Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I rise to speak about the government's record of delivery, particularly in my electorate of Parramatta. The Labor government has worked hard to ensure that our economy remains strong, in spite of global turmoil. While most of the world has shed jobs, we have created 750,000 since 2007 and are on track to create 500,000 more by 2013. We are meeting the challenges of a patchwork economy; keeping inflation and interest rates much lower than those we inherited from those opposite.

We have also worked hard to ensure a sustainable environment with our clean energy plan, a plan that will cut pollution by making the big polluters pay and drive investment in clean energy.

We made a historic investment into the modernisation of Australian schools. As at the end of September this year $16.2 billion was invested in over 23½ thousand projects in nearly 9,500 schools across Australia. In my electorate of Parramatta schools have benefited from over $100 million in investment, with 139 projects across 58 schools, including 17 multi-purpose halls and 16 libraries. These have included: $850,000 to Westmead Christian Grammar School for construction of library, administration, amenities and storage facilities; $1.7 million to Wentworthville Public School for construction of new administration facilities; $3.1 million to Toongabbie Public School for a multi-purpose hall; $2.5 million to The King's School for construction of a primary library; $2.5 million to Tara Anglican School for Girls for construction of a junior school library and associated refurbishment of the previous library to science classroom; $3,000,000 to St Patrick's Primary School for construction of multi-purpose hall; $800,000 to St Oliver's Primary School for refurbishment of classrooms; and $1.8 million to Parramatta West Public School for construction of new classroom facilities.

This government has also been committed to the continued improvement in the delivery of health services around the country. In Parramatta and wider Western Sydney this has included $36.2 million investment through national health reforms over the next four years, with Westmead Hospital in my electorate receiving the lion's share. We have introduced Medicare Locals to drive improvements in primary care. We also recognise the need to tackle mental health in a much more direct way, and to this end we have delivered a $2.2 billion comprehensive package focussing on early intervention and coordinated care. This is the largest investment in mental health in Australia's history. I am proud to say that part of the funding will be used to for a new headspace mental health service for young people in my electorate. This service will provide local young people aged between 12 and 25 support for depression, substance abuse and other mental health issues.

Labor has always had at its core the interests of working families. The nation's first ever Paid Parental Leave scheme is evidence of this, as is the Parental Leave Scheme, which will give dads two weeks to spend time with their new babies from 1 January 2013. We have also increased the childcare rebate to 50 per cent in support of working families.

For pensioners we have introduced historic pension reforms which have delivered extra payments worth around $148 per fortnight for singles and $146 per fortnight for couples combined, plus a new work bonus that allows pensioners to work more before it impacts on their pension.

We have delivered income tax cuts for the lower paid that mean a person earning $50,000 a year is now paying $1,750 less in tax and someone earning $80,000 a year is now paying $1,550 less in tax than they were in 2007. We will also triple the tax-free threshold from $6,000 to $18,200, which will deliver tax cuts of at least $300 to around 60 per cent of taxpayers.

We have more than doubled the federal roads budget and increased average annual rail spending by a factor of four. And then of course there is the NBN, being rolled out around the country and connecting communities all around this great nation of ours. There is the National Disability Insurance Scheme, well on schedule—in fact, it is ahead of schedule—a great Labor reform that will provide dignity and security for many people that need it most. Five minutes is not really long enough to talk about all the government has achieved since gaining government in 2007. With the MRRT, which is still being debated in the House, we are of course committed to raising super from nine per cent to 12 per cent, and to providing instant tax write-offs for small business and a lowering of the company tax rate. Again, these are great reforms that will be well and truly welcomed in my community. We will continue to work hard to build a fair society, a society that provides every Australian the opportunity to prosper and succeed in life.

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