Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mackellar for his motion because it gives me the opportunity to talk about the Morrison government's investment in congestion-busting road upgrades throughout Western Sydney. Busting congestion means getting to the jobs of the future that we are creating in emerging industries. The Morrison government is creating local jobs in defence, space, advanced manufacturing and more. It is upgrading roads to boost our local economy to continue to create more jobs.

I did the commute out of Western Sydney for 10 years. I know exactly how the 300,000 people currently commuting out of Western Sydney feel every single day as they are stuck in traffic or are getting on the train. They have told me at 6 am at the train station that they don't want to be doing that long commute for work. That's why I'm so passionate about creating the jobs of the future in Western Sydney and delivering the roads, transport and rail infrastructure to get there.

There are many young families in my electorate of Lindsay. For them, busting congestion means getting home sooner and spending more time with their families—experiences and memories that they will cherish forever. For our many small and family businesses, busting congestion means broadening their horizons and getting their world-class produce to more customers. There are almost 15,000 small- and medium-sized businesses benefiting from tax relief delivered by the Morrison government, and we're backing them even further by making sure our local infrastructure is equipped to meet the demands of the future. Soon the Morrison government's $5.3 billion investment in the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport will take their produce to new markets in South-East Asia and beyond.

Busting congestion means safer roads, and there is nothing I want more for our community than getting people home safely. The Morrison government's $4 billion Urban Congestion Fund will do all these things for people in Western Sydney—$235.5 million of which will fund projects in New South Wales. The $4 billion congestion-busting fund includes the $500 million national Commuter Car Park Fund. In Lindsay we're delivering more commuter parking in St Marys, Kingswood and Emu Plains. This will get more cars off our roads and make sure more commuters have access to public transport.

The Urban Congestion Fund is part of Australia's $100 billion 10-year investment in transport infrastructure. We're busting congestion, delivering safer roads, getting people home to their families quicker and making sure that business produce gets to customers faster. This will help ease congestion so that people get to where they need to be—for those getting to work in the morning and home to their families in the evening, for mum and dad getting the kids to school sport on Saturdays, and for businesses so that they can transport their goods.

The Morrison government is unlocking the potential of Western Sydney and creating local jobs in emerging industries. The Western Sydney City Deal, the $200 million Local Roads Package and, as I said, the $5.3 billion Western Sydney Infrastructure Plan will improve traffic efficiency and safety on our roads. Our considered approach means that we can prioritise the upgrades our community needs most. We're committed to realising the 30-minute city, by delivering the first stage of the North-South Rail Link. We're getting 200,000 jobs by supercharging the aerotropolis and agribusiness precinct as part of building the airport. We're building the skills in our local community through new education opportunities to ensure that the jobs of the future are in Western Sydney and that our local kids have all the opportunities to get those jobs.

The Morrison government has committed $63½ million to upgrade Dunheved Road. This corridor linking the Northern Road to Werrington arterial and Dunheved Business Park has been too congested and too dangerous for the commuters and families using it every day. My community petition to bust congestion and improve safety on this very critical road demonstrates the impact that a safer, less congested Dunheved Road will have for the people of Lindsay. We've committed $115 million to upgrade Mulgoa Road, another local congesting-busting project, to improve safety and traffic flow. Earlier this year I helped turn the first sod on the final stages of the Northern Road and Bringelly Road upgrades, easing congestion for over 15,000 vehicles on the Northern Road and 10,000 on the Bringelly Road every single day.

These are just some of the projects the Morrison government is delivering. We are getting on with the job of delivering programs, like the Urban Congestion Fund, which will ease congestion and deliver local jobs in Western Sydney.

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