Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today 300,000 people commute out of Western Sydney daily for work. I did this commute for over 10 years. I want our kids to be educated and trained in the jobs of the future that are coming to Western Sydney so that they can live, work and stay in our community.

These are jobs with the development of the Western Sydney International (Nancy Bird Walton) Airport, the Aerotropolis and Science Park and in industries like advanced manufacturing, defence and space. These are the jobs of the future, providing opportunities for young Australians in my electorate of Lindsay, and this is what I spoke about last week with Professor Alan Duffy.

Professor Duffy is a research fellow and associate Professor at Swinburne University of Technology, and a lead scientist at the Royal Institution of Australia. As fans would know, he is also the host of Australia's Science Channel. Professor Duffy investigates how galaxies form within dark matter. He is passionate about teaching science and making it accessible to everyone, and about inspiring young people to pursue careers with job outcomes in STEM. He also hosted the Prime Minister's science awards last week.

I met with Professor Duffy to share my ideas on how we can encourage more of the local students in my community to consider careers in STEM. I also talked to him about my Lindsay jobs for the future forum, which I established to bring schools and industry together to ensure that our local kids have opportunities in the jobs of the future. I look forward to working with Professor Duffy— (Time expired)