Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On that happy note, following the debate on the Medibank Private Sale Bill 2006, this is probably a good opportunity for me to mark for the record that I am very pleased to have the chance, thanks to the federal government, to work in what is one of the boom areas of Australia in many ways—that is, the area of greater Western Sydney. I have to say that I think Senator Nettle omitted from her remarks, castigating governments in relation to health systems, a passing castigation of the New South Wales state government, which would be a very good place to start, as they say in the classics, as it is the state we both represent.

It is true that, in terms of the economic conditions in Australia, one would not want to be looking to the New South Wales government for leadership. But, federally, since October 1996—not a bad date to begin looking at these sorts of figures—almost 1.9 million new jobs have been created in this country, including 165,000 under Work Choices, which was meant to be the end of the world. I think that was what we were told by a number of participants in the debate in this chamber. Our unemployment rate is currently at 4.6 per cent—the lowest in 30 years. The OECD expects Australia’s GDP to grow to 3.4 per cent in 2008, and we as a government have not shied away from making the tough decisions on the economy and the tough decisions for reform, whether it is in the workplace, welfare, taxation or health, as has been discussed in the chamber earlier this evening, or whether it is about investing in Australia’s future in the establishment of the Future Fund to offset enormous superannuation liabilities down the line.

But, in direct contrast, in my own state of New South Wales there are actually economists talking about recessionary trends. The fact that this state—my state—has the lowest growth, the highest unemployment, the lowest building starts since World War II and the worst affordability, coupled with a $700 million deficit, shows that the New South Wales state government should not be trusted on economic management, just for starters. Unemployment remains above the national average—it is 5.1 per cent, I believe, compared to 4.6 per cent on the October national figures—and they have managed to reduce economic growth to 1.1 per cent.

And let us not look past the daily travails of individuals in New South Wales trying to do basics, like get to work in the transport system; the repetitive, almost by now annual announcements of completion of things like the north-west rail link; or the inability of the government to even contemplate alternatives like light rail, including their inability to plan for the future. Their neglect of the energy needs of New South Wales meant that, as I understand it, in the last couple of sitting weeks of the New South Wales state parliament the lights even went out in Parliament House in Macquarie Street, Sydney. One expects that their 12 years of underinvestment, underresourcing, mismanagement and excuses mean that the lights will probably go out all over New South Wales in summer. It does not matter whether you are talking about water management, urban planning, state taxes, health and hospitals or schools; it has all been let go.

That is why I started my remarks tonight by talking about greater Western Sydney: because, not withstanding those challenges—and there are many which pertain to the greater west—it remains a significant economic hub for Australia, particularly supported by the efforts of the Australian government to promote the area. In fact, greater Western Sydney produces around $61 billion in economic output annually, which makes it the third largest economic region in Australia after Sydney and Melbourne. The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils spent some time compiling those statistics. It is a strong economic force both domestically and further afield. It is one of the reasons that Austrade has a Parramatta office which operates as the Export Centre. It has been open since 1993 as a one-stop shop for Western Sydney exporters. It is a gateway to Western Sydney for Austrade and, in 2005-06, that office directly assisted over 250 new and potential exporters and assisted 39 exporters to make their first-ever export sale. It is really taking Western Sydney and its producers to the world.

Some of the most important growth industries in the region which are driving these economic numbers are information technology and communications, tourism and recreation, and particularly business services. We have also benefited significantly from the construction of the Westlink M7 motorway, which was jointly funded through the private sector and $356 million of Commonwealth funding. That has added significantly to the region’s economic prospects. It has improved warehousing and distribution capacity. It is a very important factor in our capacity to grow that part of Sydney and New South Wales. As a user of the motorway, I can certainly attest to its value.

One of the most significant parts of the vitality of the region is the diversity of the communities of greater Western Sydney. It does not matter whether you are talking socially—politically, even—professionally or culturally, that diversity brings both challenges and opportunities to the people of Western Sydney. Population growth has brought us this fantastic diversity. It makes it a very exciting place in which to work and live, but it has also brought significant environmental and social challenges. On a day-to-day basis, much of the responsibility for managing those challenges, both the good and the bad, goes to state government, but there are areas in which the federal government can assist.

I particularly want to note the efforts of Anglicare Sydney, and similar agencies, in trying to alleviate homelessness in the area. Recently the Prime Minister, in support of those efforts, announced some Commonwealth funding—$100,000—to help Anglicare plan for the future by establishing a foundation that they are going to use to help provide funding certainty. That foundation is going to support Anglicare Sydney’s Street Outreach Program, which has been running since 1991—well in excess of a decade—to provide support for homeless youth and youth at risk of becoming homeless. It is now to be extended to Parramatta. That is a very good example of partnership between a non-government organisation like Anglicare and the federal government, with its support.

Things like homelessness are not the only challenges that face those in New South Wales. For example, the University of Western Sydney, an excellent academic institution, recently released research which showed that over one million people in greater Western Sydney have difficulty accessing key, basic services in the area, such as hospitals and things like that, through public transport. Even the Deputy Premier of New South Wales, the transport minister, John Watkins, has said that the transport system is dysfunctional—and it is: big concession!—but the problems that are outlined in this academic research are in fact daily problems for the people and residents of Western Sydney who are victims of the state government’s lack of planning. In fact, as Leah Godfrey, the executive officer of the Western Sydney Community Forum, rightly pointed out:

I think the cancellation of the train line from Epping to Parramatta was a very firm indication that the—

New South Wales—

Government doesn’t have a commitment to increasing public transport in western Sydney.

But that is a daily story. That is what the people of this part of Sydney—this growing part of Sydney; this third largest economic hub in the country—have to put up with every single day. Maybe, if we are optimistic, if we are ‘glass half full’ people, in the next regional strategy, the next state plan or the next development blueprint which is part of the government’s advertising strategy—which, I understand from today’s media, is going to $1 billion—there will be some commitment to improve the situation for that particular project and for better overall transport outcomes for the people of Western Sydney. Hopefully we do not wait in vain.

Another matter concerning this growing part of Sydney that I want to talk about briefly—and, in many ways, this is the lifeblood of Western Sydney—is the University of Western Sydney. I want to talk about some of its growth and the contribution that it is making to the community. I am a member of the UWS Regional Council. We now have close to 35,000 students enrolled at the University of Western Sydney—including, since 2002, an increasing number of overseas students. The very popular fields of study at UWS are management and commerce, society and culture, and health.

The opening of the medical school at the University of Western Sydney is a very important initiative which the Commonwealth has been able to support. In the 2004-05 budget the Commonwealth made a commitment of $18 million to the UWS medical school. The commencement of construction was marked by the Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon. Julie Bishop, in May this year.

Through Backing Australia’s Future places and the Council of Australian Governments’ health workforce package, the university will be looking at 475 medical places by 2011. That is a very important development for Western Sydney. It will be able to create its own home-grown doctors who will hopefully live, work and practise in the area, having received their training from the University of Western Sydney medical school. In fact their first intake of 100 medical students next year has attracted 2,300 applications. This marks its extraordinary popularity and the very important value of this innovation. (Time expired)