Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention) Share this | Hansard source

Australians have had enough. After 18 months of this chaotic and distracted Prime Minister and the Albanese Labor government, the public want better. He's missing in action, glitzing around on the world stage while there are issues at home that the Australian public want action on right now. He's missing in action on the cost-of-living crisis, which is gripping every single household in my electorate of Lindsay. From Emu Heights and Leonay to Colyton and North St Marys, not one suburb is left untouched by this missing-in-action Prime Minister that just doesn't care about them. Since the election, I can't remember hearing the Prime Minister talk about the $275 reduction in power bills he promised. This government has overseen a price rise for electricity and gas. Food and grocery prices are up. Housing is up and insurance has increased. Real wages for working families have fallen 5 per cent in the last 12 months.

In Lindsay, there is a high proportion of mortgage holders compared to those who own a home or rent, and the rate is higher than the New South Wales and Australian average. Interest rate rises are hitting families and are at their highest since 2011. We have many young families who just can't afford a home. They can't afford to rent. Renters are experiencing the largest increase to costs since 2009.

The Prime Minister is missing in action on fixing these issues. He should come to Penrith. Stop at the shops with me and talk to parents, talk to people who are struggling with their mortgage repayments over Christmas. I'll be there meeting with my community. He's very welcome to join me. These parents are telling me they can't afford their kids' swimming lessons—vital swimming lessons to keep kids safe. They just can't afford to live in our suburbs anymore and they're thinking about moving away.

Furthermore, this Prime Minister is missing in action on supporting growing communities through infrastructure that we desperately need.

My electorate of Lindsay has been decimated by this Labor government when it comes to infrastructure. They have ripped $230 million away from Mulgoa Road, which is a project that has been in the works for years. This is the last piece of the puzzle, and it's gone. It just doesn't matter. It includes restoration of funding for the planning of Werrington arterial stage 2. This is the project that would ease congestion in that part of my community that links to Dunheved Road, a project that I fought really hard for. They're just missing in action when it comes to delivering the commitments that they made.

They actually promised to fast-track the upgrade to Dunheved Road during the election campaign. They came out to my community and said, 'We'll make this project go faster.' Do you think they can do that? No. Penrith council said that fast-tracking could never have occurred. So they actually misled my community during the election, which is even worse than not being there and being missing in action. There is nothing worse than misleading a community.

The Kingswood community has been crying out for an upgraded train station for many years. We promised to deliver that and it was set to happen. Actually, $3 million had been spent by Penrith council on the planning for this project. The Albanese Labor government don't care. It's been axed. They've also axed a really critical part of infrastructure for Western Sydney international airport. St Marys railway station was the major stop and interchange when coming through the city, out to the west and going out to the airport. The upgrade of the station and the car park has been axed. Not only that, they've actually axed a project which is under construction. I went out the other day with the shadow minister for infrastructure and stood on the M7-M12 interchange. Workers were everywhere, but this project is no longer funded.

What's going to happen now? It is not only the infrastructure projects that will suffer; it's the people that are working on these jobs and the small businesses that are supplying coffees, sandwiches and lunches. The whole local economy suffers when the Albanese Labor government just doesn't care. Not only is this government missing in action when it comes to important issues back home and the crisis when it comes to the cost of living; we have a crisis when it comes to infrastructure in Western Sydney. They have been misleading a community during an election, making promises they had no intention of keeping and cutting hundreds of millions of dollars away from infrastructure when we have a major international airport just a couple of years away.

My community deserves much better. They deserve honesty. They deserve a prime minister who cares. We deserve to have those commitments back and have the cost-of-living crisis as the No. 1 priority.

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