Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I always appreciate the opportunity to hear from the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Recently, I was happy to have Minister King visiting the Bellevue Railcar Manufacturing Facility, along with the new Premier of Western Australia, Roger Cook, and state transport minister Rita Saffioti. Thanks to federal and state government commitments, we were able to see firsthand the product of our local manufacturing of railcars, which are ready to roll out on Perth's Metronet.

Virtually every kilometre of track in the Perth railway system is there because of the foresight and the commitment of Labor governments. The track will soon reach all the way up to Ellenbrook, in the north of my electorate of Hasluck. The statistics are impressive. We are delivering 246 new railcars for the Perth public transport network as part of Metronet and over $3.9 billion for 16 Metronet projects in Western Australia, with nine currently being delivered or in planning. We're partnering with the Labor government of Western Australia, with Roger Cook, to deliver 72 kilometres of new passenger rail and 23 new stations and upgrades, including my favourite, the Morley-Ellenbrook line; the Yanchep rail extension; the Thornlie-Cockburn link; and the new Lakelands station, on the Mandurah line. More than 10,000 jobs are expected to be created across our Metronet projects, providing a significant boost for the economy and opportunities for our local businesses.

We are also ensuring that Western Australia's public transport network is working towards our net zero future. The Albanese Labor government is investing $125 million towards the electric bus infrastructure in Perth, which will be matched by the WA government, for the acquisition of 130 locally manufactured electric buses.

The May budget includes a significant investment in infrastructure by the federal government. For Hasluck, it's important for funding to keep pace with the growth of the population in what is one of the fastest-growing areas in Perth and the country. The budget provides, amongst other allocations, $500 million for the Roads to Recovery Program, $300 million for national road network maintenance, and $110 million for the Black Spot Program, with the local governments of Kalamunda, Swan and Mundaring receiving their share. In Ellenbrook, the federal and state Labor governments, together with the City of Swan, are making the Ellenbrook public pool a reality. The pool is planned to be co-located with the Ellenbrook train station, and together they will no doubt become a major new community meeting place for residents of all ages. Infrastructure doesn't just build a train station, a road or a pool—it transforms communities.

There is over $200 million in the budget to establish the Thriving Suburbs Program to enhance the liveability and prosperity of our neighbourhoods. This government is committed to ensuring that people have equitable access not only to jobs and services but also to the amenities and sustainable living that we all deserve to enjoy in our communities. There is also over $150 million for the Urban Precincts and Partnerships Program to rejuvenate the town centres we all gravitate around in outer urban areas like my electorate of Hasluck. Good design from the outset is so important, and this applies to urban planning in the broad and in the design of neighbourhoods that are people-centric, aesthetically pleasing and ecologically sustainable, right down to the design of our housing. I recently just visited Green Homes Australia's nine-plus-star display home in Brabham with Minister McAllister. We need to set high standards and have high expectations of the houses, communities, suburbs and cities that we design and live in. To that end, there is $11 million to establish a Cities and Suburbs Unit within the department of infrastructure to deliver a national urban policy, as well as reports that will provide an ongoing picture of life in our biggest cities.

The people who call our suburbs home deserve cities that work for them, from affordable housing, access to jobs and services, and efficient transport networks to better-designed neighbourhoods. I know one of the reasons I was elected in Hasluck was because people were fed up to their back teeth with the Morrison government's rorts and secret deals. We didn't know just how much was going on behind the scenes, but people were aware their government projects were rorted and that processes were not fair. All of the programs being administered by this government, including the new ones I have mentioned, will be administered through fair and transparent processes, which will go a long way towards restoring the trust in government so damaged by the coalition.

See this speech in context