Can I just say congratulations to everyone who's been involved in developing Western Sydney Airport. I think the Prime Minister gave a fantastic speech on Sunday at the opening for the first passenger flight to leave Western Sydney Airport. It was really exciting to be there. There were people from all sides of parliament, and I think the Prime Minister's speech was really gracious. It was great to see there Tony Abbott; Scott Morrison; Joe Hockey; Paul Fletcher; the Prime Minister; a whole range of ministers; myself; Anne Stanley, the member for Werriwa; the member for Hughes; and, of course, the wonderful Michael McCormack, the member for the Riverina, who was previously the infrastructure minister and was significant in the development of that airport.

I think the terminal is absolutely beautiful. Simon Hickey, the CEO of Western Sydney Airport Corporation, has done a great job bringing all that together—likewise, Paul O'Sullivan, the Chairman of the Board of Western Sydney Airport. We've been involved for 10 years now in the development of that that airport, and it is a great boon to Western Sydney. Have we got everything right? No, we haven't. We do need to get that metro rail link, and not just from the north. Interestingly, my eldest son was the lead engineer on that project. It's nearly finished and will be fixed in the next few months, but we really need the south-western link linking up Bradfield, Western Sydney Airport and the south-west, including my electorate of Macarthur, with the suburbs of Camden and Campbelltown. That leads to the potential to hook up with the Southern Highlands and eventually also to the Illawarra through Wollongong. That would be fantastic, those transport links joining all those suburbs and all those people together.

There are already millions of people in Western Sydney, and the member for Lindsay is quite right. They do need good jobs. They need good education. They need to be part of our modern economy, and they will be. When I was at the opening of the airport yesterday, I saw three of my old patients who'd worked on that building, including one who was one of the lead constructors of the terminal building itself. It was great to see Jonathan there. He's got a terrific job, having completed a building engineering degree. I saw other patients who were working in baggage handling and who were working in customer service. I saw one who did a lot of the technology for the telecommunications infrastructure for the airport.

There's a beautiful view from the airport across to the Blue Mountains, where I grew up. I've seen this come from cow paddocks to now a wonderful, wonderful airport. I think the Prime Minister is quite right. This is one of the best airports in Australia. There are not just exciting prospects for the airport and the surrounding aerotropolis but also economic and social opportunities for Western Sydney and south-western Sydney. I'm very excited about it. There were over 12,000 jobs created through the airport project itself, and already close to that many will be needed for the running of the airport and the local environment.

However, I will stress the critical importance of delivering proper public transport connectivity from south-western Sydney, hooking up with the aerotropolis and the airport and to the north and to the south. I'm very grateful for the federal government committing a billion dollars to preserve the land corridors needed for future rail extensions from Bradfield to Leppington and Macarthur. I think that's a great thing. But the Minns state Labor government needs to get on board as well with a link to the south-west. They have been a little reluctant, for reasons that have escaped me because many of the suburbs and electorates around south-western Sydney are Labor electorates. We need to make sure that they get that connectivity to the airport. So I'm calling on the Minns government to do the right thing and commit to the rail link from the south-west. Connecting Macarthur and Campbelltown, as well as establishing new stations in the Camden and Wollondilly region if at all possible, would be much, much appreciated and a fantastic boon to the local population. With over 400,000 residents in the Camden and Picton area and more to come with the development of Wilton and Maldon, a Leppington connection is very likely in the pipeline, but we need to hurry up and get on with it.

Congratulations to all involved, of all political parties. I'm very excited about it, and I thank everyone involved.