Gabriel Ng (Menzies, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about the way that my electorate of Menzies was, for far too long, neglected as a safe Liberal seat since it was created in 1984. Sadly, being a safe Liberal seat meant that the people of Menzies were taken for granted. I have seen first hand, growing up in Doncaster and raising a family in Donvale, how much our area has been left behind and ignored by successive Liberal governments.

Ultimately, this is one of the things that drove me to put up my hand. I knew our area deserved better and I remain honoured and humbled that the people of Menzies supported me to represent the area that I grew up in and that I love. I say to the people of Menzies: I will never take your vote for granted. I will never stop listening to you. I will never stop advocating for you and I will do everything I can to deliver for you.

That is why, as often as I am able, when I am in Menzies I attend community groups, schools, sporting clubs and citizenship ceremonies. That is why I knock on people's doors, call them on the phone and stand around on the street at places like Blackburn Market and Macedon Plaza. That is why, whenever I'm here, I take the opportunity to meet with ministers and other members of our caucus to raise the issues that my community raises with me and advocate for better services.

For too long, successive Liberal governments treated the families of Doncaster, Doncaster East, Bulleen, and Templestowe, Warrandyte and other areas in my electorate as if they were safe political assets—an electorate to be banked, not to be invested in. When an electorate is viewed this way, neglect is inevitable. It creates a culture of arrogance—a belief that the community is not worth engaging with, listening to or advocating for. Consider, for example, our local infrastructure. Anyone who spends time on Ringwood-Warrandyte Road near the Warrandyte Five Ways intersection, or on the crowded corridors heading towards the Eastern Freeway, understands what long-term neglect looks like.

For decades, locals have raised concerns about the Warrandyte five-way intersection. Over 8,000 cars go through there every day, but there are blind corners and near misses all the time. They raise concerns about safety and school drop-off congestion. They complained about more time spent in traffic than at home with family. Local Liberal MPs heard these concerns, acknowledged them and then did nothing. That is why this Labor government, with my advocacy, has committed $25 million for upgrading the five-way intersection at Warrandyte for planning and early works and committed $5 billion for the North East Link project. This will ensure that local trucks are taken off roads, and the widening of the freeway will make sure that local families can get home quicker and safer, and spend less time in traffic. That is what actual investment is and actual action looks like. That is what delivering for Menzies is all about.

Congestion punishes parents on the school run. It drains productivity, and it costs tradies time and income. There has been a lack of investment in public transport as well, which forces people into cars even when they would rather use alternatives. Manningham in the northern part of my electorate is the only electorate in metropolitan Melbourne that doesn't have a train station. That is why we are investing $2.2 billion in the Suburban Rail Loop East and why in recent weeks when the Prime Minister visited Melbourne he pledged further support for the Suburban Rail Loop, to be detailed in the upcoming budget.

Consider as well our local sporting infrastructure. It has been a privilege to get to know our local sporting clubs better—to meet their volunteer committees and see how much their members, young and old, get out and participate in sport. Yes, there are health benefits, but more important are the benefits of being part of a community united around a shared love of footy, soccer, cricket, basketball or netball. Speaking with these clubs, I heard time and time again how the growth in these sports meant that clubs were straining against the constraints of ageing infrastructure. There was increased interest from women and girls in participating in sports but no change rooms to accommodate them. Netball and soccer are absolutely booming in Melbourne's east, but the pitches couldn't meet the demand for training sessions and for matches, so people have had to travel far away in order to play a game.

That is why I'm so proud to have been able to secure meaningful investment in our local clubs, including $3.5 million for key facility upgrades for the Bulleen Templestowe Basketball Club, which will mean that they can have female-friendly change rooms and upgrade their facilities to meet regulations—go Boomers! We also committed $3.9 million at the election for upgrades to RHL Sparks Reserve for their Box Hill United Football Club, which will mean that they can upgrade one of their pitches to a synthetic pitch, play and train more of the year, and have to play fewer games away. Planning is already underway with our great local councils on delivery of these commitments.

Consider as well our arts community. We have a fantastic local arts community. Recently I've been able to attend the Box Hill artist association's exhibition, Box Hill South Neighbourhood House art show and the Box Hill Rotary art show. But again our arts infrastructure has been neglected, and there was no better example of this than the Warrandyte arts' old firehouse. It was literally eaten by termites and falling apart so that, if you were walking around, you'd worry that your foot would fall through the floor. I'm proud to have been able to deliver $187,500 to repair this iconic local building and make sure that the pottery group can continue to use this space to grow their group and all the benefits that come from artistic expression as well as the community that it brings.

Take as well our local health providers. Under the coalition government, Medicare rebates failed to keep pace with the cost of care, and bulk-billing declined. When I'm knocking on doors, local families, retirees and young people complain to me that they found themselves paying more out of pocket to see a doctor. We know that primary health care is not a luxury. It is a foundation of a healthy society, yet those opposite froze the Medicare rebate for almost the entire time that they were in government last time—first under the previous opposition leader and then for six years under the current opposition leader. People across Menzies watched as public health funding was cut nationwide while they waited longer for GP appointments and sat on waiting lists for specialist services.

Our government is turning things around. On 1 November our tripling of the Medicare bulk-billing incentive kicked in. We know that 17 GPs across Menzies have expressed interest in becoming fully bulk-billed, and that means that local families will be able to get the health care that they need when they need it, without out-of-pocket costs.

What about education? In Menzies we pride ourselves on the schools across our suburbs. They are full of dedicated teachers and students who want to excel, and families move into the electorate for high-quality education. We have some of the top-performing public schools, in terms of VCE results, in the entire state. But this kind of excellence doesn't come without the necessary investments. For more than a decade, schools across Australia, including those in Menzies, were left underfunded. Liberal governments treated public education as an afterthought. We have delivered increased funding for every single public school in Menzies, closing the gap and increasing the proportion of federal funding to 25 per cent. With full and fair funding for every single school in Menzies on an as-needs basis, we're finally delivering on the promise of the Gonski model.

Neglect also extended to our local jobs and economic growth. The eastern suburbs should be a powerhouse of innovation and enterprise, yet little was done to cultivate new industries, to support our local retail and hospitality sectors or to attract high-value research and technology. Many small business owners—

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 13:21 to 16:06

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