the under-construction city of Bradfield in Sydney's southwest, Mr Perrottet wants to expand north and south to include Newcastle, the Central Coast and Wollongong.
The generational issue of housing affordability, which is "fast reaching crisis point" will be at the top of the premier's list.
"If we want future generations to conserve our Australian way of life we must enable them to claim their stake so they have something of their own to conserve," the premier said.
He promised to use "every lever at his disposal" as the premier "to give more people across the state the opportunity to own their own home".
A $5 billion fund for parks, modernised schools and high streets in western Sydney is the first "focus shift" from "mega projects" to "local projects" in the premier's bid to enhance liveability.
Mr Perrottet also flagged a number of new ministries, expected to be appointed during a cabinet reshuffle over the summer.
They'll include a minister for modern manufacturing, for science, technology and innovation, and for cities.
Committee for Sydney CEO Gabriel Metcalf says the creation of a cities minister and the expansion of the Greater Sydney Commission to include Newcastle, Central Coast and Wollongong is "exactly the right move".
"Sydney is not an island, it is part of a broader 'megaregion' ... this has been the missing scale of planning."
Mr Metcalf warned there will need to be extra investment in transport to tie this megaregion together if the idea was to live up to its potential, suggesting fast rail connections between Sydney and Newcastle and upgraded railways to Wollongong and Canberra.
Australian Associated Press
