Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very aware that we're all here in this parliament because we hold a deep sense of responsibility to our communities and to our electorates, and, for me, that responsibility is really clear. I do want to improve my community. I want to make it the best place for people to live, work, study and raise a family. I am really proud that, since we've been in government, Labor has been both building our nation and also building our communities, investing in communities like those in Jagajaga, which, unfortunately, were neglected for far too long under previous Liberal-National governments. When those opposite were in power, they put themselves first. They, in fact, allocated community funding in ways that benefited their own seats. That meant, in Jagajaga, that our community missed out on major infrastructure funding, on school upgrades, on sporting and community facilities and on much more.

I stood in this place at the time, when then prime minister Scott Morrison led a Liberal-National government, and I called out that government for their unfair treatment of my constituents. Between 2018 and 2021, the then treasurer and member for Kooyong's neighbouring electorates received $5.7 million in community grants while my community just over the river in Jagajaga received just $800,000. That is more than seven times less, and it is absolutely indicative of how those opposite treated running the country. They were not in it for communities. They were certainly not in it for the community of Jagajaga. They were governing for themselves. Labor does take a different approach. We believe that every community—city or regional, no matter who they voted for—deserves respect and deserves its fair share, and I'm really proud of what that means and what we're delivering in Jagajaga.

When we come to people's health, one of the key things that people talk to me about is the need for good quality healthcare services that can be accessed locally and that are affordable. We absolutely understand that Medicare is the cornerstone of our health system. It was something that I talked to many community members about during the last election campaign, as I'm sure my colleagues did. We had these discussions about making sure that this very Australian institution is there not just for now but into the future. Of course, we know it was at risk because it was neglected for far too long by those opposite who have never believed in Medicare and who have never believed that you should be able to see a doctor with your Medicare card, not with your credit card. It was neglected, but we have been doing the work to fix it.

In Jagajaga, that means that we have delivered the Heidelberg Medicare urgent care clinic right in the heart of the Austin Hospital precinct, taking pressure off the emergency department there. I have a lot of positive feedback about this facility, and I'm really pleased that, at the election that we've just had, together with my colleague the member for McEwen, we pledged that we will deliver another clinic in Diamond Creek and surrounds, which will really benefit people who live in the northern end of my electorate. We're backing that up. We are, obviously, making it easier for people to see a GP and to have that bulk-billed—an extra 18 million bulk-billed GP visits every year so that people in Jagajaga can see a doctor without worrying about the cost.

I know there's more work to do in this space. We're not there yet. As I said, it takes time to overturn the damage that those opposite did. In 10 years of government, they never invested in local health infrastructure in Jagajaga. They oversaw the collapse of bulk-billing. They took a service that was essential to Australians, a service that that Australians could count on, and they rubbished it. That is, again, indicative of their approach to services. Labor is strengthening Medicare, the Liberals try to destroy it and that is the clear difference.

If I look at other infrastructure in my community, community sport is such a big part of how people spend their time. It's a big part of how people come together and how our kids learn about community. Keeping active is so important. I'm really proud that we've been able to deliver investment in community support in Jagajaga, including funding for the Heidelberg West Football Netball Club to build female-friendly facilities—proper change rooms, showers and toilets; funding for the Banyule City Council to build a brand new netball facility and upgrade the croquet club at Ivanhoe Park; and funding for the Shelley Park pavilion in Heidelberg Heights, on which I'm pleased that construction will be starting soon, along with renovating the pavilion at Eltham Lower Park. Again, this is all work that is underway in our time in government. It is not work that happened under those opposite. We did not have this local-level investment in my community under those opposite.

We're supporting the transition to renewable energy in Jagajaga and around the country while those opposite have a debate about whether they need to be signed up to net zero. As the Prime Minister has said, if you are not prepared to back net zero, what you are actually saying is you don't believe in climate change. If you are not prepared to say that this country needs to reach net zero, then what you are saying is you are a climate denier. And it was not just when they were in government; those opposite are still full of climate deniers.

In Jagajaga and around the country we are investing and doing the necessary work. We're investing in our cheaper home battery scheme, which has seen nearly 40,000 home battery systems purchased since 1 July, including 166 in the community of Jagajaga. Of course, we know that those opposite promised a $600 billion nuclear plan to drive up household bills, but we are delivering direct energy bill relief to every household.

We're doing this on a community infrastructure level as well. We are supporting the Banyule council to electrify WaterMarc, a well-known and well-loved community pool in my electorate. With federal government support it will become a fully electric facility, helping Council cut costs, lower emissions and reinvest savings back into the community.

We're delivering on major infrastructure. The North East Link project, which is the biggest infrastructure project ever delivered in my electorate, will transform the way people live and travel in Melbourne's north-east. Connecting Watsonia to Bulleen, it will fix what is known as the missing link in our freeway network. It will take 15,000 trucks off Rosanna Road every single day and cut travel times by up to 35 minutes. This is something we're putting $3.3 billion towards to support the state government to make this happen. Again, we never saw this level of future investment in much-needed infrastructure in my community under the Liberals. I do want to say thank you to all the community members who I know are putting up with a large level of disruption as this major project goes on. You are showing remarkable patience, forbearance and understanding that in the end this project will be a huge win for our community, so thank you.

The final area I want to highlight, as I think it shows the contrast between this government's attitude to investment in community and people's lives and the attitude that was taken by those opposite when they had the opportunity in government, is housing. We do still have a housing crisis in this country—one which built up over a very long time, and it certainly built up under those opposite when they were not investing in housing. They didn't see a role for the federal government in housing, and for most of the time they didn't even have a federal housing minister. I have spent quite a bit of time recently going to housing that is being built in my community with the support of the federal government. I never had that opportunity under those opposite, because there wasn't any housing being built in my electorate with the support of the then federal government when it was a Liberal-National government.

In West Heidelberg, Labor is rebuilding the old Bell-Bardia estate, which was demolished in 2020 because it needed serious upgrades. Together with the state government, we're really proud to be delivering 104 brand new homes—more homes than were there before. They will be high-quality, modern homes that local families can be proud of. Through the Housing Australia Future Fund, Labor is delivering 642 new homes across Ivanhoe, Heidelberg, Rosanna and Greensborough. We've also just announced another 25 homes to come in Bellfield as part of the second round.

I recently, just a couple of weeks ago, had the pleasure of having the Prime Minister and the housing minister visit Rosanna, where we saw the Beetham Parade development take shape. That's a fantastic development that will support women and children leaving family violence, as well as key workers and First Nations people needing a house. It's in a great location—just next to the train station, near our medical precinct. It is absolutely the type of housing we need in our community, so it is wonderful to see this investment going forward. Again, we know those opposite weren't keen to support the Housing Australia Future Fund, but we can only hope that at some point during this period in opposition they do change the way they look at community infrastructure and they do change the way they look at investing for the future and investing in the future of communities like those in Jagajaga. There is still time for them to come to this realisation, change their ways and support some of these fantastic initiatives that our government is delivering on.