Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Since 2016, I have been working to build a better Burt. We know Centrelink is in crisis under this Liberal government. It is understaffed and under-resourced. Pensioners, the disabled and carers have already put up with enough, and delays at Centrelink only make their lives more difficult. A Shorten Labor government, if elected, will create 40 permanent full-time Department of Human Services jobs in the electorate of Burt. These new positions will benefit thousands of residents across our region. The Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government has turned its back on our area, and its years of cuts have left residents waiting longer and longer to receive support from these services.

These 40 jobs will not only speed up waiting times for those in our community; they will inject about $3 million a year into our local economy. Last week, I was ecstatic to be part of announcing that a Shorten Labor government will commit $929 million to Tonkin Highway projects in Perth's southern and eastern suburbs, across the electorates of Burt, Hasluck and Canning. Residents of Burt have been telling me for years of their frustrations with the highway—in particular the need to upgrade the intersections of Hale, Welshpool and Kelvin roads. This funding will deliver on those upgrades. The funding will not only make our roads safer; it will ease congestion, which will decrease the time people spend on the roads and make their work-life balance better. This is all part of delivering a fair go for my community and continuing to build a better Burt.