Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG (Macquarie Fields—Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology, Minister for Building, and Minister for Corrections) (23:47): I am proud of Labor's track record for my local community in Macquarie Fields. Successful community campaigns have achieved real results. I will list a few: new schools, including in Edmondson Park and Bardia, and the special school in Passfield Park; multi-deck commuter car parks at Edmondson Park; and saving Hurlstone Agricultural High School at Glenfield. It took a Labor Government to right a wrong by delivering an accessibility upgrade for Macquarie Fields station. It was a major win for our community, which came after years of advocacy—a joint community campaign by the Federal member for Werriwa, Ms Anne Stanley, MP, and me, sustained by our community's perseverance and dedication to not give up until we got our fair share.
The recent Federal redistribution placed suburbs like Macquarie Fields and Glenfield into the Federal electorate of Hughes. Either the current member for Hughes has not visited Macquarie Fields station or has deliberately omitted the facts. She misled my local community in her parliamentary speech on 5 February 2025 about Macquarie Fields station upgrades. The member for Hughes is right when she says, "It is a disgrace. It is an absolute disgrace." I am glad she made those comments, which have been captured in Hansard, because I am going to give the member for Hughes a quick history lesson to set the record straight.
The member for Hughes completely overlooked the fact that Labor is delivering for the people of Macquarie Fields and south‑west Sydney. I am proud to say that the station upgrade works are now underway. In the past 12 years of the former Liberal Government—that is right: 12 long years—the Liberals never delivered a lift for Macquarie Fields. They never made the station accessible for people with disability. That is what I call an absolute disgrace. The Liberals did not prioritise communities based on need but blatantly politicised and pork‑barrelled station upgrades. It is an absolute disgrace. The Liberal Party ignored its own transport data and departmental advice to bump up and pork‑barrel Hawkesbury River Station, which has fewer than 1,000 trips a week, compared with Macquarie Fields Station, which has more than 8,000 trips a week. That is more than eight times the need, but there was no funding for a lift at Macquarie Fields Station because it was in a Labor electorate. Pork-barrelling rorts and skulduggery were committed at the expense of my local community. My community's hard-earned taxes were used like a Liberal Party slush fund.
As Ms Ware said, this is an absolute disgrace. Misleading the public with this sort of behaviour points to a simple fact, but the member for Hughes will omit the facts because she doesn't care. I have lived in south-west Sydney for more than 40 years. I have seen it change dramatically. Areas that were once farmland are now filled with families, homes, schools and shops. Single-lane roads are now multi-lane arterial networks connecting highways and railways. Market gardens are now mortgage belts where people work hard, look after their family and friends and take great pride in their community. It is no surprise then that it grates on me when I see ill‑informed stereotypes about our local community. I read the speech the member for Hughes gave on 5 February with great interest. Ms Ware said:
… the communities in the south-west are quite different to the Sutherland Shire … there are a lot of attendance awards given out in year 11 and year 12. That's not something that usually occurs down in the Sutherland Shire …
Anyone reading this can clearly see what Ms Ware is insinuating. How are we different? What is she saying about our local students? I have a quick news flash: Our area has high-achieving students in all fields of learning. We have great teachers and a strong community spirit. Making condescending remarks about my community is unacceptable. It is clear from her statement that Ms Jenny Ware doesn't care. I am proud to be part of the Minns Labor Government, which is delivering long‑overdue infrastructure for our growing communities.
Macquarie Fields Station is one of seven stations that will receive upgrades as part of an $800 million commitment to accelerate accessibility upgrades at stations across New South Wales. This is on top of the Government's $769 million investment to deliver 100 new public preschools, including preschools at Sackville Street Public School in Ingleburn and Curran Public School in Macquarie Fields. The New South Wales Labor Government is delivering a long-awaited high school in Edmondson Park which is on track to open on the first day of term 1 in 2027. Our Government is focused on the future and on a fair go. Our Government that cares about fast-growing communities in south-west Sydney and is getting on with the job of delivering vital infrastructure for all.
