Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As this is my first opportunity to speak in the Federation Chamber during this parliament, I'd firstly like to thank the residents of Hughes who have put their faith and trust in me to represent them in this place. One of the things that we really need in our electorate is a continued upgrade of Heathcote Road. Heathcote Road doesn't only service the suburbs from Heathcote and Engadine across to Wattle Grove and Hammondville; it is a major thoroughfare that services areas from the Illawarra all the way through to Western Sydney. It takes as much traffic as any major road in Sydney. However, the road itself is not divided; it is more what you would expect of a little-used country road.

An honourable member: It's a death trap.

Correct. This year we have seen two separate incidents involving three fatalities on that road. One of the main things that we need to do is work with the state government of New South Wales to make sure we continue that upgrade of Heathcote Road. We've already seen some improvements. We've seen Deadmans Creek bridge re-aligned and widened. We've seen developments at other intersections. But we need that road divided all the way. It's 24 kilometres long. It must be one of the priorities of both the federal government and the New South Wales government. I'll continue to lobby for those upgrades to occur.