South-West and Western Sydney

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-169502

Hansard session: Fifty-Eighth Parliament, First Session (58-1)

South-West and Western Sydney

Mr GREG WARREN (Campbelltown) (14:30:23):

I move:

That this House:

(1)Acknowledges the Government's significant and historic investment over the past three years in health, education, housing, the environment, transport, roads and critical infrastructure across western and south-west Sydney.

(2)Notes the 12 years of neglect under the former Government, characterised by public sector wage caps, privatisation and sustained underinvestment in essential services and infrastructure relied upon by local communities.

(3)Recognises that there is so much more to do and the Government is getting on with the job.

For the people of Campbelltown and across south-west Sydney, this motion is not simply about numbers on a page; it is about whether the services and infrastructure around them keep pace with the lives they are building and supporting. It is about whether a child can attend a great local school, whether a patient can get care closer to home, whether a worker can get to their job safely and whether a young family can find a home in the community they know and love. South-west and Western Sydney are not asking for special treatment. Our communities are asking for the public investment that should come with growth and recognition of the contribution our region makes both socially and economically to the Sydney metropolitan area and to New South Wales.

Our communities have been expected to absorb growth without receiving the investment to complement it. There are more families, more homes and more pressure on schools, hospitals and roads. For too long, there has not been enough government attention. That has changed. As a first term government of 3½ years, there have been some positive and major steps, which I will go through, but we will not kid ourselves: There is still much more to do. That is the mantra for our campaign to be re-elected in March next year. We are highlighting what we have done, while also displaying to the people of South-west and Western Sydney our plan for them and their future.

In that 3½ years, the Government has invested $4.1 billion in new and upgraded schools and early learning facilities across greater Western Sydney, including south-west Sydney. The Government is investing $3.8 billion in new and upgraded Western Sydney hospitals. The Government has committed an additional $3.5 billion to transport infrastructure and roads across the west. Those are big figures, but their purpose is straightforward: When a new suburb is built, schools, roads, bus services and health care should not be an afterthought. Established communities should not be forgotten while new ones are created. Growth should improve people's lives, not increase the pressure upon them, which we saw for so long.

In the greater south-west, that investment means new primary schools at East Cobbitty, Menangle Park and Oran Park North, amongst many other places. It means upgrades to Spring Farm Public School and Eagle Vale Sports High School and an expansion of electrical trades training at Campbelltown TAFE, which was so wrongly stripped away from that institution. It also means public preschool places at local schools across Campbelltown, from Curran and Kearns to Leumeah, Ruse and Bradbury. They are being built as we speak and will open imminently. They are investments in buildings, but also in opportunity—a better place to learn, a pathway into a secure trade and a stronger start for local children.

But a school building needs a teacher inside it. That is why 4,695 teachers across the greater south‑west are receiving a pay rise, after we removed the cap that held them down and stopped people from coming into the profession. It is why 1,609 temporary teachers and support staff have been made permanent. It is why unfilled teacher roles in our region have fallen by 69 per cent. It is why nearly every school in my electorate has no maintenance backlog. We have refocused the attention on fixing schools for our children and building the schools we need for the future.

In health, the Government is continuing the Camden and Campbelltown palliative care facilities and backing culturally safe mental health care through the Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation Medical Service. Across Western Sydney, more than 15,200 nurses and midwives are receiving a pay rise, after the draconian cap installed by the former Government was removed by this Government. The Government continues to invest in more staff, more beds and more care closer to home. For our proud, growing region, health investment cannot wait until every emergency department is under intolerable pressure. It requires governments to plan, build capacity and keep experienced clinicians in the public system.

In transport, we are getting on with the Appin Road upgrade, planning for Picton Road and Spring Farm Parkway stage two, and delivering new bus services to connect people to Macarthur station, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown Hospital and major centres, including the economic engine that is Western Sydney International Airport. Every connection matters. A better road means a safer trip. A better bus service means that a student can reach university, a patient can reach an appointment and a worker has another way to get home. In housing, the Government is investing $5.2 billion in water infrastructure to unlock and provide homes to communities across the west and south-west. I look forward to debate on the motion.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Alex Greenwich):

Before I call the member for Epping, I welcome to the gallery students from St Clare's College Waverley. You are very welcome to the Legislative Assembly.

