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

In Western Sydney, now is the time to put the puzzle pieces of opportunity together. Western Sydney has the opportunity to create and sustain more local jobs for local people, to be at the heart of the new era in manufacturing, to stay at the forefront of emerging industries and to help people get into the their first homes so they can live where they work and they don't have to move out of our wonderful community. It has the opportunity to educate and train our kids in the world-class institutions that we have in Western Sydney and prepare them for the jobs of the future. This is all about the once-in-a-generation opportunity around Western Sydney airport and the investment that we, as the Morrison government, are making now into Western Sydney.

People in Lindsay want to work where they live. For too long we've been having to do that long commute out of Western Sydney. Prior to the pandemic, over 300,000 people a day were doing that long commute for a good job. This is why we're creating local jobs for local people, and this is what's really important to me and at the centre of my plan for Lindsay. Part of this is the support that we are giving to local businesses, including the instant asset write-off, which I know many manufacturers in my electorate have used. Over 15,000 businesses in Lindsay are able to access this, and Plustec, an Aussie manufacturer in Emu Plains, used their instant asset write-off to purchase a new saw that's essential to their business. We're also backing apprentices, and this is so important. I talk a lot about the importance of apprentices in my area because we have so much industry and so much manufacturing that we need to ensure that we have a local workforce. We are backing over 2,000 apprentices in Lindsay and we're extending the wage subsidies for apprentices so that they can get on with their training and our local businesses can get on with the jobs that they do well. It's about backing local businesses, so they can get on with their jobs.

I now go back to Western Sydney international airport, the heart of all that is happening in Western Sydney regarding opportunities. We need to make sure that we are at the table. It is a nation-building project with a focus on local jobs, including local jobs for the construction of the airport. This project is wonderful, and I have spoken to Western Sydney businesses who are on the airport site and are so proud to be contributing to this project. Some have said that it's been the highlight of their careers knowing that they're making a meaningful impact on Western Sydney. But it's not just about the jobs when it comes to the construction of the airport and its surrounds but also about ensuring that we are at the heart of a new era in manufacturing and tapping into those opportunities. It's really important that we support our manufacturing sector to access global markets, which will be right at their fingertips, particularly when it comes to Asian markets. It also allows us to build our sovereign capability in areas of critical need.

Our $1.3 billion manufacturing initiative will support businesses to scale up. This is what's going to be important, and we should focus on the opportunities that are created with the airport. In our manufacturing initiative we're focusing on areas where Australia has a competitive edge or a strategic priority, including defence. I have a number of manufacturers in my electorate who work in the defence industry, including Baker & Provan and SpanSet. The space sector is a particular focus of my manufacturing task force with our focus on Sydney Science Park, which is coming to Western Sydney and will be in my electorate. It's where CSIRO will be based, and that's really exciting. In clean energy and recycling, we've got Visy, which has made huge investments in Penrith. We've also got food and beverage and snack food manufacturing, so there's a lot going on across the priority areas of my electorate of Lindsay, and that's exciting.

Our supply chain resilience initiative provides grants of up to $2 million to businesses to address and remove supply chain vulnerability for critical goods such as medicines and chemicals. This is important, as we discovered throughout the pandemic. Its about strengthening our supply chains and enhancing our sovereign capabilities. I recently visited Scott at ALL CAST PPE. A couple of my colleagues have been modelling the masks that are made in Penrith this week, and I'm really proud that Penrith is the location of a business that's making masks. They're good Aussie made masks, and we do have a supply of pink masks. They've moved their facility to Penrith because they know that Penrith is the home of Australian manufacturing. The fact that they're making Aussie made product and that they're having a go and they're investing encourages us to continue to invest in them. We should be doing more to back our local manufacturers by walking the walk when it comes to Aussie made. That includes government procurement, and I'm very much for ensuring that we are supporting Australian Made every step of the way. I know people in my community back Aussie made because they tell me this. They have a real desire to ensure our local manufacturers, our local small businesses, are supported, particularly during this pandemic.

In addition to manufacturing, an opportunity for us when it comes to all that is happening around the development of the airport is the area of emerging industries which will create and sustain new jobs for people in Western Sydney. The jobs of the future are very quickly becoming the jobs of tomorrow. This includes industries in advanced manufacturing, which are very focused on agribusiness, defence, research, medicine and space, as I said. And how exciting is that for kids in Western Sydney? When I go to our schools, I ask children, 'Who would love to work in space?' Nearly every single hand goes up. It is such an exciting industry. It's not just about getting in a rocket, although kids think that is fantastic; it's about all those other parts of the industry. It's in computing and STEM—the teaching of STEM is going to be so important in our schools, to make sure kids have all the opportunities around our emerging industries.

In my electorate of Lindsay, we have Western Sydney airport and the Aerotropolis around that. We also have the Sydney Science Park. That covers a big part of the whole airport experience, and that's why it's so important we should be supporting start-ups. We're doing that. We're supporting that at Western Sydney University, with Launch Pad, to support that innovation and technology. I'm really excited about the prospects of what Western Sydney University is doing in supporting start-ups in emerging industries that are particularly focused around industries that are coming up because of the airport.

It's not only about the job opportunities to do with the airport; it's also about being able to live in Western Sydney, so having a home there, being able to work there and being able to raise a family there. That's why it's so important we're supporting first home owners. It's a particular focus of the Morrison government, with our First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and our HomeBuilder program, which has received over 23,000 applications in New South Wales. So, thinking about those opportunities—where young families have that opportunity to not only work in the industries that are coming to Western Sydney with the airport, but being able to live there—I was someone who commuted out of Western Sydney to the city for more than 10 years, I know how important it is to be able to stay in the local area with a good job, and that's something I'm fighting for—to make sure our local people and our kids will be able to do exactly that.

Speaking of kids, this is what our future is all about—ensuring our kids are educated and trained in the jobs of the future that are coming with Western Sydney airport. That's one of the reasons why I started my manufacturing task force and jobs for the future initiative, bringing together schools, universities, industry and business to tackle those issues around jobs training, STEM and education. Things are bright. We must make sure that our kids are ready for the jobs of the future. Again, this is all about the Morrison government's investment in Western Sydney airport, and our investment and passion for Western Sydney.