Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion put forward by the member for O'Connor and to commend the work of the Morrison government in conjunction with local councils in providing funding for the repair and improvement of local roads in my community and to improve safety on our roads.

From this financial year, $500 million will be released to councils under the $2.2 billion Local and State Government Road Safety Package announced in the budget. This is up by $100 billion from previous years. In fact over 10 years from 2013 to 2023, the government will provide $6.2 billion to councils as parts of the Roads to Recovery program.

I want to provide an update to the House about local projects which have been funded under the Roads to Recovery program and delivered in my electorate of Reid—these are just some of the 25,000 projects nationally that have been supported under Roads to Recovery. In the City of Canada Bay, on First Avenue, Five Dock, repairs have been carried out to the roundabout at Ingham Avenue. Resurfacing has been carried out as well as new line markings painted to replace sections of road that had sunken due to age. The Morrison government provided over $127,000 towards this project. Also in Five Dock, resurfacing works have been undertaken in Lavender Street to repair worn-out asphalt, with $97,000 provided by the federal government. In Chiswick, Blackwall Point Road has been stabilised and repaired after significant cracks appeared. I'm pleased that the Morrison government was able to contribute $232,000 towards this work. In Mortlake, Hilly Road has been impacted by constant water flow over the road surface, and the federal government supplied $100,000 towards new guttering work, a pram ramp and resurfacing to address this issue. At Concord, a $50,000 contribution from the Morrison government allowed improvements to traffic flow at the intersection of Correys Avenue and Majors Bay Road, including a bike lane marking and improved parking, which will greatly benefit businesses. Over in the Inner West Council, the installation of a speed hump on Croydon Road in Croydon and the construction of a kerb, guttering and tram ramps will improve pedestrian safety near the intersection with Parramatta Road. The federal government has provided $70,000 towards this project.

In my electorate of Reid, congestion is one of the No. 1 local issues for residents right across the area. As the density of the area grows, it becomes more and more important to maintain suburban streets, particularly if they are used as shortcuts by locals to access the main roads during peak hour. The projects funded under Roads to Recovery complement funding delivered for other road infrastructure in my electorate, including the Black Spot Program, which has funded safety improvements to roads such as Woodside Avenue in Strathfield.

Major road infrastructure has also been delivered in Reid. The first stage of WestConnex opened shortly after the election. The tunnels from Ashfield to Concord are already diverting traffic away from Parramatta Road, easing congestion across suburbs like Five Dock, Croydon, Burwood and Homebush. Shortly we will also see progress on the $50 million upgrades to Homebush Bay Drive and the Australia Avenue roundabout, which will come as a huge relief to residents of the Sydney Olympic Park, Wentworth Point, Newington and Homebush.

The benefits of the Roads to Recovery Program are even more significant this year, with extra funds released to be directed to drought affected council areas. In November the Morrison government announced an additional $138 million would be distributed into these drought affected communities, repairing roads, providing jobs and stimulating the economy. The projects I outlined today are just a handful of the many projects funded under Roads to Recovery, the Black Spot Program and the Urban Congestion Fund in my electorate, which are making our roads safer and getting our communities home sooner to be with their families.

See this speech in context