David Moncrieff (Hughes, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The communities of southern Sydney that make up Hughes are truly special ones. It is such a great honour to be able to serve them in this place as the member for Hughes.

One of the key ways that this parliament serves the communities we represent is in allocation of resources through bills, such as these appropriations bills which are before us today. It's one of the ways that this parliament can deliver for those communities that send us here, and it means we can get on with delivering the projects that make a real difference in our communities—projects like Heathcote Road, where the Albanese government jointly funded a $188 million upgrade of the section through Holsworthy with the Minns Labor government.

The congestion-easing 2.2-kilometre upgrade along Heathcote Road between Voyager Point and Holsworthy has widened the road from a single lane each way to a dual-lane carriageway. Carrying around 36,000 vehicles each day, this upgraded section is expected to significantly reduce travel times in peak hours for general vehicles by several minutes. Heathcote Road is the spinal cord of the Hughes electorate. It's the primary road connection between the Sutherland Shire and the growing south-west region. Its role as a key connector will only continue to grow with the opening of the new airport. As someone who uses the Heathcote Road, sometimes as often as six times a day, I can tell you, Deputy Speaker Buchholz, how much this upgrade is making a difference to travel times and the wellbeing of motorists from Sydney and the Illawarra and for residents of my community.

The upgrade saw two bridges being built across local waterways, Williams and Harris creeks, which are designed to withstand a one-in-100-year flood event, as well as a bridge constructed along the T8 railway. I was honoured to be there for the opening in November of last year with the member for Werriwa; the New South Wales Minister for Roads, Jenny Aitchison; the state members for Heathcote, Leppington and Liverpool—Maryanne Stuart, Nathan Hagarty and Charishma Kaliyanda—and Cameron Murphy MLC.

The official opening featured a charity walk for cancer in honour of the late state member for Menai Alison Megarrity MP, who represented the area on Liverpool council before serving as the state representative from 1999 to 2011. Alison was a tireless advocate for this improvement. She knew how important it was for this section to be upgraded for our community. Tragically, she lost a prolonged battle with cancer in 2022. Alison was well respected across all sides of politics and left a deep legacy in my community, which I referred to in my first speech in this place. It was such an honour to join with her family, including her husband, Robert, to see her vision realised and the dedication of a new road bridge in her name. The Harris Creek crossing has been named the Alison Megarrity Bridge, and it was so fitting that those who are now benefitting from Alison's legacy have an ongoing reminder of this each time they use this road.

On the day, I also participated in the community cancer walk along the footpath of this new, upgraded road in support of the work of the Cancer Council of New South Wales. To herald in the new road, a smoking ceremony was performed, artworks were unveiled along the road depicting flora and fauna native to the area, and there was a commemoration of World War I POWs who built the railway connection through to Liverpool. The improvements to Heathcote Road also include a new intersection to improve access to Voyager Point and a major upgrade at the intersection at MacArthur Drive, including new turning lanes and traffic lights access station facilities at Holsworthy. More than 200 workers were employed on this project. It's a fantastic example of what the Albanese Labor government is doing for communities in the south-west of Sydney.

Work also continues on the M5 upgrade between Moorebank Avenue and the Hume Highway, a project jointly funded by the Albanese government through a $190 million investment. Work has been taking place on this project since the start of the year, and further work will be commencing from 30 March. This includes utility work on Powerhouse Road, drainage and earthworks in Helles Park, Georges River embankment enabling work and non-intrusive survey work.

Anyone who uses the M5 around Moorebank knows exactly the problem that occurs in the area. In the afternoon peak, traffic is banked up as cars and trucks enter westbound at Moorebank Avenue and try to merge with traffic already on the motorway attempting to exit the highway. It's why the Albanese and Minns governments are getting on with delivering the critical infrastructure Western Sydney needs.

