Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to hear that. I might be able to get through my speech without interjections. That's good. I congratulate the member for Parramatta for bringing this motion to the parliament. To give credit where it's due, the member for Mackellar has made some very positive points, but, as he suggested, there are some things he certainly should reflect upon, No. 1 being the provision of infrastructure in Western Sydney, and in south-western Sydney, by this federal government.

The Western Sydney region is the city's primary driver of population growth, with a population of over two million set to grow to 3.5 million by around 2035 to 2040. Western Sydney also has Australia's third largest economy. As a doctor, however, I am a great believer in the social determinants of health. That includes things like adequate housing, good jobs and adequate transport so that people can get to and from work and spend time with their families at the end of each working day. Unfortunately, that is not happening in Western and south-western Sydney.

The Parramatta CBD is Western Sydney's CBD and is Sydney's second largest CBD. It's essential that our transport infrastructure doesn't fall behind and that Western Sydney roads and public transport systems are fit for the sustained population growth that's going to occur in the next 30 to 40 years. Addressing mobility and congestion is the key, and putting infrastructure in place before the rapid development is the second key to unlocking the wealth and potential of Western and south-western Sydney.

I want to acknowledge that the government's plans for Sydney's Metro West project are plans. They're not funding it. They haven't guaranteed funding and I believe it will be many years before they do. I'd also point out that the development of Western Sydney Airport is occurring, as we speak, without any concrete plans for transport infrastructure from south-western Sydney—my electorate of Macarthur, in particular—to Western Sydney Airport. This is in spite of the most rapidly growing populations in New South Wales and close to the most rapidly growing population in Australia.

The Sydney Morning Herald has a very good diagram this morning, a very good map, that shows population growth—

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