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

There is nothing I'm more committed to as a member of parliament than listening to what matters most for my community and then delivering for my community. That's what we're doing at a national level, and that is also very much filtering through to a local level. We are getting Australia through the pandemic, focusing on our economic recovery, delivering for our local communities in jobs, infrastructure and healthy active living and making sure our kids are educated for the jobs of the future. This is very much what I'm focused on in my community of Lindsay.

Australians have been working incredibly hard throughout the coronavirus pandemic. As we know, there is still more to be done, and that's why the Morrison government has been with Australian families and Australian businesses every step of the way to deliver the support they need. Throughout the pandemic, people and families in my electorate of Lindsay have had access to the best health care and support when they need it most. Since the start of the pandemic, over 99,000 patients in my electorate of Lindsay have accessed telehealth; that's over 360,000 telehealth services in my community. We've supported over 14 million Australians to access telehealth with over $3 billion in benefits paid. That is extraordinary, considering that telehealth has only come online quite recently. The Morrison government recognises how important this service is for people in my community and across Australia, and that's why we are extending telehealth until the end of this year.

Since March last year, we've introduced more than 300 temporary MBS items as part of our response to the coronavirus pandemic, responding to the needs of Australians and providing the best care and support. Importantly, we're guaranteeing the essential services that people rely on, and I know this is really important for people in my electorate of Lindsay. We are backing Medicare and delivering those really important services. Life-saving and life-changing treatments and medicines are now within reach for families across my community. In the last year there have been over 2.1 million free or subsidised medicines delivered in Lindsay alone through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Our commitment to funding every medicine recommended by medical expert on the PBS is absolutely rock-solid. In this year's budget we're listing more medicines on the PBS to treat breast cancer, lung cancer, osteoporosis, migraines, eczema and asthma. These listings will make such a difference to lives of so many people and their families.

Over 26,000 people in my community of Lindsay were supported by JobKeeper during the pandemic, staying connected to their workplaces and their jobs. We're also helping people keep more of their own hard-earned money. Around 76,000 taxpayers in my electorate of Lindsay will benefit from tax relief this year. This means they can spend more of their own money on what matters most to them and support the thousands of local businesses across our economy. Already over 82,000 people in Lindsay have benefited from our government's tax relief. We know that local businesses don't need to have government tell them what they need, and our plan is really about enabling businesses do what they do best. That's why we've extended the instant asset write-off, which will allow over 15,000 businesses in my community to write off the full value of any eligible assets they purchase. I know from when I've been out visiting local manufacturers how much of a difference this has made to their businesses, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic. We have over 600 manufacturers in my community of Lindsay employing over 6,000 people, and they're just one part of our local small-business community, who are driving our economic recovery and creating more jobs. Very importantly, we're backing them and delivering what they need.

I am always talking about our local businesses and there's good reason for that. They truly have gotten us through the coronavirus pandemic. They are the backbone of our local economy. It was really wonderful to see thousands of students from across Western Sydney, particularly my electorate, attend a careers fair quite recently to look at the jobs that they could be taking up in the future. There is nothing I am more passionate about than ensuring that our local kids in Western Sydney have the best education, the best access to education, to enable them to be ready for those jobs of the future. I'll be continuing to deliver what my community needs.

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