Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health) Share this | Hansard source

When I look back on the past eight years of this government, what stands out the most is the missed opportunity for the people of my community of Dobell, the electorate I represent on the north of the Central Coast. There has been a missed opportunity to improve our local roads, build new infrastructure help people get around, unlock investment and support local businesses. There has been a missed opportunity to give young people the best start in life with the skills, training and education they need to get a decent job and have a steady career. And there has been a missed opportunity, and a risk, with the failure to deliver, in the middle of a global pandemic, a headspace in Wyong.

Just last month, locals heard the Morrison government spruik $3.3 billion in the budget for priority roads projects across the country, but not a single dollar landed in Wyong, Tuggerah or Lake Haven. Meanwhile, $52.8 million found its way just to the south, on intersections along Manns Road in Gosford. Unfortunately, this is nothing new for my community. This government is spending $2.8 million under the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Fund supposedly to support jobs and economic growth in Dobell, and earlier in May the government said getting shovels in the ground on local construction projects was important for maintaining jobs and economic growth in Dobell. Closer inspection reveals that not one of the four projects identified is actually in Dobell. I've got news for this government: Malinya Road, Davistown is not in Dobell.

But this is nothing new for this government. Previously, $86.5 million was allocated to the so-called Central Coast roads package. A breakdown of the funding revealed that one street in Saratoga, in the Robertson electorate, received more funding than the 14 road projects in the electorate I represent on the north of the coast. And there are no Central Coast projects on Infrastructure Australia's priority list. The last major infrastructure project delivered in the electorate was the M1 upgrade, kickstarted by the member for Grayndler, Anthony Albanese, when he was infrastructure minister.

I'll now go to skills and training. This government's commitment to young people is all bluff and bluster. Over the past eight years the number of registered apprentices and trainees in the northern part of the coast has dropped by 25 per cent, from 2,041 to 1,799. Since 2019 this government has trumpeted two programs to encourage young people to upskill and secure a job. The first is the $82 million Commonwealth Scholarships Program for Young Australians, which provides $13,000 for young Australians from select regions to undertake their qualifications. The government chose to offer this program to residents of the former Gosford city but excluded most young people living in the former Wyong shire in the electorate I represent. A local group training provider observed that this program is essentially running a knife down the middle of the coast and that escapes logic. Then the government announced $50.6 million to trial 10 industry training hubs to create more jobs for young people. Once again, the government selected Gosford for one of the hubs. It just does not make sense. A young person on the coast must ask: does the government care about them? Why are they continuing to leave them behind?

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