31st May, 2023.
I move my amendment No. 1 on sheet c2023-035. The reason for my amendment is to stop any loss of work already underway by the public service or councils and to stop any potential waste or duplication of studies already undertaken. The amendment also seeks to create more transparency for where the money ends up going—unlike money from WestInvest and the bushfire recovery fund that my electorate missed out on. The amendment seeks to change the bill as presented to insert clauses where the Minister will consider not only existing approved special infrastructure contributions but also those that are in assessment, thereby not duplicating the work of the public service that already has been partially done to deliver projects. We should never put a change of Government or an election in the way of delivering sound projects that communities deserve and that have often enjoyed bipartisan support.
As I said in my inaugural speech, money should not be devoted to an area based on an election campaign. It should be based on what is needed. I believe the amendment strengthens the Government's bill in that way. The people of Wollondilly would be glad to not have any development rather than development without infrastructure. We have had enough. The bill draws a line. Contributions have sat on the table for too long, just because the former Government refused to act. We understand the need for housing, but the system should not be set up that allows developers to take all of the benefits and leave nothing for communities that live there. That is the difference between affordability to buy in an area versus affordability to live in an area. The amendment and the bill go a long way to share the load of building infrastructure. Coalition members have claimed the bill will end housing in New South Wales.
I am not sure how a drop in contributions made from infrastructure—from $50,000 per block to $12,000 per block—and shared across the State will cause the sky to fall in. It may seem as though I am cynical but I have seen money drop out of Western Sydney deals and, other than the liveability fund, Wollondilly has got basically nothing. We are as big as the entire Western Sydney region but we lack resources, including adequate transport. We have limited hospitals and limited high schools.
My electorate ought to be known as the area for best infrastructure, not for the biggest potholes.
The infrastructure backlog can start to be tackled by the larger regional projects being funded at the outset, not in the catch-up, which has been the case for a long time. The amendment is in keeping with the Minister's comments to date and the bill enables funds to be gathered from the Greater Sydney region to be spent on infrastructure projects like the Picton bypass, and I look forward to turning the dirt with the Minister and the Premier. I thank the Minister and his staff for their time on this matter over the past week or two. Moving this amendment gives me great hope for what we can collaboratively achieve in this place. I ask members to consider voting for the amendment to ensure that the contribution schemes already identified will be considered in infrastructure expenditure that we so desperately need in every electorate in the State, not just Wollondilly.