Ms MONICA TUDEHOPE (Epping) (14:37:34):

I welcome the students in the gallery from the east to a debate about the west. I would usually get a bit agitated about this topic, but I will try to remain calm to keep my baby asleep. Members on this side of the House cannot agree to this ridiculous motion and will move an amendment. I move:

That the motion be amended by omitting all words after "House" and inserting instead:

(1)Notes that the former Liberal-Nationals Government delivered record investments for west and south-west Sydney through:

(a)delivering the WestConnex;

(b)designing, planning and funding the Sydney Metro North West, Sydney Metro City and Southwest, Sydney Metro West, and Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport; and

(c)the creation of the WestInvest fund to invest in transformational projects, which was later raided by the Minns Labor Government.

(2)Agrees that west and south-west Sydney deserve better than what they have had after almost four years of disappointment under Labor.

The motion deserves some attention. South-west and Western Sydney deserve this Parliament's attention. As usual, this Government is all spin. Government members love a media release, but they do not love the truth. They can't handle the truth. To further mangle the catchphrases of one of my favourite actors, Tom Cruise, the people of south‑western Sydney will be crying out, "Show me the metro!" They know that this Government will never deliver them a metro. Much like the people of north-western Sydney, this Bob Carr‑esque Government will put out the glossy brochures but never deliver when it matters.

Of course, it can sometimes deliver when a project has been planned, financed and started by the Liberals and Nationals. Members opposite never want to acknowledge or recognise the record pipeline of infrastructure that was given to them on a platter: the Sydney Metro City and Southwest, the Sydney Metro West, and Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport. They never want to acknowledge that almost every project that was given to them in the pipeline, which they spruik and cut the ribbons on, was started with asset recycling. Almost every project that they put on their Facebook pages and make videos about was funded because of the sale of WestConnex. They are happy to raid the fund and they are happy to be hypocrites. They do not want the infrastructure. They cannot finance it and they cannot plan it.

Even if we excuse them for not giving credit where credit is due, let us at least be clear on the experience of families living in western and south-western Sydney. They are being taxed 30 per cent more by this Government. If you own a business in western or south-western Sydney, this Government is taxing you more. If you buy a house in western or south-western Sydney, this Government is taxing you more. If you hire a worker in western or south-western Sydney, this Government is taxing you more. If you own a manufacturing facility, this Government is taxing you more. Three years into its term, families in western and south-western Sydney are not better off. They are struggling. The cost of living is rising, rent is up, the cost of groceries is up, and energy bills are up. Working families are doing more and being left further behind under this Government.

If you are a patient presenting to Westmead Hospital in Western Sydney, or Blacktown Hospital in Western Sydney, you are waiting longer than ever before. The Government cannot deliver the beds in Western Sydney that it promised. Imagine that you are a voter in Blacktown and you were promised 600 beds before the election, only to have the realisation—which happens whenever Labor gets back into Government—that the Government cannot deliver. The Government cannot get better outcomes for the people of western and south-western Sydney. If you are living in western and south-western Sydney, you know that the Government is not coming to make your life better. It cannot grow the economy. It cannot manage the budget to deliver on the much-need infrastructure. A patient waiting six hours in an emergency department does not care about a media release. They care about when they can see a doctor. The gap between what this Government has promised and what families in western and south-western Sydney actually experience could not be more significant.

The motion asks the House to celebrate the Government's investment. We will not do that while families are struggling, while our Program for International Student Assessment results are through the floor and getting worse, while our emergency department wait times remain long and are getting worse, or while the cost of living is crushing households. The test for this Government is whether families in western and south-western Sydney are better off. It is whether children have better schools, patients get faster care, or working families can afford to live in their own community.

On all those measures, the Government cannot deliver. It cannot build the houses that people need. It cannot deliver the metros that people need to get to and from work. It cannot grow the economy of western and south-western Sydney. Members opposite do not have a plan for those who live in western and south-western Sydney. They are coasting off the back of an infrastructure pipeline that was handed to them, a pipeline that had a vision for the kind of Sydney we want families to live in. The voters of western and south-western Sydney will rightly ask if this Government has any vision, and it does not. Will it reduce payroll tax? No.

Ms Sophie Cotsis:

Will you?

Ms MONICA TUDEHOPE:

Yes, we have committed to it. We have committed to reducing payroll tax and having the lowest rate of payroll tax in the country. Will this Government build the infrastructure to unlock jobs and build new rail lines? No. Will it co-invest to attract new business to move to Western Sydney? No. Will it deliver for western and south-western Sydney? No.

