Laurie Ferguson (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Many previous speakers in the debate on this MPI on the government's commitment to deep cuts have detailed the national picture: a 6.3 per cent unemployment rate, meaning that 770,000 Australians are without employment; a youth unemployment rate of 14.4 per cent; and the collapse of business confidence. The unemployment figure I cited is the worst since 2002, when the current Prime Minister was concentrated on employment as the minister responsible.

I will talk today on a more regional basis. Some of these issues affect some areas of Sydney more than others. When he made he made his infamous statement that poor people do not drive cars, it might have been a credible position for the member for North Sydney, privileged with taxpayer subsidised public transport and living very close to the Sydney CBD. But for people in south-west Sydney, distant from employment and with a great dependence on cars to get to work every day, it is a very different scenario. The budget cuts by the government are having a far greater impact on my region. In Claymore the previous federal government was working with the state government of New South Wales to bring social mix into housing so we did not have reservations of government sponsored housing. We have a situation where the $50 million cut over four years in the hospital agreement means that at Campbelltown 400 patients use the after hours GP service. Its potential closure will lead to mass stress on the hospital. Physicians who have resigned are not replaced. We have a significant number of doctors acting in their position. In the growth areas of Sydney, every day of the week I and my two colleagues over there, the member for Macarthur and the member for Hughes, see new housing developments going on. It is quite clear that funding is not keeping pace with the expanding population. It is all right to talk about Liverpool Hospital being the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere—

Mr Matheson interjecting—

The member for Macarthur interjects. The only competition in the Campbelltown state seat at the New South Wales election is who is more pro the Labor candidate. I think he is more pro the Labor candidate for Campbelltown than I am! There have been cuts to preventive health programs. That will affect conditions such as diabetes. Surveys show that in the Macarthur region and south-west Sydney people suffer from that more seriously. A $60 million mental health unit promised by the previous government has been scrapped. The members for Macarthur and Hughes know that it is far more vital to have that unit in our region than elsewhere. Organisations such as Beautiful Minds, Macarthur Disability Services and Autism Australia lead their fields in this country, because there is a need.

Only one trade training centre has been established in the electorate; 12 have been scrapped. This is an area where, historically, the number of people going to TAFE colleges—

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