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