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

That's Western Sydney, New South Wales—the forgotten region, according to this Labor government. The project would have seen the M7 widened, and, importantly, would have connected the new M12 and assisted with links to the airport. This is not a tiny little local airport; this is an international airport of significance for our whole country.

Where are the tens of millions of dollars with which we were going to upgrade our community car parks in St Marys and Kingswood, in this growing Western Sydney? They've been cut. St Marys has a heavy rail train which is over capacity daily, and St Marys is also going to get a new metro site; it's the key link between Sydney and Western Sydney airport. The community surrounding St Marys is growing, yet the government has decided to cut its car park. How do the locals get to and from the airport in a growing populated area? Penrith City Council had already spent funds in planning for this car park, and, likewise with Kingswood, the Labor government has cut funding for their car park as well.

We also had planning money for Werrington Arterial stage 2 slashed. The planning was going to look at ways the road corridor would be improved and deal with congestion, with locals going to and from St Marys and Marsden Park and working hubs in the little business hubs around that area. It would have reviewed links to Werrington Road and the Great Western Highway for upgrades. The community around that area have for years been saying they desperately need this upgrade. It would have helped the constant logjam being faced by those living in Cambridge Gardens, Cambridge Park, Werrington, Werrington County, Werrington Downs and along Dunheved Road.

This is a vital corridor in the heart of my Lindsay electorate. At the 2019 election, I secured over $60 million funding to upgrade this Penrith City Council road. Throughout the last period of government I was able to double the commitment and get the full amount, $127 million, for the full upgrade of the road, because the state government didn't chip in. Unfortunately, the Labor Party, desperate for votes in Lindsay at the last election, promised that when in government they would fast-track the development of Dunheved Road and its upgrade. They even allotted funds to this during the election campaign. But here we are, in 2024, waiting for construction to begin. Penrith City Council officials told me that the road could not be fast-tracked, so, again, this was just another Labor lie.

The community desperately needs the upgrade of Dunheved Road to begin. It was 2019 when they secured the funds. The funds are there; the building just has to start. Labor coming in and making a promise that they knew they couldn't stick to was real desperation. It was really sad for my community. It's a pity that the Albanese government just doesn't care enough about Western Sydney to really invest, as opposed to stripping away funds from our growing community. Western Sydney represents the Australian dream, where you can get a house with enough space for a growing family. It is a beautiful place to live, in my part of the world. New homes continue to pop up to support the many young people and our newest citizens to take part in the Australian dream. It is so unfortunate that these Aussies are being let down by the Albanese Labor government.

The need for more infrastructure is just going to grow. Cutting more than $5 billion will hinder how long it will take to get to job sites in the morning for our tradies. It will impact how long it will take for Penrith residents to get to work in the Penrith CBD—or beyond, to Parramatta and the city—and our new aerotropolis, which is only a couple of years away. It will impact the whole of Western Sydney and the way people travel across the region for kids' sport on the weekend—for those who can afford to still go, which brings me to my next point about the cost-of-living crisis that is impacting so many families.

You just have to step out onto the streets of my electorate for somebody to come up and speak with you about how hard it is out there right now with groceries, petrol, mortgage and rents. Grocery increases are causing Foodbank services in Lindsay to more than double their regular distribution. I know this is a common story right now, right across our country, but we should not be getting used to this story. It is dire out there. We need to be doing something about it. 'We' need to be doing something about it? The Labor government needs to be doing something about it, because they have the levers and the mechanisms to make change. There are dual-income families lining up at the Penrith Community Kitchen and Mama Lana's—extraordinary local community groups who do so much for people in need.

I know my Nationals and regional Liberal colleagues have been talking about the impact of the Labor government's remodelling of the fresh food tax and water changes causing issues in the market. Let's take the agriculture minister's rejig of the Biosecurity Protection Levy. That will cause Aussie farmers to have to pay more, for the biosecurity costs of international importers. This will impact everyone. The farmers in the semirural parts of my electorate—whether in Luddenham, Londonderry or Agnes Banks—will not be happy with this next hit on them from Labor.

We're building an airport in Western Sydney to make it easier for local Western Sydney producers to get their products to the world. It could be extraordinary, yet locals will be slugged with these costs. Then they'll be passed on to the consumers, who are already struggling to pay for their groceries. This is more nonsensical Labor Party ideology impacting Aussies and impacting our local small businesses. Again, we have the truckies being taxed, which is impacting the many, many local truckies in my electorate. Does the Labor government understand that these added costs on businesses which provide our food and deliver essential products are part of what is fuelling this cost-of-living crisis?

The Assistant Treasurer, in his second reading speech, had the audacity to proclaim a surplus that this government is responsible for and that Australians should be so grateful for what is being done for us. The previous government started the immense budgetary repairs this nation needed. That was the coalition government. Then we were hit with a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Those opposite seem to forget this. The interest rate increases have slammed Western Sydney families. 60 Minutes aired locals who are now facing pressures on weekend sport and their kids going to school. They are having to cut back. It is having a real impact on young people as well. A mother from Londonderry who is so financially stressed wrote to me saying she's thinking of selling up and moving to the bush because Western Sydney is no longer affordable. Rental pressures are hitting low-income earners and young people right across Lindsay, including in St Mary's. What about the $275 reduction in energy bill costs? That seems to have been forgotten by everyone in the Albanese Labor government. It certainly has not been forgotten by people in my community of Lindsay.

Over half of the Lindsay community travel to work by car. This is higher than the New South Wales average and is due to a lack of public transport options and the nature of work. Again, it is extraordinary that infrastructure such as roads and also commuter car parks is being cut. These car users include people like tradies that need to get to work and build those homes for the growing population in Western Sydney, people who are working from home. We have a hospital in my electorate which is one of the biggest employers. People are travelling there as well. There are teachers, nurses and people working at our local university.

These infrastructure cuts, these promises and inflation impacting on the family budget are all issues the government actually has the levers to address. They just aren't. Why aren't they doing it? Why aren't they trying to help people in my community? I think the fact is the Albanese Labor government simply doesn't care.

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