Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am really pleased to be able to take the opportunity today to talk about many of the great roads and infrastructure projects that we are delivering on the New South Wales South Coast, projects that I have absolutely championed. I am proud that we have backed these projects with funding and that they have been delivered by the Albanese Labor government.

Let's start with a phone call I made a just yesterday to representatives from the Gerringong Surf Life Saving Club. I let them know that the minister had signed off on the $5.5 million commitment for funding for the new Gerringong Surf Life Saving Club. I can tell you that is one excited club and community.

Just last week, the lease was signed for the new Kiama headspace. After many tragic suicides of young people in the Kiama local government area, I committed to a dedicated headspace for Kiama before the last election. But, oddly, the Liberals did not commit to it. I can say today that headspace at Kiama is going well and is expected to be open early next year.

We are providing $7½ million to help Shoalhaven City Council built the new Sanctuary Point district library, another project the Liberals did not commit to. This is a much-needed new state-of-the-art library at Sanctuary Point which will really play an important part in learning and bringing the community together and offer so many opportunities for young people, the elderly and families.

Just last week I inspected the new composite bushfire-proof power poles that are nearly finished being put in from the Princes Highway at Benandarah all the way into South Durras. This was a result of the Durras Community Association advocating for this, my listening and the new government delivering—again, no commitment from the Liberals on this either. Last week I also got a progress update on the new emergency operations centre for Moruya: $5 million in federal funding is going towards this vital piece of infrastructure I'm proud we're delivering, while the Liberals didn't even commit to this at all.

Then there are the bushfire-proof power poles for the Mount Wandera transmission station that was burned down doing the Black Summer bushfires. These will go in next year, another infrastructure project that the Liberals did not commit to, that I advocated for and that we are delivering. The new microgrid at Bawley Point, protecting the power source for this community in times of disaster, is scheduled to be turned on towards the end of this year; a Medicare urgent care clinic at Batemans Bay—the list goes on.

Let's talk about roads: $752 million for the Milton Ulladulla bypass, $155 million for the new Nowra Bridge, $100 million for the Jervis Bay flyover, $400 million to upgrade the Princes Highway, $97 million for the Nowra Bypass—and I arrived at the sod-turning for the Nowra Bridge project. The Liberals hadn't even talked about the Nowra Bypass, so to have funding for the Nowra Bypass is excellent and I know is well received by locals. There is $40 million for local roads in the Shoalhaven, with the funding delivered in the last budget; $3½ million from the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program for the three councils; and funding for the Black Spot and Roads to Recovery programs. There's actually over $1.5 billion in road funding going into my electorate.

The list goes on. I just don't get it when those opposite go on about roads and infrastructure. We're actually getting on and delivering the infrastructure people in my community need. Whether people are in Kiama, whether people are in the Shoalhaven or whether they're in the Eurobodalla, we are taking the time, we are listening, we have committed to projects and we are proudly delivering those projects. I am absolutely proud to be part of an Albanese government, along with my colleagues here, getting on with it, listening and delivering.

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