Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Central Coast is being left behind by the Liberals. The coast is earmarked for growth with 88,000 new residents living in 40,000 new homes by 2040, and what are the state and federal Liberal governments doing? The New South Wales government announced with much fanfare the $4.2 billion Snowy Hydro Legacy Fund. They say it's 'a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in major and transformative infrastructure across regional NSW' to 'deliver critical infrastructure and priority initiatives identified in their 20-Year Economic Vision for Regional New South Wales' for water security, rail and road transport connections, freight linkages and digital connectivity. What did my community, one of the fastest-growing regions with a backlog of infrastructure, receive? Nothing! Last week, Infrastructure Australia released its annual infrastructure priority list. The chair said:

Australian communities rightly expect that infrastructure investment will be directed to the projects and initiatives that provide the greatest returns for them.

Where is the return from my community? There is not one priority project.

Then we have the Urban Congestion Fund. Over 83 per cent of the $3 billion allocated went to Liberal and marginal seats. Again, my community was short-changed. The marginal Liberal seat of Robertson received over 94 per cent of the $105 million allocated to the Central Coast. The state and federal Liberal governments must do better for my community. It's not good enough.