The project includes a new three-lane toll-free bridge over the Georges River and the train lines at Liverpool, dramatically improving the connection between the M5 Motorway, Moorebank Avenue and the Hume Highway. It also removes the dangerous weave on the M5 between Moorebank Avenue and the Hume Highway, improving safety and traffic flows for drivers entering and exiting the motorway. A new underpass at Moorebank Avenue will directly connect the M5 westbound to the Hume Highway, and the intersection between the M5 and Moorebank Avenue will be fully upgraded. This matters because the existing bridge currently sees more than 2,500 trucks a day moving from the Moorebank Intermodal Precinct terminal onto the Sydney motorway network, with truck numbers only set to increase as new sections come online. This project gives motorists the confidence that the road network is finally catching up with demand. It's being delivered through a strong partnership between the Albanese and Minns Labor governments, each committing $190 million as part of the broader Western Sydney infrastructure blitz.

Those opposite claim to represent people in industries that require them to move around on our motorways. I can recall Tony Abbott, whose contempt for public transport is well documented, famously saying that every man in his car is a king, as if that was an excuse for not investing in public transport across Australia, especially in Western Sydney. I note that today we have taken significant steps to ensure that we are properly delivering for the trucking industry, in ways that those opposite never did. When you look across the network, from the M7 to the M5, WestConnex and the M4, this intersection is such an obvious choke point for a growing region of Sydney. For those opposite to have overlooked it for so long shows their absolute contempt for those who live in south-west Sydney.

South-west Sydney is the gateway to Sydney. It's the engine room of the economy. We've got the Moorebank Intermodal Precinct and we've got the new airport coming in. The idea that we would avoid investing in this key infrastructure is beyond belief. We've got trucks that can't get off the road safely, and this is something those opposite knew about when they were in power. Obviously, they didn't want to invest in building a new railway line from south-west Sydney to the new airport, but to not invest in roads just goes against all sensibility and logic. I'm very proud that our government is delivering this and I'm very proud that we're investing $190 million in a key piece of infrastructure for south-western Sydney.

It's not the only roads investment that this federal government is making in south-western Sydney. It's in addition to the $50 million that the federal government allocated towards the final business case for the project to support businesses that rely on Cambridge Avenue in Glenfield. This is a project that has been neglected for far too long. The Glenfield Causeway is something that is brought up frequently whenever I am engaging with the community in the south-west. It's something that people have been hearing about for a long time, and I'm so glad that the Albanese Labor government is finally taking action and investing in a project that increases reliable and efficient access to the Moorebank Intermodal terminal and aligns with the Transport for NSW Moorebank Intermodal Terminal Road Access Strategy, or MITRA.

This government is also ensuring that education is accessible in my community. That's why last year this government opened the Macquarie Fields suburban university study hub, and it's why last week Minister Clare opened the new campus of the University of Wollongong at Liverpool. The suburban university study hub at Macquarie Fields is part of the Albanese government's $66.9 million investment to more than double the number of university study hubs across the country.

Nearly half of all young Australians have a degree, but in Macquarie Fields it's only around 29 per cent. The evidence shows that, where there are study hubs, university participation goes up. As a former student of a suburban campus of the University of Wollongong, I know how much of a difference local campuses, like the new site in Liverpool, make to students who live nearby. It makes university less disruptive to lifestyle, meaning that students can work and meet life obligations without university attendance and study creating too much disruption for them.

The cost and accessibility of health care is also one of the most pressing cost-of-living pressures for families and individuals in my community. For years, seeing a doctor was becoming more difficult. Bulk-billing rates across our community were in decline. Practices were charging higher and higher out-of-pocket fees, and too many families were having to make calculations and ask the question: 'Can I go to the doctor, or can it wait?' Health doesn't wait—health can't wait. More importantly, health shouldn't wait. This government inherited that decline, and this government is reversing it.

The Albanese Labor government's $8.5 billion investment in Medicare is the single-largest investment in Medicare since it was created. The latest data tells the story, and it's crystal clear. With 22 clinics now bulk-billing, the majority of clinics in Hughes can now display a little sign with those two beautiful, alliterative words: bulk-billing. We have seen the largest quarterly jump in bulk-billing in 20 years outside of COVID, and this has happened because of what we're doing. Nearly 96 per cent of Australians are now within a 20-minute drive of a registered Medicare bulk-billing practice. More and more practices that were mixed billing are converting to fully bulk-billing every single week.

On medicines, the change that came into effect on 1 January this year is one of the most direct cost-of-living measures this government has delivered. The maximum co-payment for a PBS script is now $25 for general patients, the lowest it's been since 2004. For concession card holders, it's frozen at $7.70. For those in my community managing chronic conditions on tight budgets, that difference adds up across a year in a way that is really making a difference to their bottom line.

