Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Thursday I held one of my regular listening posts, this time at the Imperial Centre in Gosford. I met with many local residents. They shared their concerns about the need for Gosford's reinvigoration, more local jobs and better local infrastructure, including of course the delivery of the NBN to the coast, which is now proceeding very rapidly, thanks to the coalition government.

For as long as I can remember, the Imperial shopping centre has really been the centre of Gosford's business heartbeat. Today I want to thank centre manager Deborah Warwick for her passionate belief in and advocacy for the future of Gosford as a thriving CBD. The Imperial Centre has recently undergone a $50 million refurbishment and it really does look absolutely fantastic. Today I want to say thank you to Deb Warwick, the Imperial Centre and the businesses located in the Imperial Centre for their belief in Gosford. This refurbishment is a giant step towards the revitalisation of our great city on the Central Coast. As Deb said to me, 'There is real confidence in the future of Gosford. In addition to the redevelopment of the centre, the owners have purchased the building next door known as the Masonic centre, with a view to further investment and expansion.'

Together with other local businesses, the commitments by the federal government to deliver 600 new jobs to Gosford, the New South Wales government's commitment to bring another 300 jobs to Gosford and the council's open-for-business approach, we are now beginning to see the dream of Gosford being a place of local jobs, infrastructure and real opportunity come one step closer to reality.