Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

For many years before becoming the member for Werriwa, I served my local community as a councillor on Liverpool City Council. To serve as a councillor is a great privilege. I have seen the positive outcomes that a good council can deliver for a community, especially when working constructively with state and federal governments. A local government often plays a leading and critical role in solving the issues most Australians are concerned with, whether it's local roads needing repair, inadequate housing supply, a lack of local parks or uncollected rubbish. These are the issues that are being felt now more than ever. We all hear about it. We all see it. In fact, my office regularly receives inquiries on the issues relating to local government, especially regarding local roads.

Over the past decade, my community has seen continued neglect and deterioration of local infrastructure at the hands of successive coalition governments at state, federal and local levels. Our communities, which are amongst the fastest growing in our country, have been underfunded and neglected while successive coalition governments issued press release projects that never materialised. As a result, we have suffered. Our growing communities don't have the adequate infrastructure they need to thrive.

But I've seen a dramatic shift since the election of the Albanese government in 2022 and the New South Wales Minns government in 2023. Finally, for the first time in a decade, our local communities are receiving some of their fair share. In the May 2024 budget, the Albanese government committed an additional $1.9 billion for Western Sydney road and rail infrastructure. This includes funding for 14 new projects and two existing projects. The budget includes $1 billion for enabling infrastructure for the Housing Support Program priority work stream, building on an already committed $500 million through the Housing Support Program. The budget also delivers substantial funding for Roads to Recovery and the Black Spot Program. Roads to Recovery funding will progressively increase from $500 million per year to $1 billion per year, doubling the amount of funding local councils will receive to maintain their local road infrastructure. The Black Spot Program will also increase from $110 million to $150 million per year, ensuring more funding to local councils for road safety upgrades.

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting several upgrades to local roads with the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, the Hon. Kristy McBain. These are upgrades that are only possible because of the Albanese government's increased investment in local government and upgrades that were long overdue and will benefit my community, such as the resurfacing of Hill Road in Lurnea and surface, gutter and kerb improvements along Gabo Crescent in Sadleir. Both projects were fully funded by the federal government under the Roads to Recovery Program, which will deliver $12.59 million to Liverpool City Council, a boost of $5.4 million thanks to the Albanese government.

The funding for my community does not stop there. Under phase 4 of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, $2.25 million is being delivered to Liverpool City Council for local roads, building on the $10.5 million in untied financial assistance grant funding in this financial year, the $28 million in federal funding under the Local Roads Package and the $1.1 million for local road safety projects under the road Black Spot Program.

The Albanese government is making significant investments in local councils across Australia, because this government understands they are the best place to deliver for our communities. It is time for local councils, especially Liverpool City Council, to follow through and deliver on the projects that have already received substantial government funding. Our community deserves better than a mayor who has placed his own political survival and feuds ahead of the interests of locals. Residents are crying out for their roads to be fixed, yet Liverpool City Council are yet to spend the funding that's been allocated to them. Come September, I hope that we see a Liverpool City Council and councillors that are better able to represent the interests of our community and work constructively with state and federal governments.

Local government is the engine room for change in our local communities, and the Albanese government is fuelling that engine. The most recent budget shows that this government is serious about working with local governments, and it is time for councils to use the federal money they have to improve local infrastructure.

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