Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today as constituents in Hughes prepare to go to the polls this weekend to decide the future of the state of New South Wales, my home state. The Perrottet government has set the benchmark across the Commonwealth on how to govern and on how deliver state government services. The Perrottet government has delivered on infrastructure. It's delivered on roads, on public transport, on women's safety, on education, on health services, on tax reform and on some very important social issues. The past four years have not been easy. New South Wales has faced catastrophic drought, bushfires, a pandemic and one-in-100-year floods, yet, despite all these odds, the Perrottet government has kept New South Wales moving forward and has maintained its AAA credit rating.

Within my federal seat I have four outstanding state members. They have been part of the Perrottet government team that has obtained extraordinary amounts of money that was invested in health and transport infrastructure, for example. This includes $151 million for Sutherland Hospital, which has been used for new operating theatres, an emergency departments and a new MRI machine. Our member for Cronulla, Mark Speakman, has been an outstanding Attorney General for our state as well as a staunch advocate for Cronulla. He keeps thinking outside the square. Our member for Miranda, Eleni Petinos, has helped to obtain over half a million dollars for Harrie Dening field, home to the Sutherland Shire Football Association, the largest sporting association in the Southern Hemisphere. The member for Holsworthy, Melanie Gibbons, advocated for and obtained $790 million for upgrades to Liverpool Hospital. The member for Heathcote, Lee Evans, worked with Ms Gibbons and our roads minister, Natalie Ward, to deliver $188 million to upgrade Heathcote Road and then secured funding of $35 million to upgrade the dangerous Heathcote Road bridge.

Domestic and family violence are ever-present issues throughout our country, and my electorate of Hughes is no exception. Late last year the Perrottet government passed one of its most critical reforms to date, the criminalisation of coercive control. Coercive control is a form of domestic abuse that involves patterns of serious cumulative behaviour that deny victims-survivors of their autonomy and independence. New South Wales is the first state in the Commonwealth and one of the very few jurisdictions in the world to implement these reforms. I must commend the work of New South Wales Attorney General Mark Speakman and, again Natalie Ward, who also holds the portfolio of the Minister for Women's Safety.

The Perrottet government has also led the way on cashless gaming reform to try to improve the lives of those who are suffering with problem gambling. Education reforms have also been a hallmark of the Perrottet government. We've seen a return to a curriculum based on numeracy, literacy and writing skills, stripping out some of the nonsense that had driven parents mad with the school system. More teachers in New South Wales are now permanent. Just this year alone, there are 15,000 more permanent teachers than there were at the start of the year.

To address the cost-of-living crisis, exacerbated largely by the nine consecutive rate rises we have seen under this federal Labor government, the Perrottet government has delivered a series of vouchers aimed to address this. These include $150 for the Premier's Back to School NSW Voucher, $500 for before and after school care, $285 for a low-income household energy rebate, $110 for a gas rebate and $180 for a family energy rebate. Seniors have not been forgotten, with a $200 seniors energy rebate. There's been preschool fee relief provided across our state, and, led by Natalie Ward, the cost of IVF has now been reduced. The New South Wales government has provided a $2,000 voucher to families looking to have a baby using IVF and has increased the number of fertility treatments in place in our public clinics.

I was at the recent launch where Dominic Perrottet announced the New South Wales Kids Future Fund, helping a new generation to build the foundations of financial security so that they are ready for success in the New South Wales of tomorrow. I commend the Perrottet government for its work with its fresh ideas, its fresh policy and its ability to take New South Wales forward. (Time expired)