Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

It is a great honour to be the member for Wills in Melbourne's northern suburbs because of the people who choose to live, work and be there play there every day. The opportunity to serve them, to deliver for the community, both nationally and locally, is by far the best part of the job. Appropriations bills like this are how we actually deliver to our local community. From Fawkner to Fitzroy, from Pascoe Vale to Princes Hill and from Carlton North to Coburg North, our government, the Albanese Labor government, is continuing to deliver for my electorate of Wills in every budget that we deliver. It is as a member of a party of government that I can actually follow through on commitments and we can all follow through on the commitments that we make to our communities and deliver for those communities, not just talking about it but actually making a real difference to their lives every day.

For instance, last year I announced that a re-elected Albanese Labor government would fund a brand new Medicare urgent care clinic in Coburg. Well, I'm very pleased to report that the construction is well underway at 444 Sydney Road in Coburg, and we are very close to the opening day. As we know and have heard, the Medicare urgent care clinics—and this one in Coburg—will provide urgent but non-life-threatening care for things like burns, breaks and cuts. They're going to be open late and on weekends with no appointment necessary. Just walk in and show your Medicare card.

I spoke to a local constituent recently in Brunswick West. Her name was Sarah, and she told me about the fantastic care that she received at another Medicare urgent care clinic that she had to travel to because we didn't yet have one in our electorate. She slipped in her kitchen and was left with a cut that definitely needed urgent attention. She arrived at that Medicare urgent care clinic, showed her Medicare card, took a seat and was seen within 15 minutes. Within the hour she was stitched up, back home and on bed rest. She told me that she caught up on MAFS. I'm not sure if that's the right rehabilitation—it might have caused other forms of trauma and the need for other medical attention—but she was home and able to recuperate because of the Medicare urgent care clinic's great care for people. This is just one of the many ways that the Albanese Labor government is delivering for my community in Wills.

Another one that I'm very passionate about is the commitment we made to a local sports club in my electorate, because this club really makes the community great in many ways. It's the Fawkner Netball Club. We are investing $4.5 million to repave the courts and build overhead coverings. This club is really a pillar of my community. It was formed a number of years ago, around the same time that I was first elected. They have gone over and above in supporting women and girls from very diverse backgrounds who usually don't play sports or play netball to come together through one of Australia's most cherished sports, which is netball.

I've been to the club many times during their weeknight training sessions. I've even had a crack myself. I'm not very good, but, aside from my subpar netball skills, what I heard directly from the players, the volunteers and the parents is how much this commitment means to them, how much it will mean for the future development of the club and how much it means for the community that they're able to continue to do their training, rain or shine. It provides stability for the players and the club, knowing that they can continue to do that. It's more than just a sporting club; it's part of our community. It brings people together from so many different backgrounds. It ensures that young girls and boys—there are boys that play netball—have the ability to be physically healthy and have really good mental health outcomes through the socialisation, teamwork, culture and team atmosphere. It is doing so much good for the local community, and I pay great respect to Jade and Grace and everyone there at the club who have done such a terrific job. They really deserve this investment.

We are investing in local sports because it's not just about the sport itself; it's about what it does for the community all around. That's why we're also investing $3.3 million into the redevelopment of Gillon Oval in Brunswick. I made that announcement with the local community there—the local football club, the local cricket club and the other clubs that are there. There's a tennis club nearby as well. We're making the oval fit for purpose for generations to come by renovating what is a historic oval. It's the AR Glenn Grandstand, which is currently unsafe for use. If you went there, you wouldn't want to stand under it. It looks pretty dangerous. It needs to be renovated and fixed up. We're also putting funding towards lighting upgrades to support night games at the oval. The Gillon Oval sees hundreds and hundreds—thousands—of community members turn out for games every weekend. The community uses it on training nights as well. It's really important that there's safety and accessibility of the grounds to ensure that people have the best experience and to support the local sporting legends—all the juniors and seniors and the weekend warriors that get out there as well—because of that connection that is formed, that bond that is formed.

