Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The National Growth Areas Alliance brings together local governments that face the challenges that come with rapid urban and residential expansion. They're here in parliament this week. The City of Cockburn in my electorate is an active member of the alliance, as you'd expect of a local government that at various times has been one of the most rapidly expanding residential areas in the country. There is no doubt that the visionary Perth-Mandurah rail line has been the prime catalyst for growth in this corridor thanks to the Carpenter government. As a result, with Cockburn station at its epicentre, Cockburn Central has bloomed into a remarkable strategic centre with high-quality transport-oriented housing surrounded by a range of retail, health, community and recreational facilities.

The planning for the precinct as a whole was funded by a Labor smart cities grant. Labor's Social Housing Initiative provided $40 million to enable the innovative Living Space, a social and shared equity housing development. The Labor government also deliver the $20 million super GP clinic that is at the heart of the Cockburn Health and Community Facility. It was Prime Minister Julia Gillard who committed $10 million to kickstart the project that would become the incredible Cockburn ARC, a state-of-the-art recreational centre that is powered by state-of-the-art solar and geothermal technology.

In recent years it has become clear that Cockburn's success has created growing pains, especially in relation to transport. It's clear that there is more to be done. That's why when I was elected in 2016 I made the construction of the new North Lake Road Bridge and duplication of Armadale Road key election commitments. The project is now underway. That's why I fought alongside my community to see the end of the wasteful Perth Freight Link and the redirection of those funds into much-needed local transport projects. That's how we secured funding for the additional lane of the freeway northbound from Russell Road. That work is also underway. That's how we secured funding for the Cockburn-Thornlie rail link connection as part of the McGowan government's Metronet transport system.

Further west a couple of years ago I stood with my colleague the shadow minister for regional services and local government on the site of the old Spearwood Road Bridge, which had become a terrible pinch point for people in Beeliar and Yangebup. Needless to say, I supported the City of Cockburn wholeheartedly in its pitch for federal funding to create a new bridge. Despite the fact that WA got virtually nothing from the coalition under the bridges for recovery program, we were successful in the case of that project, which is nearly complete.

Rapid residential growth needs to be matched with transport links, services, jobs and facilities that allow people to live as part of a connected, sustainable, cohesive community. The city of Cockburn from the bush in Yangebup to the coast at Coogee—or from the wetlands to the waves, as the locals put it—is a diverse and vibrant community. I'm fortunate to be its representative in this place and to share its landscape. I will continue to be a strong voice for the needs and interests of people in Cockburn.