Russell Matheson (Macarthur, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

One of the successful applicants, Lauren Hokin, has been awarded $33,375 to write and publish a book commemorating the citizens of Macarthur who enlisted in World War I. This research project, the first of its kind covering the whole of Macarthur, ensures that the great sacrifices made by local men and women from our region during World War I will be formally acknowledged and recorded in history. These are just some of the fantastic investments that the government is making in the Macarthur community. This government is investing in the future of my electorate of Macarthur and the future of Greater Western Sydney and south-western Sydney that will benefit the region, the state and, ultimately, the country.

I am proud that I have been given the opportunity to represent my community and to help secure this funding to create jobs, to create opportunities and to create a safer, more integrated community. My electorate of Macarthur stands as proof that the Abbott government is providing the right mix of infrastructure, public transport and investment in health, education and sporting and cultural activities that is making, and will continue to make, Macarthur one of the best places to live and work in the country.

After six years of the chaos and dysfunction of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd governments, the Abbott government is focused on delivering the infrastructure of the 21st century. As the saying goes, purpose is the engine, the power that drives and directs our lives. The government's unprecedented investment in Macarthur has given our region the purpose and the opportunity it needs to reach its full potential, and in doing so Macarthur and south-western Sydney will in turn become the power that will drive our economy.

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