Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Good, sufficient local infrastructure has never been more important for local jobs, for health and for our quality of life. Recent ABS data shows that, by 2041, my electorate of Greenway will experience some of the highest rates of population growth in the entire state of New South Wales. We will experience a population increase of, for example, 72 per cent growth in Blacktown, 65 per cent growth in Acacia Gardens, and a 318 per cent growth in Riverstone, to name but a few suburbs. But with this population growth will come growing pains if we don't have sufficient infrastructure. Sue Hunter from the Riverstone and Schofields chamber of commerce has reached out to me, saying: 'We are bursting at the seams, and without a plan we are in serious trouble.'

It is imperative that the roads we drive on, the parks our kids play at, the hospitals our most vulnerable attend and the mobile coverage we rely on every day are well equipped for this explosion in growth. That's why I'm dedicated to ensuring that we: have the Rouse Hill Hospital emergency ward we need and deserve; provide local job opportunities through the relocation of the SBS to Western Sydney; provide better mobile coverage infrastructure locally, like in our local suburb, The Ponds; plan for TAFE, where we will skill up our local apprentices; and employ local people to build this critical infrastructure.

We know that, to build the Western Sydney of tomorrow, we have to start planning today. This Liberal government has let Western Sydney down, time and again. Only Labor has a plan to do better by the people of Western Sydney.