Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A few short weeks ago, some local Sunbury champions were awarded Medals of the Order of Australia. Marianne and Neil Williams started the Sunbury Neighbourhood Kitchen 10 years ago. Initially a small operation which used the leftover food from their catering business, the Sunbury Neighbourhood Kitchen quickly grew. Every Monday, Marianne, Neil and their incredible team of over 45 volunteers open their kitchen at the Sunbury Memorial Hall to provide over 220 meals to those in our community who are doing it tough. Like many, Marianne and Neil's catering business faced challenges throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. However, their commitment and dedication to the Sunbury Neighbourhood Kitchen never wavered. In December I had the honour of attending their annual presentation evening to acknowledge the amazing contribution that this organisation and its volunteers make to our community. I am so deeply thankful to Marianne and Neil and their entire team for the work they do. I cannot think of more deserving people for such an award. I look forward to catching up with them and the team at a Monday night cook up very soon.

Today's announcement that the Albanese government will expand NBN full-fibre upgrades is a game changer for many in our community. From my home town in the westernmost part of my electorate of Hawke, in Ballan, right across to Sunbury, thousands of homes and businesses will be getting this upgrade. This complements similar works already announced and underway in parts of Melton and Melton South and right across our region. We know that with many more people working and studying from home the pain of slow and inconsistent internet is felt by so many. I myself have been the victim of this, with at times agonisingly slow internet speeds. Trying to do meetings online with three kids yelling in the background and a dodgy internet connection is pretty challenging. So I'll be keenly following this one to make sure we can make the most of the full-fibre upgrade at home with fast speeds and better connectivity.

I was recently contacted by Andrew from Sunbury, who asked when his premises would be upgraded. I'll be very pleased to share this news with Andrew and so many others in the community who have been waiting for so long. We know that the rollout of the NBN was bungled by the previous government. They sat on their hands and didn't invest in the high-speed internet that we need for our communities and for our economy. If we want to keep Australia more connected and competitive we need high-speed internet. This Labor government has invested $2.4 billion for the expansion of NBN full-fibre upgrades to 1.5 million Australian premises, including over 660,000 in regional communities. I know that locals in Hawke will be thrilled to hear this news today and I can't wait to see it get rolled out.