Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Housing) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to thank the member for Deakin for his question. I know that, under the Australian government’s nation building for recovery plan, there are 53 projects underway in his electorate, at a cost of $21.6 million, and I know that he is very happy to have that investment in his electorate. That includes 45 projects under the largest school modernisation program in the nation’s history, across 40 schools in the Deakin electorate, and $2.9 million for the redevelopment of the Ringwood Soccer and Multipurpose Sports Pavilion. I bet that has been a very popular move in your electorate, Member for Deakin. These projects are supporting jobs and small businesses in suburbs like Ringwood, Mitcham and Blackburn, and it is part of this government’s strategy of nation building for recovery. If the Liberals had their way, not a single one of these 53 projects would have gone ahead. The contrast is very clear: we are building our economy up; the opposition are talking it down.

A couple of weeks ago, when I visited Bayswater North with the member for Deakin, I was able to see the direct effect of some of our repairs and maintenance spending on social housing. In fact, 66 homes are being repaired in Deakin, at a cost of $410,761. While I was at Bayswater North with the member for Deakin, I met Rick Kuyken, who is the managing director of a family business, local builders C&M Kuyken. He works there with his dad, and they have been in business together for many years. Rick’s company recently won a contract to repair 15 homes in the Bayswater area—very important to them at this time to get that ongoing work. The house that we visited was being painted and having the guttering replaced, the trees were being trimmed, an old shed in the backyard was being replaced with a new one and new drainage systems were being put in. On the day I went, there were carpenters and painters at work, including a young apprentice who was putting new wiring on the screen doors. Mr Kuyken told me: ‘At the moment I’ve got roughly three big contracts on the go. Usually at this time of year we’re a bit quiet—’

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