Infrastructure

Mr HAWKE (Mitchell) (16:35): I rise today to recognise the great contribution the federal government is making in New South Wales to infrastructure, in particular the Western Sydney infrastructure package that the Prime Minister announced during the recess of this parliament. This long-term plan for better infrastructure in the west of Sydney is one of the most welcome developments for our major city and major economy in our nation's history.

If you could start again with Sydney, you absolutely would. It is a jumbled mess, it has been from the beginning, and infrastructure is perhaps the single key priority for all of the residents in all of the suburbs in the north, south, east and west of the city, and it will take a determined effort over many decades to ensure that our major city has the properly planned and funded transport that it needs. In that regard, I want to also commend the Baird Liberal government on the progress that is being made on the north-west rail line. This $10 billion rail project is going ahead and is almost a fifth of the way through construction, just three years into the first term of the Baird Liberal government. I can also report to the House that this project is ahead of schedule and under budget. This is an amazing record for one of the biggest rail tunnels in the Southern Hemisphere. To put together a qualified and experienced team to deliver one of the biggest rail tunnels in the Southern Hemisphere—in fact, one of the biggest rail tunnels in the world—in our biggest city, under budget and ahead of schedule is a fantastic achievement.

A bigger achievement is that the Baird government and the Abbott Liberal government are funding even more infrastructure, not just the rail project of the north-west rail line but important roads and arterial networks throughout Western Sydney. The Commonwealth is contributing $2.87 billion to the projects. And the 10-year road investment package is $3.6 billion for Western Sydney. The Western Sydney infrastructure plan is to provide better linkages throughout the region and the region's growing population, including reducing commuting times.

We, in Sydney, know the damage that is done to families and to business, and to the local and regional economies, through spending so much time in gridlocked traffic. The arteries of commerce—our roads and rail—are unable to function at various parts of the day because of absolute gridlock and out-of-date roads. These arteries are being unblocked and improved and, of course, that will mean greater economic benefits for Sydney.

The Prime Minister also recently launched the southern end of NorthConnex, which will be of great benefit to my electorate, in particular, but also to the whole of Sydney. Trucks and transport corridors will now be able to go under a tunnel—under Sydney—straight through our city to the Central Coast and the north of New South Wales.

These are initiatives—and the Abbott and the Baird Liberal governments are combining to actually do the job on the ground—that are really going to turn around our city. Turning around Sydney and improving our economic performance in New South Wales will help the entire country in these difficult economic times. The infrastructure does not just mean jobs—although, it means a lot of jobs for people in Western Sydney. Construction jobs and jobs for apprentices will help to address that youth unemployment issue that we are seeing in Western Sydney at this time. These apprenticeships and jobs will be vital for getting the message to people that the government is serious about investing in nation-building infrastructure, and investing in productivity-increasing and productivity-enhancing projects that not only deliver jobs but provide those vital arteries for commerce to function.

I am proud to be part of the government that is working so hard on the ground in actually delivering this infrastructure. This is not being talked about. This is not just an election commitment or a plan. These bulldozers are working. These roads are growing. The north-west rail line is one-fifth complete. The tunnelling machines are tunnelling under the earth, as we speak—and we are ahead of budget and ahead of schedule. It can be done by competent governments. It is being done by the competent Abbott Liberal and Baird Liberal governments working in concert to provide the vital infrastructure for Western Sydney and for New South Wales that we all know we need.

I am looking forward, as a local member, to getting my first train. According to the census, I have the highest number of cars per household of any electorate in this place. And that train line, when laid down, will give people the options they need in order to reduce the number of cars on our roads, provide a great experience and get around our city of Sydney. I commend the government, and I look forward to the great things that are coming to Sydney.