Fiona Scott (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I stand to talk about the growth and development happening in Western Sydney. So many of us every single day sit in peak-hour traffic, and the traffic going through Penrith is just getting worse and worse. Over the next 20 years we will see another one million residents move into Western Sydney. Right around Lindsay today there are property developments going on in places like Jordan Springs, Caddens, Mulgoa Rise and Glenmore Park. All of these developments are going to add to some of the pressures we have. For too long our region has been run by successive governments, where we have been made more dormitory suburbs. Two-thirds of our community now have to commute every single day for work.

I am not prepared for that to be the future of our region. As someone who has multiple generations—at least seven—of my family from the region, I think we have so much to offer and so many reasons why we need the jobs, the development and the growth in our area.

That is why I am proud to be part of a government that has invested $3.6 billion into infrastructure upgrades, like The Northern Road. $1.6 billion of that alone is for The Northern Road. When I first saw the plans it was only going to the M4. Having worked very hard with successive ministers, I am so proud that we have now put in an additional $6.6 million to see the upgrade of The Northern Road go all the way through to the Great Western Highway.

But I am not stopping there. I am also wanting to see upgrades to places like Mulgoa Road. In the last election I made a commitment to be able to fund and begin the works on Mulgoa Road—the element that is outside Penrith City Council. We are getting on with the job of delivering these projects. That is stage 1 of Mulgoa Road, but I will continue to fight for Mulgoa Road. At the end of last year, with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister Fletcher and the state minister—

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 09:47 to 09:55

As I was speaking about before the division, as a government we are not prepared just to invest in the road infrastructure; we are looking at how we are going to connect our cities. In fact, working with the New South Wales Baird government in November, it was in the south-west sector that we met with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister Constance from New South Wales and Minister Fletcher to initiate a 12-month scoping study that will look at all the different funding options and the rail options which will be needed for the south-west growth sector. These rail options will look at how we will connect the different cities in the south—places like Campbelltown and Leppington through to Penrith. And, yes, a potential connection through to the Badgerys Creek airport. This is the work that we are doing. We are committed to Western Sydney and we will see these works done.