Mrs SALLY QUINNELL (Camden) (14:44:41):

I support the motion moved by the member for Campbelltown. This is a simple test of economic credibility, to look past the slogans and bad quotes and examine the results. In the space of two weeks, all three major global ratings agencies have delivered positive determinations for New South Wales. Fitch reaffirmed our triple-A rating, with a stable outlook. New South Wales is the only Australian State to hold Fitch's highest rating. S&P Global reaffirmed our double-A plus rating and upgraded the outlook to stable. It credited the Government's excellent financial management. New South Wales became the first Australian State in three years to have its outlook improved by S&P. Moody's reaffirmed our triple-A rating with a stable outlook, completing the hat-trick. Moody's specifically recognised the Government's work to stabilise debt, reduce new borrowing for infrastructure and deliver $13 billion in savings through the Comprehensive Expenditure Review.

Fitch, S&P and Moody's are not branches of the Labor Party. They are independent judges of whether a government can manage its finances and meet its obligations. Their verdicts matter because of the position we inherited. In 2021-22 the former Liberal-Nationals Government recorded a $15.3 billion deficit, the largest deficit ever recorded by an Australian State. When it left office, its plan had gross debt reaching $188.2 billion by June 2026. The Minns Labor Government has reduced that debt by $9.7 billion against the former Government's forecast. That is saving the people of New South Wales more than $400 million in interest every year.

We have reduced the deficit in every full year we have been in office. It is forecast to fall to $2.3 billion this year, with a $1.1 billion surplus next year. Over our first three years, expense growth has averaged 3.7 per cent, the lowest of any State. Over the forward estimates, it is forecast to average 2.7 per cent. That compares with average annual expense growth of 6.5 per cent under the former Government. Members opposite liked to call themselves fiscal conservatives. But their record was a record deficit, a debt trajectory they could not control, wages held down by law and public assets sold off to make the books look better.

Privatisation was not economic reform. As we just heard, it is not dead. It is an asset sale followed by a bill. Families of western and south-western Sydney paid that bill through tolls, power prices and diminished public control. Let us be honest about what happened in south-western Sydney, especially in my electorate. The former Liberal-Nationals Government shoved as much housing as it could possibly fit into the area and then gave it no infrastructure. We were behind in schools, fire stations and ambulance stations, and we are only now starting to catch up. Members opposite come into the Chamber and speak about how this was a move they always supported, but they could not see anything past the least amount for south-western Sydney. I am here because of their neglect of south-western Sydney. I am here because their Government could not see past its own nose to know what was happening in western and south-western Sydney, and the people out there know it.

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (14:48:59):

I welcome the students from St Clare's College Waverley. I thank them for being here today. It is very simple: Members on this side of the House build things. We upgrade hospitals, we build roads and we build transportation such as the metro. Members opposite raise taxes and increase debt. We are the good economic managers for New South Wales. Those opposite cannot and do not build anything in New South Wales. We are catching up after 16 years of Labor government incompetence when nothing was built. In fact, when Labor was last in government, we did not see roads or hospitals built. Instead, we saw 100 schools closed right across New South Wales, including Narwee High School in my electorate. Schools in south-west Sydney, in particular, were closed. Whether it was schools or hospitals, everything was left to decay.

The member for Campbelltown is a nice guy, but there are times he gets it wrong. Today's motion is one of those times. Major projects do not appear overnight. They require planning, business cases, funding commitments, land acquisitions, approvals, and years and years of construction. Many of the projects that Labor now proudly cuts the ribbon on were planned, funded, commenced and delivered by Liberal-Nationals governments. For example, WestConnex is the largest road infrastructure project in the history of Sydney, connecting the M5 and M4 corridors and transforming the motorway networks across Sydney that connect to south-west and Western Sydney.

The former Government established the $5 billion WestInvest program in 2021, which transformed infrastructure right across south-west and Western Sydney local government areas. Of course, there is the Sydney Metro network. The former Government delivered generational projects like the Sydney Metro North West, commenced Sydney Metro City and Southwest, and progressed Sydney Metro West and Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport. The City and Southwest project was designed to extend the metro network through Bankstown, including the conversion of the existing Bankstown line. Those are not minor projects; they are transformational pieces of infrastructure that will shape south-west Sydney for generations and generations.

