Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) | Hansard source

For me, coming to this parliament was about two things. It was about service to our community and delivering for our community. I have to say that most of us are in here not just as elected representatives of our communities but also as people whose homes are in those communities that we seek to serve. That's why politics has a fundamental attraction for me. In fact, before I was elected to this place, I had the honour of serving at the local government level, where I was able to serve our community most directly. But I also saw how strong our community in the lower North Shore was through my involvement in many community organisations, be it Rotary, the Crows Nest Centre, local school councils or others.

So I'm proud as someone who has been part of the lower North Shore community for over 20 years now that, during my five or six years as a member of this place, we as a federal government have been able to achieve so much to support what I happen to think—I'm a little bit biased—is one of the most incredible parts of Australia and certainly Sydney. And I want to reflect on some of those achievements tonight, because the achievements span the full range of community activities in North Sydney. I want to start with some of those essential services which are so important to our community. I'm proud of the fact that, under this coalition government, we have seen an increase in services in areas like health, with, for example, funding for the Royal North Shore Hospital, and health care on the North Shore at record levels. I'm proud of the fact that we've seen increased funding flowing to aged care. I'm proud of the support that we've been able to provide to our schools, both government and non-government.

But I'm also particularly proud, in an area of Sydney that is passionate about our local environment, of what we've been able to achieve in relation to protecting some of our magnificent harbour foreshore. One of the projects that I've been most involved in has been the work of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust at the two sites that lie within my electorate. At the Woolwich Dock, we've seen increased funding to support its ongoing restoration. At Sub Base Platypus, the old submarine base, we are in the final stages of creating what is such a magnificent community facility. It is not often that you have the opportunity to create new open spaces, new parks and new community facilities around our crowded harbour foreshore, and that's what this government has been able to achieve. Soon, construction will begin, with support from this government, of what will be the final but probably most significant part of its rehabilitation as a community site, and that will come with the demolition of the old torpedo factory and the creation of even more parkland. The harbour foreshore is a precious part of our local community not only because of its intrinsic environmental values but because of the opportunity to create more recreational space.

We are a community that is seeing a growing population, but also a change in the population. We are seeing, more and more, younger families moving to our area, and that has put pressure on many of our existing recreational facilities, particularly our sporting facilities. So a big focus of my work as the member for North Sydney has been to make sure that, to the extent the federal government can, we are supporting an increase in the capacity of our local sporting facilities, and that's been reflected in some of the projects that I've successfully fought for. We've been able to support the Lane Cove Council to rebuild the outdoor pool at Lane Cove, and I saw this just a week or so ago when I visited the Lane Cove Swim Club. The pool was at risk of falling into Pottery Green below it and needed to be completely rebuilt. I am very proud of the work that we're doing at the moment to support North Sydney Council to rebuild the North Sydney Olympic Pool, a pool that has a national profile. It's one of the most beautiful pools in our country. Again, it faces major structural issues, with a grandstand that has been there since the Empire Games were held there—they were actually the catalyst for its construction—and a pool shell which was cracking and leaking water into Sydney Harbour at an alarming rate. Through the $10 million we're providing, that pool is now being rebuilt in a way that will serve future generations.

But they don't stop there. We've seen projects, including in my first term, to make Gore Hill Oval one of the best AFL facilities in Sydney and recognised as such by the AFL. We've seen major works at Thomson Park to create better amenities for the uses of that oval. We've seen funding provided to allow better facilities at Boronia Park, at the western end of my electorate. We are seeing projects developed by councils that will be supported by the federal government to improve facilities at Tunks Park. We've seen work in Lane Cove at Tantallon Oval—such an important facility—with a new facility for players and viewers of sporting activities being constructed there as well with federal support.

But I'm also proud of the fact that we are providing support for a number of game-changing projects which will improve the amenity of some of our densely populated areas, and I particularly think of Willoughby City Council's project in Chatswood, to revitalise some of the parts of the Chatswood CBD. In Spring Place, over $1 million of federal funding will support a major revitalisation there.

I'm also very proud of the support that we've been able to give to community groups large and small. At the large end of the spectrum, the Dougherty Community Centre in Chatswood—a major community facility—is going through a major upgrade, with around $1 million of federal support allowing that to occur.

What I've particularly welcomed is the fact that we've been able to get federal funding for some of the small community organisations. I think, for example, of the Scouts. Many of our local Scouts halls have been reinvigorated with the support of federal funding. I've also seen that work extend to other organisations, like some of our local bowling clubs.

I'm also proud of the fact that we've been able to provide support to those community organisations as they make sure that they're playing their part in meeting our national goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050, and those small grants are making a difference. I've seen projects that have allowed those small organisations to put solar panels on their roofs. I've seen grants that are allowing them to deploy more energy-efficient infrastructure. Just recently I was at the wonderful Giant Steps school, which supports autistic children, and saw what they're doing there to improve their energy efficiency with some of our grants. At the other end of the electorate are the wonderful people at the Greenway public housing complex, with funding to allow their major community kitchen to operate more efficiently. These are all tangible ways in which individual community groups are able to contribute to lowering our national emissions.

I also wanted to talk about an area that is particularly close to my heart, and that is the arts. We have a wonderful arts community in North Sydney. It's a very vibrant one, with theatres, music groups, art galleries and so on. I am very proud of the fact that we've been able to provide funding to some of those organisations. I think, for example, of the magnificent Ensemble Theatre. In fact, the grant that I helped secure to get solar panels on their roofs was I think the very first government grant, state or federal, that the Ensemble Theatre ever received. I think also of some of the grants that we've been able to get for organisations like the Lane Cove Youth Orchestra, such a magnificent orchestra extending the reach of music into the hearts and minds of young people in our district.

Finally, through many of our programs we've been able to directly support those providing volunteer services to community groups. They can be the small grants that go to organisations like Rotary, Scouts and others, but they can also be the bigger grants that come through the Stronger Communities Program, which is making a meaningful difference for many of those volunteer based organisations.

Of course, our region has many other problems, and transport is the most obvious one of those. As someone who is passionate about the role of public transport in our cities, I want to talk about the fact that our government has been able to provide $1.7 billion towards the Metro project, which is going to so dramatically increase the opportunities for residents to use our rail network. Of course, that $1.7 billion goes to a project that extends from Bankstown to Chatswood, but for our area it will mean new stations in places like Crows Nest and North Sydney, increasing access—a couple of minutes to Barangaroo, a couple more to Martin Place or other parts of the city. That of itself not only is going to provide easier access for residents but also is going to help maintain and revitalise the role of centres like North Sydney, Chatswood and Crows Nest, in a very positive way.

These are all important contributions that this government and I have been able to make to support our local community. I'm very proud of those achievements and, if I have the great honour of being re-elected, they will continue to be my focus.

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