Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Morrison government's record investment in infrastructure projects across the country is creating much-needed jobs and reducing congestion on our roads and our rail network. The investment is also improving the quality of life for those who use and live near busy travel corridors, meaning they can spend less time commuting and more time doing the things they love and being with the people they love, and so I rise today in support of the member for Berowra's motion. I share his commitment to seeing world-class infrastructure built in our local communities, including in my electorate of Robertson.

The coalition government's 10-year infrastructure plan will see a record $110 billion invested in our roads and rail to create jobs and boost productivity. This includes $6.1 billion towards the Roads to Recovery Program, which will support important maintenance on local road infrastructure. In Robertson, for example, the Central Coast Council will receive almost $14 million over the next four years to fix local roads in the Central Coast community. As part of that, there's $335,000 that will go towards improving Patonga Drive, with planning currently underway and work expected to take place this month. There's also $320,000 towards fixing Booker Bay Road at Booker Bay, a project that will commence in February next year as part of the Roads to Recovery Program. Maintaining and improving our local roads is critical, especially as more people work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. These roads are part of the more than 60,000 sites which have been repaired and upgraded through this federal government initiative.

The $4 billion Urban Congestion Fund is also helping to fund infrastructure projects that will reduce traffic on local roads. Under this package, almost $87 million will go towards upgrading 29 individual road projects as part of the Central Coast Roads Package. I'm pleased to update this chamber that, as part of this package, the road upgrade with drainage and pavement works have been completed at Gem Road in Pearl Beach. Road patching and resurfacing has also been completed on Racecourse Road between Bean Street West and Showground Road, which is really good news for the hundreds of cars which travel along there every day. Stage 4 of the major upgrades to Oceano Street in Copacabana continues to progress and, one street over, the road safety improvements to Del Monte Place began on the first half of the road in October. These upgrades will help to rectify some of the longstanding issues in relation to local roads, with these critical investments possible thanks to the coalition government's responsible fiscal management.

Despite many residents on the Central Coast continuing to work from home, recent analysis from Sea Change Solutions shows weekday traffic along the M1 motorway is actually close to returning to pre-COVID levels. I'm advised that their analysis also shows a more than 10 per cent increase in the number of heavy vehicles travelling along the M1 since last year. The recent opening of the $3 billion NorthConnex tunnel will help to take up to 5,000 of these heavy vehicles off Pennant Hills Road and will reduce congestion for the tens of thousands of motorists who travel to Sydney each day. I was really delighted to attend the opening of NorthConnex with my state and federal colleagues, including the member for Berowra, at the end of October. We were also joined by some of the 17,000 men and women who have worked on the site since construction began. Locally, more than 1,500 Central Coast workers and 50 businesses contributed to making this project a reality. This included DH Holland Constructions based in West Gosford, ColdMist Cooling at Empire Bay, BRP Industries in Somersby, and Goodgear at West Gosford. The project has received praise from our local business leaders, including Matthew Wales, the president of the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, who called NorthConnex: 'a game-changing piece of infrastructure'. NorthConnex will allow motorists travelling from the Central Coast to bypass 40 sets of traffic lights on their journey to the Sydney CBD, meaning commuters will be able to get to where they need to be sooner.

The Morrison government has a proven track record of investing in important urban infrastructure across the country and creating thousands of jobs in the process. Our 10-year, record $110 billion plan illustrates our vision for reducing congestion and improving the quality of life for people right across Australia. I thank the member for Berowra for introducing this motion and I commend it to the chamber.

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