Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with great pleasure that I rise today in support of the 2017 budget and report on the positive impact it will have on my electorate of Berowra. This budget includes vital measures to ease the pressure on housing affordability. It will provide investment in infrastructure and education; the National Disability Insurance Scheme; and help to small business owners.

I hear every day about homebuyers struggling to afford a house in my electorate. I have been contacted by many residents on this issue, especially young families looking to enter the housing market. I welcome the plans the Treasurer announced last night to help first home buyers save for a home deposit sooner by allowing them to make voluntary contributions into their superannuation accounts at lower tax rates. I am particularly pleased to see the release of Commonwealth land for the construction of new houses as part of this package, as it is something I previously advocated for to the responsible minister.

I am often contacted by residents with concerns about traffic congestion and the quality of roads in our communities. Our government has pledged significant investments in several key infrastructure projects in Berowra. This year will see the continued funding of NorthConnex, linking the M1 and M2 motorways and taking 5,000 cars and trucks off Pennant Hills Road every day. Pennant Hills Road is the worst road in Australia. This year, $50 million of Commonwealth funds will be spent on NorthConnex. This budget pledges a further $1.1 million to road infrastructure investment in Berowra, including over $167,000 in construction on Citrus Avenue in Asquith, $750,000 on four sections of Annangrove Road in Kenthurst and Annangrove, $200,000 in resurfacing of Cattai Ridge Road and Old Northern Road, and almost $70,000 on road pavement patching on Kenthurst Road. Each of these upgrades will improve safety and will reduce the cost of maintenance of our local roads.

One of the biggest assets in Berowra is the quality of our schools and the education they provide our children. Total federal government funding for all schools in my electorate amounts to almost $1.12 billion over the next decade, supporting the 51 government, Catholic and independent primary and secondary schools and the over 26,000 students that attend Berowra schools. But 2027, the 35 government schools in my electorate will receive more than $514 million in funding. The 12 independent schools will receive more than $467 million in Commonwealth funding. And over $137 million will be contributed to the Catholic education system on behalf of the four systemic schools in my electorate.

I acknowledge there are two schools in my electorate that will receive less funding than they have under previous arrangements: Mount St Benedict at Pennant Hills, and Oakhill College. Following the Minister for Education's announcement last week, I reached out to both of these schools to discuss the changes and to see if there was anything I could do to assist them. I thank the principal, the acting principal and the council chairs of both schools for the constructive approach they adopted. I am a strong supporter of the schools and school communities in my electorate and I have been advocating to the Minister for Education on behalf of all Berowra schools to ensure that he understands the needs of our schools. I look forward to continuing to work with schools as the funding program is implemented.

The idea of the fair go is an important part of being an Australian. The National Disability Insurance Scheme is currently being rolled out across Australia, and there is a huge amount of support for it in my community. The program will help nearly 2,000 people living with a disability in Berowra. I have spoken to several organisations who do great work in this space, including Northcott, Studio Artes, Inala, Clark Road School and Warrah School, which I will visit next week. I have also met with constituents who are seeking assistance from the NDIA. It is clear how important the NDIS will be to participants, their families and carers. On 20 March 2013, the Leader of the Opposition posted on his Facebook wall:

NDIS passed the Senate today – a reality that is long overdue and a testament that good government can change lives for the better.

Yet by the end of their disastrous term in government the Labor Party had left us with an unfunded promise and a $4.1 billion funding gap in the NDIS in 2019-20, the first full year of the operation of the scheme.

It is all very well to devise a program like the NDIS, but it is another thing to actually come up with a way to fund it. If that is what the Leader of the Opposition does when he is responsible for one program, imagine what he would do if he had control of the whole of the Commonwealth's purse strings. The modest increase to the Medicare levy announced last night will ensure the full funding of the NDIS into the future and is an appropriate contribution to pay for a program that will support some of the most vulnerable members of our Australian community.

In addition to the recently legislated tax cuts, this budget will deliver additional support for the nearly 17,000 small businesses in my electorate. By extending the instant asset write-off, Berowra small businesses with a turnover of up to $10 million will continue to be able to immediately write-off expenditure up to $20,000 for a further year. (Time expired)

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