Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

With the greatest representation of Western Sydney in our federal cabinet to date, Western Sydney voices are being heard, and the Albanese government is delivering for our region through the 2022 budget, including in my great electorate of Greenway. As Western Sydney continues to grow, with suburbs like Riverstone expected to grow by 318 per cent by 2040, we are working to ensure families have sufficient local infrastructure near where they live.

This is where the Greenway Better Local Living plan comes in. It's a plan designed by Greenway families for Greenway families. Our commitments, as promised at the election, include: new and upgraded play spaces across Schofields, Tallawong, Riverstone and Grantham Farm; fencing to make existing play spaces safer, in the areas of Parklea, Seven Hills, Lalor Park, Quakers Hill and Kings Langley; a new and exciting community water-play area in Schofields, for those hot summer days; and district-scale walking trails in Lalor Park, Quakers Hill and Grantham Farm, to help better connect residents into local active-transport networks. As a mum of two young girls myself, I understand that parents want to provide the very best opportunities for their children, including in the area of recreation, and these commitments are about improving the overall quality of life for families right across Greenway.

Another commitment designed to do just that is the north-west Sydney roads package. You don't have to live in Riverstone to know just how bad congestion is along north-west roads, like Bandon Road. The people of north-west Sydney spend an average of three days every year commuting. That's why the Albanese government has committed $75 million to finalise planning and commence initial construction of Bandon and Richmond roads in the north-west growth corridor.

We're also taking the politics out of infrastructure planning in Western Sydney, by establishing an expert panel to look at the region's needs. This is an important long-term project for the people of north-west Sydney. It will create local jobs and improve the quality of life for residents who have been for around a decade crying out for action by the New South Wales government.

This budget also makes a number of commitments to support Western Sydney jobs, boost skills and assist with cost-of-living pressures, including providing 180,000 places for fee-free TAFE and vocational education, making child care cheaper, providing an investment pipeline of $120 billion in transport infrastructure, expanding Paid Parental Leave, providing more funding and more staff to slash the visa backlog, and improving our disaster resilience and preparedness.

This government is creating a better future for all. I look forward to keeping Greenway constituents updated as we deliver on these important commitments.