Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

People say, 'Mike Baird is a nice guy but his government doesn't seem like that.' In my area, he has presided over or sat on his hands as people in the suburbs I represent are stuffed over by terrible funding decisions. It was a New South Wales state government that ripped out a cardiac ward from our local hospital in Mount Druitt, an area where heart disease takes the lives of so many people. They got rid of it. They are standing by as the Abbott government rips billions out of education funds. There has been $270 million ripped out over 10 years in the Chifley electorate, and you hardly hear a peep out of the New South Wales Liberal government.

They just brought down a budget, and they crow about all the infrastructure spending they are doing. They are completely craven. There are a number of railway stations that are relics of the fifties in Western Sydney—Toongabbie, Rooty Hill and Doonside, off the top of my head. They are now supporting large growth in population through new estates in the area and cannot even get things like lifts, except of course in Toongabbie, because it sits in a marginal seat. They want to get one of their own up and they do it. I get it—both sides of politics will obviously dedicate resources to their own. I totally understand that, but they should do it in a way that recognises need elsewhere and at least seems balanced. If you are going to give one to your own, why are you not also recognising the need down the track—pardon the pun. When I am meeting constituents in Doonside and Rooty Hill, they are there literally puffing at the top of these steep ramps because we cannot put simple things like lifts in there, and the recent state budget, brought down this week, does not even provide it.

I will now come back to health care and the cuts that the Abbott government is undertaking. The New South Wales shadow health minister, Walt Secord, has found the figures out of the New South Wales government that admit that what the federal coalition government is doing to the New South Wales coalition government in health is going to hit the poorest the hardest in my area. Mike Baird might be a nice guy but he does not run a nice government, and he does not run a strong one that stands up for New South Wales people. It should be looking after them, and again I call on them to meet the needs of the local area—be it in education or health care, and especially infrastructure in our local suburbs.

Turning to a positive note, I want to commend Arnott's, which has a facility in Huntingwood. They recently conducted their first family fun day at their facility. There were hundreds of people there, and I was particularly impressed that there were people from as far away as Wagga Wagga that had come up to see the facility. The family fun day was not just about fun; it was about a serious issue as well—to support fundraising for cancer treatment, and in particular for Camp Quality. It raised over $60,000. It was a terrific effort by a bunch of people at Arnott's who have a very strong community heart. Congratulations to them.

I also wanted to take a moment to congratulate the new Miss Universe Australia, Monika Radulovic, from Botany in New South Wales. She was crowned the prestigious winner. She arrived in Australia, aged four, as a refugee. She is now a 24-year-old psychology graduate from the University of Western Sydney. Her parents came here with literally nothing, and I wish her all the best as she goes on to represent our nation in the finals.

If I may, I also want to reflect on the presence of a group that are doing some very important work in economic reform and supporting the emergence of some bright talent in this country. The group is called StartupAUS, and they have put out a very important report, Crossroads 2015: An action plan to develop a vibrant tech startup ecosystem in Australia, which updates the previous year's report. It talks about what we can do to create an ecosystem that will generate economic growth through the activity of people—young people, in particular—who are developing their own start-ups.

Importantly, they are meeting parliamentarians from both sides of the political fence. They met with the coalition last night and with Labor representatives this morning at a roundtable hosted by Jason Clare, the shadow minister for communications. I think it is important that both sides of politics embrace this area and drive reform that will benefit the emergence of start-ups in this country, because these guys are developing the jobs of the future. We all benefit—both sides of politics, the community and the economy—if they do very well. Congratulations to their new CEO Peter Bradd. (Time expired)