Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then under the former Liberal-National coalition government, let me tell you: it was a colour coded origami horror show of press releases and false promises for our regions. The roads, infrastructure and sporting facilities, if they were built—who will ever remember that bastion of regional sport, North Sydney, getting a pool? They took our regions for mugs.

The claim that this government has made broken promises and failed regional Australia is patently untrue. It's not what I see in Paterson, and it's not what I see across regional Australia. Regional Australia is not being talked about from a distance under this government; we're here representing it. It's being backed with real investment in real communities with real outcomes that are already changing real people's lives. And that's exactly what governing for regional Australia should look like.

In the last month alone, we've seen significant projects and investments delivered across my electorate of Paterson, all while keeping a clear focus on strengthening regional communities, regional jobs and regional services. The Hunter Veteran and Family Hub that has just been opened is supporting 22,000 veterans right across the Hunter, Newcastle and the Central Coast. Five hundred veterans have passed through the doors, not to mention the 3½ thousand serving Defence personnel from RAAF Base Williamtown and those that serve at Singleton, who are all using this fantastic hub in Maitland. Kurri Kurri has just received new netball courts. Maitland has received the new Max McMahon sporting facilities.

Delivering for regional Australia isn't just about major highways and big announcements; it's about making sure our kids have the same opportunities as kids everywhere else, right across the country. Port Stephens Koala Hospital has just received $3 million for groundbreaking research, because we're saving the koalas in regional Australia as well. MGA Thermal, an incredible company, got $3.2 million through ARENA to commercialise cutting-edge energy storage technology that will save energy for businesses in the regions and the cities alike. That means local jobs, local industry and regional economic growth.

These aren't promises on paper; they're projects on the ground. They're already being delivered. And, when we look at the last 12 months, the scale of delivery for regional Australia becomes even clearer. The expansion and opening of our magnificent Newcastle Airport as an international gateway opens up new opportunities for tourism, trade and economic growth right across our region. For too long, communities like ours were told to wait our turn, but international connectivity, economic support and investment shouldn't only be for capital cities—and we know it's not. Our airport is the airport that our region deserves, and that's why a Labor government has delivered it.

We have the Kongsberg missile factory that's just under construction in my electorate, a $50 million solar foundry at Black Hill that will create 300 jobs, $1 million for Carrie's Place, supporting women and children escaping family violence and $1.6 million in black spot funding for local roads in Port Stephens. These aren't false promises. They're delivering—we are delivering.

The Maitland Urgent Care Clinic has also opened its doors and is already making a difference for families across our region. Every week around 300 people are walking through those doors to access free urgent care close to home without the long waits of an emergency department or the cost of private care. That's exactly what Medicare was designed to do and exactly what regional Australians deserve.

Alongside these local investments, we're backing nation-building infrastructure that will transform regional Australia for generations to come. We've committed $667 million to progress high-speed rail from Newcastle to Sydney, and we are doing the proper planning. This will not be the debacle that we've seen through the Inland Rail. For the Hunter and New South Wales, it means faster connections and a greater opportunity. Alongside that, we're delivering the M1 Pacific Motorway extension to Raymond Terrace—a $1.7 billion investment—and we're going to deliver it on budget and more than 12 months early. That's right—early and on budget! That's what an Albanese Labor government does in the regions. Right next door in my neighbouring electorate, we've got the Singleton Bypass, the Hexham Straight Widening and the Newcastle Inner City Bypass—over $3 billion worth of roadworks happening in our region. That's not a government that just delivers with a press release. That's a government where the rubber hits the road.

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