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

Politics is not about what is going on in this place right now. Those opposite would like it to be where they're putting performance over people, tactics over the truth and antics over the interests of everyday Australians. Over here, we're standing up for Aussies, backing our sovereign capability and putting Australia's interests first.

Nowhere are we doing this more than in my community in Western Sydney, where we're focused on what matters most when it comes to jobs, infrastructure, families, small business and ensuring that we keep the cost of living low.

Our community worked so hard during the pandemic, and some people in our community are shining through now. There's a little cafe I want to mention called the Blind Chef Cafe. Craig, who runs this cafe, is completely inspirational. He lost his sight in one eye to a tumour when he was a kid. He became a chef, and he lost sight in his other eye when his tumour returned in his 20s. He opened his cafe in the midst of the pandemic, and it was our support with JobKeeper and JobSaver that enabled him to push and fight through. It was a complete honour to take the PM out to meet Craig and his team just last week. He represents what we fight for in Western Sydney, the people who we fight for and who we want to do the best by.

Another key thing that's happening in Western Sydney that the Morrison government is delivering, that the Morrison government is focused on when it comes to people over politics, is Western Sydney international airport. We have just announced the start of the passenger terminal, which is going to be a game changer not just for Western Sydney and my community but for our whole country, where we've got emerging industries, advanced manufacturing, medical industries and agribusiness.

The future is bright for people in my community. Importantly, it is about creating local jobs. That's what we're doing in the Morrison government: creating local jobs for local people. We've already injected more than $100 million into Western Sydney businesses as part of the development of the airport. From cranes, plumbing and fencing to concrete, it is a nation-building project. Already, over half the people working on the construction of the airport are Western Sydney locals. That's because we're at the forefront of Australia's future. There is so much to look forward to—local jobs, local people. We're putting people first before politics.

I'm also really excited about the fact that we are backing apprentices in Western Sydney in trades, particularly in manufacturing. Manufacturing in Western Sydney is at the heart of Australia's manufacturing. We have over 2,285 apprentices in Lindsay, and we've extended our wage subsidies to support even more. So I'm really excited about the future for our young apprentices supporting the growth of manufacturing in Western Sydney, where we have over 600 manufacturers employing over 6,000 people already, and I look forward to seeing that grow even further with the support that we're giving to back in our Australian manufacturers. There's never been a better time when we are so focused on Australia's sovereign capability. A number of manufacturers in my electorate are contributing to this, because we are hardworking, aspirational people in my community who are being backed in by the Morrison government.

The pandemic has been a particularly hard time for people in Lindsay, with lockdowns and particularly with mental health. I'm really pleased that one of my election commitments—a $14 million election commitment to have a Penrith Head to Health clinic—is shortly going to open and provide even more support to people in my community who are struggling with mental health issues, which is super important after this time that we've faced with the pandemic. So, in Lindsay, we're being backed by the Morrison government. We're delivering for them. We're putting people before politics. We're backing local jobs. We're backing local manufacturers. We're building Australia's largest infrastructure project. For me, this is what it's all about: backing local people.

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