The former Liberal-Nationals Government also invested heavily in health. This is the one I like. It committed $632 million for the stage two redevelopment of Campbelltown Hospital. By 2022, the new 12‑storey clinical services building had been completed and delivered by members on this side of the House, with an expanded emergency and intensive care building. Liverpool Hospital was another major investment, at $790 million. Under Labor, we have seen communities asked to accept more and more housing with greater density. We have a government that has failed to deliver for south‑west Sydney.

Dr DAVID SALIBA (Fairfield) (14:52:51):

I just arrived and everyone is leaving the gallery.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Alex Greenwich):

They were here for the member for Oatley show.

Mr Mark Coure:

You scared them off!

Dr DAVID SALIBA:

You made them leave! I hope our departing visitors stay safe and that they enjoyed the debate. I support the motion moved by the member for Campbelltown. Members can talk about infrastructure, but it is the people who provide our essential services who are most important. When members reflect on the robustness of a nation and a society, they know it is important that our institutions—our police, our hospitals and healthcare system, and our concept of law and order and the rule of law—are fit for purpose. That is what differentiates us from the rest of the world. We are the best country in the world because of the strength of those institutions, and we are awesome because of the people within those institutions. It is important that we look after them.

A hospital is only as strong as the nurses who care for patients. A police station is only as strong as the constables, sergeants and everyone else who is out there protecting us. A fire station is only as important as those brave firefighters who run towards danger to save lives. To be fair, we must recognise that during the previous Government's tenure, the pay and conditions of those workers were not the best. Because of that, the Government has had to focus on raising, training and sustaining those workforces by paying people what they deserve. That costs money. I note that the Minister for Industrial Relations is at the table. She has been a strong advocate. Alongside the Treasurer, the Minister for Finance, the Premier and other relevant Ministers, she has done important work to build up that workforce.

I have some data before me about what we have done in that space. But, at a higher level perspective, infrastructure is important and people are important. The Government is focused on both. Debate about the wages cap has been done to death. We know that the Government has stopped it and is paying people adequately in order to solve some of the problems. For example, between 2022‑2023 and 2026-27 the pay of a registered nurse rose by $14,392, to almost $82,000. That is important. The kids who have just left the gallery will go out and enter the workforce. It is important that we entice people not only to work in the public service but also to stay in the public service. Time is going to escape me in this debate, but I note that we have done the same for the pay of police officers and firefighters.

People ask, "Why isn't everything perfect right now?" The reality is that we were faced with significant structural problems when we assumed government. Everyone will understand that those structural problems will take time to solve. It will not happen in one, two, three or four years. But the proof is in the pudding. My electorate of Fairfield does not currently have the investment it had historically. I refer to Fairfield Hospital, the train station upgrades, public preschools and so much more. I am very thankful that this Government is working to make my town better. It relieves a lot of stress on my part because, when I entered Parliament, I was confronted with those problems. There is more to do, and we are doing it. I am happy with where we are going.

Mr NATHAN HAGARTY (Leppington) (14:57:02):

I move:

That the amendment of the member for Epping be amended by deleting all words after "House" and inserting instead:

(1)Acknowledges the Government's significant and historic investment over the past three years in health, education, housing, the environment, transport, roads and critical infrastructure across west and south-west Sydney.

(2)Notes the 12 years of neglect under the former Government, characterised by public sector wage caps, privatisation and sustained underinvestment in essential services and infrastructure relied upon by local communities.

(3)Recognises that there is so much more to do and the Government is getting on with the job.

(4)Commends the Government for delivering record investment while repairing the State's finances, with debt $9.7 billion lower than planned by the former Government, and positive outcomes from all three major credit rating agencies.

(5)Supports the Government's commitment to rebuilding essential services, increasing the wages and numbers of frontline workers, keeping public assets in public hands and delivering the infrastructure needed by growing communities across western and south‑western Sydney.

(6)Opposes the further privatisation of State assets.

Mr Clayton Barr:

That is a good amendment.

Mr NATHAN HAGARTY:

It is a good amendment. As a member representing south‑west Sydney, like the member for Fairfield, I have seen firsthand the dramatic difference that 3½ years of the Labor Government has made to our community after 12 long years when our area was neglected. In fact, we were not neglected so much as treated like criminals during the COVID pandemic. We were locked down. Those opposite sent the army in. They sent the police in. That was their attitude towards us. But this Government has turned that around. We see that no better than in Leppington, where we have received $1.4 billion for the upgrade of Fifteenth Avenue—a critical east-west connection that makes sure people in south‑western Sydney can get to the new airport and the new aerotropolis.