House ownership has also drifted out of reach for a generation of young Australians, and the former government's record on this is critical to understanding exactly how we got to where we are and why we are facing the challenges that we are now facing as a country—nine years in office and only 373 social and affordable homes built nationally. That's years and years of neglect. We can contrast this with the work of the Albanese Labor government, of the single largest investment in housing since World War II, the Housing Australia Future Fund, the Help to Buy scheme, the five per cent deposit guarantee, the 45 per cent increase in Commonwealth rent assistance and the ban on foreign buyers purchasing existing dwellings. These are functioning mechanisms backed by appropriations like these. The government is on track to deliver more than 55,000 social and affordable homes and support more than 100,000 Australians into homeownership. For the young people in Hughes who grew up in these suburbs and are watching themselves be priced out of them in real time, this is what this government is working to change.

There are many qualities that make Hughes genuinely unique in this parliament, but one of the most notable is that it's the only community in Australia with a nuclear reactor. ANSTO, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, has its headquarters and main research facilities in Lucas Heights in Sutherland Shire, in the heart of my electorate. Each week, ANSTO produces approximately 12,000 patient doses of nuclear medicine, sent to around 250 hospitals and medical centres across Australia and the region. Between 75 per cent and 80 per cent of nuclear medicine isotopes used in Australia come from the Lucas Heights campus.

On average, each person in Australia will require at least two nuclear medicine procedures during their lifetime. That means, statistically, everyone in this chamber and virtually every constituent across Hughes will one day depend on what is produced at that site—Australians like Will McDonald, who is a Channel 9 news presenter based in Adelaide. At 42 years old, fit and active, he went to his GP expecting to hear about a hip injury. He was told instead that he had stage 4 prostate cancer, which had already spread from his prostate to his hip, with no other symptoms. He was given a frank diagnosis—he would never be cured, only ever in remission. He's continued presenting the news throughout his treatment, undergoing hormone therapy and chemotherapy, all while advocating for men to prioritise their health and for the medical research that, in his words, will keep him alive.

Will's story really struck me because Will's story is not unique. Prostate cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Australian men. One in eight men will be diagnosed in their lifetime, and the treatments that give men like Will the best possible chance of surviving it—the diagnostic imaging, the targeted radiopharmaceutical therapies, the nuclear medicine procedures that detect cancer spread before symptoms even appear—rely on radioisotopes manufactured at ANSTO's Lucas Heights campus right in the heart of Hughes. I had the privilege of meeting Will, alongside representatives of nuclear medicine Australia, and, when I sat with Will and the team from nuclear medicine Australia, the conversation was heartfelt and real about the benefits of the nuclear medicines like those produced by ANSTO. It was about a man who's alive and working, raising a young family, because of the nuclear medicines that this country produces.

This government is investing in the construction of a new medicine manufacturing facility at ANSTO's Lucas Heights campus, purpose built to produce and distribute nuclear medicine products to hospitals and medical clinics right across Australia. The new facility will replace the ageing building 23, which has been operating since 1959 and is approaching the end of its working life. The project is now in the procurement and design phase, with expressions of interest already issued for the process, equipment and associated infrastructure. This is a major capital investment in Hughes, with high-skilled jobs on the Lucas Heights campus, sustaining growth for decades and Australian sovereign capability to manufacture the nuclear medicines that give people like Will McDonald a fighting chance. I want to acknowledge the workforce at Lucas Heights—scientists, engineers, technicians and support staff who are our neighbours and who do the work of genuine national significance.

Our community in southern Sydney has always worked hard, and it's great to see that the federal Albanese Labor government is finally returning that investment. What residents tell me they need from government is straightforward: GPs who can bulk-bill, medicines people can afford, a pathway to homeownership that does not require a deposit the size of a small inheritance, an education system that comes to you rather than expecting you to travel long distances, world-class scientific infrastructure that is properly funded and protected, roads that work, schools that are fully resourced. These appropriation bills deliver on these things as funded operational programs that are already making a difference in the lives of people across Hughes and across the country.

I commend the bill to the House.

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