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) (17:57): I am honoured to stand here today as the re‑elected member for Macquarie Fields. I thank my constituents for trusting me to serve and represent them for a third term. I am very fortunate to represent a diverse electorate.
It is home to many hardworking families who simply want a better life and to provide their children with a better future. Macquarie Fields is where they want to achieve these aspirations. People see the outer south‑western suburbs of Sydney as an attractive place of opportunity and community.
The priorities of my constituents are straightforward. They want to access to essential services, and they want a fair go. They want access to good local schools that provide quality public and private education to prepare their children for the future. They want access to the best health care. They want access to the best roads and to public transport that gets them to and from work and school safely, on time and without a hit to their hip pocket. They want access to clean and green spaces for leisure and recreation.
They want access to good-paying local jobs that provide them with a stable income and grow our economy. They want access to affordable housing, and they want some relief from the cost‑of‑living crisis. These are things that are not unreasonable, and not too much to ask. The priorities of my constituents are the same priorities of working people across New South Wales, and they are the priorities of this Minns Labor Government.
Over the past 12 years there have been some challenges for our community, but we persisted. Despite the pork‑barrelling that worked against our community, we did not relent. The rare occasions when the Coalition Government did act to meet the needs of the Macquarie Fields community were only after years of campaigning by me and my community's groups. We were successful in keeping Hurlstone Agricultural High School at its rightful home at Glenfield and we were successful in fighting for and delivering more commuter carparking at the Edmondson Park train station. But the fight for our fair share continues.
The voters made their voices heard loud and clear at the election. Like most of the rest of the State, they voted for a fresh start for New South Wales. They voted for their fair share. They voted for a Minns Labor Government. I am proud to be part of this new Labor Government, which is committed to delivering to the Macquarie Fields electorate and everybody else their fair share and has a real, bold and progressive vision to unlock new opportunities for the people of our great State.
This Government shares the same priorities as my local community. We are committed to properly funding our public schools, keeping public service delivery assets in public hands, building new affordable housing, upgrading our train stations, capping road tolls and investing in our nurses, paramedics and frontline staff members. We will help ease the cost-of-living pressures for working people and make sure that everyone in this State has a fair go.
And we are not wasting our time. Already, in the first sitting week of Parliament, the Government introduced legislation to protect Sydney Water and Hunter Water, which are important public assets that rightly belong to the people of New South Wales, from being privatised, and to make renting fairer for the one-third of our State who are renters. This Government is serious about working for working people.
Once again I thank the community of Macquarie Fields. I am always first and foremost the local member for Macquarie Fields. I will stand up for my electorate at every opportunity and continue to fight for our fair share. The Minns Labor Government is committed to delivering for all the community. Now is the time to get on with the job.