We have also seen it in the education space. The first new public high school in the growth corridor of Leppington, Austral and Denham Court is opening at the beginning of next year. Those opposite refused to build a public high school there. They pulled the same old trick they tried right across Western Sydney where they made announcement after announcement. We did not just make the announcement, we committed the funds, got the shovels in the ground and built the buildings. We are making sure that kids in my area get a world-class public education. There is going to be a new school at Emerald Hills, and a new high school and second primary school at Austral.

There are also upgrades across a whole bunch of schools. On Monday I cut the ribbon at Austral Public School, which is a fantastic school that will celebrate its 135th anniversary next year. It has educated some incredible people, including John Edmondson, VC—the first Australian to win a Victoria Cross in the Second World War. The street out the front of the school, Edmondson Avenue, is named after him. Some incredible students have gone through that school. One of them I spoke to is an aspiring rugby league player. He is going to Patrician Brothers' College Fairfield next year to follow in the footsteps of some greats. I think Paul Langmack and Peter Sterling might have gone there. I know the member for Fairfield went there. He did not play rugby league at such an elite level, but he has gone to great lengths to serve his community, as all Western Sydney members on this side of the Chamber have done and will continue to do as long as those opposite stay in Opposition, where they belong. They do not care about Western Sydney, but Government members do and will continue to.

Mr GREG WARREN (Campbelltown) (15:01:09):

In reply: I thank every member for their contributions during this very important debate: the member for Epping, and Jude; the member for Oatley; the member for Camden; the member for Leppington; and the member for Fairfield. All of their contributions are sincerely appreciated. The reality is for 12 long years of in government, the Opposition could not wait to sell everything. We ended their draconian measures that capped wages for our police, teachers, paramedics and firefighters. The Minns Labor Government has made thousands of temporary teachers and support staff permanent. The Government is delivering an infrastructure program worth $116.7 billion without selling a single public asset that belongs to the taxpayers of New South Wales.

For 12 years, those sanctimonious members opposite took it upon themselves to sell the very assets that delivered the revenue to pay for our nurses and teachers. Our nurses, teachers, paramedics, police and firefighters paid the price for selling off our assets, because those opposite then capped wages when they could not afford to pay our essential workers. That is why we inherited a record debt when we came to government in 2023, which we continue to repair. We are getting on with the job of repairing the budget under the leadership of Treasurer Daniel Mookhey and Premier Chris Minns, whilst also delivering the new schools, infrastructure and investment that we so desperately need across the west and south-west of Sydney.

In my electorate of Campbelltown we have the Warranmadhaa National Park. Appin Road is being upgraded with environmental underpasses. A brand-new public primary school is planned in the developing area of Menangle Park. We are getting six brand-new public preschools across my electorate. We have more nurses at Campbelltown Hospital and our local health district than we have seen in generations, because we lifted the cap. Before we removed the wages cap, nurses, teachers, paramedics and all essential service workers were fleeing the tyranny of Liberal Party rule to the prosperous lands of the north and the south, where they were paid adequately. When we came to government in 2023 they stopped fleeing. Why? Because a fair day's work for a fair day's pay is the right and sensible thing to do. It is important for our economy, our society and our community. We had to remove the wages cap because we were suffering, and nobody was suffering more than people across the west and south-west of Sydney.

There is nothing worse than people seeing politicians crow about themselves in Parliament. I am not doing that. I am merely highlighting the challenges we faced after 12 long years of tyranny from the conservatives of New South Wales. We are now drifting into a prosperous time because we have budget repair plans in place while we continue to invest in growing communities. I end where I began. We have a lot of good news in fundamentals, but make no mistake: we on this side of the House know that the work is endless and that is still much more to be done.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Alex Greenwich):

The member for Campbelltown has moved a motion, to which the member for Epping moved an amendment, to which the member for Leppington moved a further amendment. The question is that the amendment of the member for Leppington to the amendment of the member for Epping be agreed to.

The House divided.

Ayes50

Noes31

Majority19

Amendment of the member for Leppington to the amendment of the member for Epping agreed to.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Alex Greenwich):

The question now is that the amendment of the member for Epping as amended by the member for Leppington be agreed to.

Division called for and Standing Order 185 applied.

The House divided.

Ayes50

Noes31

Majority19

Amendment as amended agreed to.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Alex Greenwich):

The question now is that the motion as amended be agreed to.

Division called for and Standing Order 185 applied.

The House divided.

Ayes50

Noes31

Majority19

Motion as amended agreed to.