Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

We enter parliament to improve the lives of the people that surround us, to work for our community and to unlock the potential of all Australians. Rightly so, Australians expect us to deliver infrastructure, to provide a strong economy, to create more jobs and to lower the cost of living for families. The Labor Party went to the 2019 election with a policy of $200 billion in higher taxes, a retiree tax, a housing tax, a small-business tax and a superannuation tax. In Lindsay over 3,600 retirees would have been hit by Labor's retiree tax, and over 8,000 residents living in a rental house or a flat would have been flogged by Labor's negative gearing proposals. I've worked in social housing, where people want to get out of social housing and move into the rental market, and these people would've been hurt by Labor's renter tax. The Morrison government was given a mandate by the Australian people at the election. Australians simply didn't want Labor's higher taxes and higher costs of living.

While members opposite are playing politics, I'm speaking on the Morrison government's strong track record of unlocking opportunities for aspirational Australians and delivering vital services for people who live in my electorate of Lindsay. Western Sydney is one of Australia's fastest growing areas, and we are delivering the infrastructure, the education and the health services so that we can continue to create vibrant communities with less congestion and safer roads and the education our kids need to be prepared for the jobs of the future. We are backing our local small and medium businesses, as well as investing in new and emerging industries to create local jobs. We are delivering tax relief to over 14,000 local small and medium-sized businesses in Lindsay and extending the instant asset write-off so that our businesses are encouraged to purchase that piece of equipment or to upgrade their systems so that they can expand and grow and employ more local people.

Our biggest investment is $5.3 billion to fully fund the construction of Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport, and $3.5 billion for stage 1 of the north-south rail link from St Marys in the electorate of Lindsay to Western Sydney Airport and the aerotropolis. During construction of the airport, there will be 11,300 jobs. Within five years of opening, there'll be 28,000 full-time jobs, and 50 per cent of those will be local. This will include jobs in construction, transport, logistics, retail, hospitality and professional services right in Western Sydney. I want these jobs to be local, and that's why I created the Lindsay Jobs of the Future Network, to ensure that our schools, our industry and our small businesses are coming together to make sure that our kids are getting educated in those jobs of the future that are coming with all the infrastructure that's coming to Western Sydney.

The Western Sydney City Deal will deliver the infrastructure needed to support the aerotropolis precinct as a hub for advanced manufacturing, research, medicine, education, industries that we have not yet thought of, and space industries, and also agriculture. Our track record shows we're investing in projects in our community. One of the biggest infrastructure projects in Lindsay is $63½ million for the upgrade to Dunheved Road, as well as more commuter parking at Kingswood, St Marys and Emu Plains stations, because we're busting congestion. We're making sure people are getting to work and home again more safely and quickly. That's what the Morrison government is doing.

We're also delivering upgrades to sporting facilities, to the Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre, the Penrith Whitewater Stadium and the Chapman Gardens sports precinct, because the health and wellbeing of everyone in our community is of utmost importance to the Morrison government. We're delivering to improve the health of our beautiful Nepean River, and we're committed to the Cumberland Conservation Corridor project to conserve our natural environment. I visited this project and saw the great work that they're doing.

We also announced $1 million for the Great River Walk, which will include lighting between Jamison Road and Nepean Avenue. The safety of our community and people who want to walk at night is of the utmost importance, particularly for women.

We're investing record amounts in health and education. We've also announced funding for mental health, and, with the Minister for Health, we've announced the Lindsay Healthy Active Living Network, to encourage healthy and more active lifestyles. This includes mental health as well. Part of this focus is on preventive health, and I look forward to working with everyone in our community interested in health and wellbeing to come up with collaborative solutions.

A strong economy means that we can deliver for our local community. The Morrison government is not just using rhetoric like those opposite; we're getting on with the job of delivering for the Australian people, including the people of Lindsay.

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