I took the Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles, down there when we made the announcement. We tried to have a bit of a kick of the footy. That was fun. He saw firsthand how much this means to the local community. It was extra special going down into the clubrooms because there's a bit of history at this oval. The great John Curtin, the great Labor prime minister in World War II, actually played Victorian Football Association, VFA, footy for Brunswick on that oval. He was also a selector for the cricket team there in the twenties and thirties. That's how old the stand is. The great John Curtin was there. It was great to see some of the cricket and footy memorabilia over the generations and the connections and the friendships that continue to occur through the sporting clubs that participate there. I'm really proud of this government for the investments that we're making in these historic community spaces, which will make such a difference for generations to come.

But it's not just sport. The other aspect that I'm very passionate about in the community is the environment. We worked very hard to advocate and to be able to announce an investment of $1.9 million to invest in the green spaces and urban waterways that are so important for our communities. We announced funding, and we're going to invest that funding into the revitalisation of Merri Creek. Merri Creek is a very important urban waterway that pretty much borders my electorate with the neighbouring electorate of Maribyrnong—sorry, the neighbouring electorate of Cooper. Moonee Ponds Creek is on the other side. It's so important for the community because people enjoy what is, effectively, all this native flora and fauna right in the middle of an urban centre. It's quite remarkable, and it's so important for the kids, and for adults as well, to be able to engage and experience that. This funding is really there to help increase the vegetation, improve the stormwater retention and enhance the overall ecological health of the creek. It's loved by locals. If you go for a walk down there, it's beautiful. It's not like you're in the city at all. People catch up with their loved ones. They do their walks. They work on the conservation of the creek. There's a real community atmosphere with respect to supporting that part of Melbourne, so it was fantastic to be able to announce that. It means a lot that we can actually do this at the local level.

I also announced—and this goes to transportation—$3.7 million to upgrade linear parklands in the south of my electorate. That will upgrade all the sports and play precincts there and will also allow all-abilities play for the community. That was a true community campaign. As soon as it was announced, with the redistribution, that Carlton North, Fitzroy North and Princes Hill were moved into my electorate of Wills from the then Greens held electorate of Melbourne, the Yarra City Council and the local community really came to see me about the needs that they have and that we could actually deliver if we were to form government. That's why that was such a powerful community campaign, because of the needs that they had for the linear parklands that they'd been asking for for a long time. Obviously, being in government and being able to deliver that made all the difference to that community, and it's great that that's going ahead.

We also did a lot of work supporting multicultural communities in my electorate. It's one of the most diverse electorates in Melbourne. Just as one example, I was pleased to support the Central Pontian Association with an elevator for the elderly members. They're on Sydney Road at the Pontiaki Estia club. That is really appreciated by the community.

The appropriations bill allows us to deliver. This is why it's so important. It allows delivery to the community. The Albanese government is investing in local communities like mine in my electorate of Wills. That's the way that the Labor government does this. It actually cares about the community. It makes sure that we deliver for them and make a difference to their lives. I'm so excited by so many of these projects because what they do is really work with community to actually deliver on the things that make a difference to them, whether it's in sports, in the environment or in transportation, like linear parklands—which, incidentally, I forgot to mention, is the longest cycling track in the Southern Hemisphere, which is quite remarkable.

These are projects that make a huge difference. These projects come from the advocacy of the people that live there—the needs that they understand. They come to us, being local members of parliament and being able to engage with them, and then we deliver through this place. There's a lot of cynicism around politics, but we're able to achieve these things because we form a government, and a Labor government cares about the people that we represent. So it's fantastic to see these projects come to fruition through those commitments through this appropriations bill. I am so pleased for the community members that are going to benefit from this for generations to come. As I said at the start of this speech, serving your community is the best part of the job. It's the best part of the job when you do something for them that is tangible, real and makes a difference to their lives. All of us here, on whichever side we sit, especially those in parties that can form government, would agree that local MPs can actually do something for their community, and that's a wonderful thing in politics.

There's a lot of cynicism around politics. People talk about playing politics. Well, let's play some more politics in a positive way, because this is positive politics. This is politics that makes a difference. It's political action through this parliament, through this democracy and through our representation of our communities that make a difference to their lives. I'm pleased to have been able to speak on the appropriation bill. People might not think it's a very exciting bill to talk about, but it makes a difference to people in our community.

Debate interrupted.

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