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

North-west Sydney is dynamic, diverse and fast-growing, and Labor is delivering the critical investments in infrastructure, transport and essential amenities, including communications, to ensure the liveability of our suburbs. In the May budget we announced $1.9 billion to fund road upgrades and congestion-busting transport across Western Sydney. In Greenway, upgrades to Garfield Road East and Richmond Road through to the M7 will improve safety and traffic flow. This means less time stuck in traffic and more time spent with family.

Thousands of residents continue to move into the north-west growth area and call it home. The Blacktown local government area population is expected to grow to almost half a million people by 2041. To keep pace, the Albanese government is investing $147.5 million to plan better roads and public transport across Western Sydney. Labor is able to plan and deliver for the future because we cleaned up the infrastructure pipeline mess left by the former coalition government.

In the lead-up to the 2015 state election, the New South Wales Liberals promised to build a hospital in Rouse Hill to cater for the growing population of the north-west. But in 2019, the commitment was revised to build a hospital in name only—a glorified medical centre without an emergency department—and locals were rightly outraged. They rallied around a community driven campaign to convince the former New South Wales Liberal government to change this ridiculous situation. Now, the New South Wales Labor government is getting on with the job of delivering this 300-bed hospital with contemporary healthcare facilities and an emergency ward. The new hospital will adopt the New South Wales Labor government's full campus model, which incorporates health worker accommodation and childcare services. Construction will support an estimated 1,200 jobs and thousands more indirectly. Critically, it will bring health care closer to communities around Rouse Hill, Talwong, Schofield, The Ponds and Riverstone.

Well-planned infrastructure builds opportunities, aspiration and community, and it is Labor who is delivering this for the good people who call north-west Sydney their home. As the member for Greenway, I'll continue to advocate for the roads, critical infrastructure and other essential services that our communities deserve.