Matt Thistlethwaite (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The opposition is making much of the comments of the member for Port Adelaide, Mark Butler. There is no doubt that it is not acceptable for any member of parliament to make fun of any person's community or of where they live. I think the minister for Port Adelaide made a mistake and, given his time again, he probably would not make the same comments. But we all make mistakes in life.

The Prime Minister is going to Western Sydney to talk directly to families, to businesses and to communities about what this Labor government is doing in that area and what its plans for the future are.

It is an important region of this country. It is the fourth-largest economic zone in Australia. One in two residents of Sydney live in Greater Western Sydney. By Greater Western Sydney, I mean the WSROC, Campbelltown, Camden, Wollondilly and Hills districts.

This government understands how important Western Sydney is for the economic and social development of this country. That is reflected in this government's commitment to economic development in Western Sydney. It is reflected in the investment that this government has devoted to infrastructure in Western Sydney, which stands in stark contrast to the investment in infrastructure in that area that was made by the Howard government. Over the 12 years of the Howard government, $350 million was invested in infrastructure in Western Sydney—$350 million in the M7 road. That was the total amount that was invested by the Howard government in infrastructure in Western Sydney. In the five years of this Labor government, we have invested 10 times that amount, $3.2 billion, in Western Sydney. That is our commitment to economic growth in that important region.

The figures stack up: $800 million invested in the development of the Moorebank Intermodal, a very important freight investment that will take traffic and big trucks off Sydney roads; $980 million for the construction of the Southern Sydney Freight Line, which has been completed; $93 million to widen the F5 at Campbelltown, which has also been completed; $300 million to upgrade the Great Western Highway, which is underway; and $8.5 million to begin planning for the installation of an electronic freeway management system along the full length of the M4 motorway. That is what has been invested by this government in Western Sydney.

This government, the federal Labor Party, has delivered an initial instalment of $45 million to advance the WestConnex project. We have put aside $150 million in the budget for the progress of the M2 to F3 project. We have dedicated $2.1 billion—and the money is still sitting there on the table—to the Parramatta to Epping rail link, which will be a big connector for Parramatta and will cement its position as the second CBD of Sydney.

That is our commitment to infrastructure investment in Western Sydney, but we are also committed to delivering better services for this area. That is reflected, importantly, in health and education: at Nepean Hospital, $96 million for a new block; at Blacktown Hospital, $31.7 million for 10 rehabilitation beds and 20 beds in a specialist neuropsychiatry subacute unit; $17.6 million to construct the Blacktown Hospital clinical school; $11.5 million to Blacktown Hospital for additional emergency department beds; $15 million to establish a GP superclinic in Liverpool; $1.7 million to south-western Sydney for New Directions mother and baby services and a Strong Fathers Strong Families Program in Liverpool.

In education we have made a lot of investments. One of the areas that I look after is the Macarthur region. We have invested $125 million in new schools in that region through Building the Education Revolution. That money has gone to fund 35 new classrooms, seven libraries, 23 multipurpose halls and five science and language centres—educational services for Western Sydney. That is thinking about the future. We have also built four new trade training centres in the Macarthur area alone. That is our commitment to Western Sydney. (Time expired)