I rise to discuss my community in the south-west to ensure that our voice is heard in this place. I was disappointed to hear the New South Wales premier comment recently that building additional rail links from the new airport to south-west Sydney were not a priority. It makes sense to have a rail line to the south of the Western Sydney International Airport. This rail line will link Bradfield to Leppington and Macarthur to Kingsford Smith airport. The federal government has already announced a billion dollars to start this process by making land acquisitions for this corridor so that in this future this rail line can be built.

I've spoken in this place about the good working relationship between the federal government and the New South Wales state government, such as finalising Elizabeth Drive West, the new driveway to Western Sydney Airport, as part of the M12 Motorway project, or the M5 westbound upgrade, with 50-50 funding from both governments to cover the cost of a $380 million project. We've understood the benefits of cooperation to deliver the best results for everyone, but, of course, it is still my duty to point out when my area of the world gets taken for granted. As soon as the Albanese Labor government was elected, I went straight to work to secure as much funding as I could. I've been witness to the shocking inactions by previous governments, so I made every representation I could. I'm certain that my continual advocacy has been a nuisance, but I won't change and be silent when my community needs more. That's why I can't be silent when the funding that I've fought for, that my community has given me a mandate to follow through on, is being left unspent.

In December last year, the Albanese Labor government announced $61.6 million for 15 projects in the Greater Sydney area. That was through the Thriving Suburbs Program. This secured funding for the construction of Austral local park 22. Austral is a fast-growing suburb in my electorate. It has very few parks that the community can use. Liverpool City Council states that it anticipates on-site construction to begin in February 2026, more than 18 months away. When I asked council why it was taking so long to start construction, I was told that time was needed to procure a qualified design consultant and that, after that, a procurement process would be needed to appoint a suitably qualified contractor.

On the surface, these sound like reasonable measures, but remember that it was council that asked for this grant and said that it was ready for this project. If I had a degree of trust in this council, I'd take them at their word. However, the truth about trusting governments is not that it's given freely; it's earned. Trust is built up over time. If you say you will do, and you deliver on that, people will be inclined to afford you the benefit of the doubt. The bond is fragile. When you lose the confidence of the community, it's gone—you create a trust deficit, and it will take a lot of hard work to be taken at your word again.

I cannot think of a more prominent example of council's failure that has obliterated trust with the community than the case of the roundabout at the intersection of Fifteenth Avenue and Twenty-Eighth Avenue. I'm sure some people in this room have heard about it. It's a debacle. It failed the basic requirement of being round. Most roundabouts are round; it was diamond shaped. Council decided not to follow the original design, and the residents paid the price. The feature required motorists to take multiple point turns on an already highly congested road. As you can imagine, there is footage all over the internet of the near misses and chaos. Roundabouts are often referred to as 'traffic-calming devices'. Suffice to say, this was the opposite. It was referred to in some news bulletins as 'the worst roundabout in Australia'. Council attempted to quickly remove the diamond roundabout, but, in their haste, they created further problems. Temporary road works were washed away by heavy rain, leaving a large pothole in the intersection, creating more unnecessary frustration for residents.

When questioned on how the debacle was approved, council said that it didn't know—it didn't know who approved it; it didn't know who awarded the contract to build it. Why was it decided that the design should be changed? Nobody knows. How much did it cost ratepayers? They're not sure, although there have been media reports that the debacle cost at least $130,000. I truly think the saddest thing for all of us who regularly use Fifteenth Avenue is that council's failure isn't even that much of a shock. Fifteenth Avenue had a recurring site of failure after failure by Liverpool council—a failure to plan for the future, a failure to listen to residents raising alarms and a failure to act decisively to stop Fifteenth Avenue from becoming the mess it now is.

It should be noted that Fifteenth Avenue was council's responsibility, but it's fallen to the federal and state governments to fix it. We've both contributed to make a $1 billion investment to transform Fifteenth Avenue into a critical transport link. The Albanese government recognises the importance of investing in south-west Sydney. Projects like Fifteenth Avenue, Westlink M7 and the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport will support growth and jobs in Western Sydney. There are early works on Fifteenth Avenue to mark the beginning of the upgrade. Over the coming months, consultation with the community will inform planning and design before exhibition.

It's a shame that it has taken the federal and state governments stepping in to make it right, but, if council abdicates its responsibilities, the least it could do is complete projects that the federal government has already provided ample funding for. There are still large infrastructure projects that remain in the planning phase, such as the Kurrajong Road intersection upgrade at Beech Road and Lyn Parade, in Prestons. This has been 100 per cent funded by the Albanese Labor government, topped up with funding in December 2024, but council has not yet awarded a contract or undertaken the significant utility preworks that need to be done. This means that, even when construction is ready to proceed, it will still be delayed. Council state they expect construction to be finished in early 2027, and I intend to hold them to that.

The federal government has also contributed $6 million to the Middleton Drive extension. That was in October 2022. Surprise, surprise—it's also still in planning three years later. The current expectations are that construction will commence later this year and finish next year. Again, if council had presented a history of completing projects on time, on budget and fit for purpose, I might be inclined to agree that that's what they'll deliver. But we have to face reality. We have a council that is before a public inquiry. It's been stated that $5 million has been spent on staff payouts in the last three years. Predictably, we have heard there is an exhaustion of all cash reserves.

As a former councillor and long-term resident, I am distressed by the state of so many things in our area—the lack of vision and support to staff to plan and ensure that things get done and that the community get what they are supposed to get. I will never abandon the fight to make sure our community gets its fair share. If others are not willing to help, then they should at least stop getting in the way. I look forward to working with the council to make sure that these deliveries are made very soon.

Link to Hansard: Full Speech