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

I am passionate about ensuring Western Sydney is at the heart of the new era in manufacturing. That's why last week I was proud to join the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction to take a tour of a great Aussie manufacturer in Lindsay, in St Mary's. Custom Denning are pioneers in the next generation of technology and they are great entrepreneurs, doing it for themselves. They're taking risks, they're investing themselves and they are succeeding. Grant and Scott showcase their range of electric buses and the new technology that they are developing, and, like all great Australian manufacturers, they're delivering a higher quality and better product than their foreign competitors.

The minister and I then joined a great Aussie business, the Australian Arms Hotel, which is down the road from my office, on High street of Penrith. It is a fantastic local pub. We announced the Morrison government's $10.2 million investment into the Hotel Energy Uplift Program. This program will help small and medium sized hotels, motels and serviced departments, like the Australian Arms as well as others right across the country, to access grants of up to $25,000. These grants can go towards things like upgrading their air conditioning, refrigeration, windows, insulation, and more, for energy efficiency. By helping them become more energy efficient, we are also helping them drive down their own electricity bills. This program will also help support more local jobs, with electricians, carpenters, engineers and plumbers all ready to help businesses with their installation. Business people in Lindsay know how important it is to deliver affordable, reliable energy and to create more local jobs. We know that local hotels have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic, so I was pleased to hear from Luke that people are coming back into the pub, locals are coming back to work and business is improving. Delivering lasting energy savings for these businesses will help them get back to doing what they do best.

I also hosted a forum with the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction. That was an opportunity to hear from local businesses about how they're going through the coronavirus pandemic, to give feedback on energy and for us to have some really good discussions. I was really pleased to hear from the manufacturers in the room about how our manufacturing strategy as well as our energy policies are supporting their local businesses. I want to thank everyone in my community of Lindsay who came out and supported the minister's visit, and I look forward to seeing you all back in Lindsay when I get home soon.

Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 193, the time for members' constituency statements has concluded.