Private Members' Statement
Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG (Macquarie Fields) (18:10): Every day people in my electorate, and no doubt people in other electorates, ask themselves this fundamental question: Is my community safe? The great work of our local police officers means the answer is a resounding yes. I can only hope that the answer remains yes once the Government implements its plan to merge the Macquarie Fields and Campbelltown local area commands into the new and larger Campbelltown City Local Area Command. It is potentially another cost‑cutting exercise. I will follow the implementation of this merger plan with a keen eye to ensure that my community does not lose a single officer on the beat.
Macquarie Fields is a growing community, with thousands of new residents moving to the area every year. Our residents must have the confidence that their local police have the resources to do their jobs well without the pressure of cost-cutting that this Government is inflicting on them. This merger decision makes me reflect on the DNA of this Government and its track record on service delivery in my local area, which is atrocious. The DNA of this Government is to slash and burn. We cannot trust that it will deliver basic services to my community. Exhibit 1 is the closure of the local motor registry offices, including one in Ingleburn in my electorate. Residents were promised extended hours at the Service NSW office in Gregory Hills and a pop‑up kiosk at a local shopping centre. Both of those promises have followed the same path of many other Government promises: they have been broken. It is a service delivery strategy that has already been marred by a budget blowout of $104 million. A damning KPMG report revealed that taxpayers will be forced to pay for this bungled mess for more than 10 years.
Let us look at exhibit 2. Macquarie Fields train station has no lift, which means it is the only station in my area that does not meet basic accessibility requirements. I have observed parents with prams and elderly people struggle to get up the stairs. This Government has failed them. People with a disability or mobility difficulties are forced to travel to Ingleburn or Glenfield to access public transport. This Government has failed to deliver my local area with basic services. Not surprisingly, exhibit 3 is the Hurlstone Agricultural High School. The agricultural education of local students will suffer because the Government wants to move the school and sell off its 140 hectares of farmland to developers, which members of the Liberal-Nationals Government repeatedly stated in this Chamber they would not do. It is a greedy cash grab at my community's expense.
Time and again this Government pounces on any chance to fill its coffers at the expense of local services. That brings me back to the Government's plan to merge the Macquarie Fields and Campbelltown local area commands. The Government wants us to believe that the merger plans will deliver better outcomes, but from the examples I have highlighted it is clear we cannot trust it. Police numbers must not be reduced as a result of this merger plan.
In fact, given our society's heightened need for security and the area's growing population, I call on the Liberal Government to increase the number of police officers on the local beat. The Government also needs to guarantee that the police station at Macquarie Fields will remain fully operational, with no reduction in staffing or opening hour.
I put on the record today that I will be fighting to make sure my electorate does not suffer because this Government has chosen to prioritise the bottom line over our community's safety. There is no doubt in my mind that the evidence is firmly stacked against this Government when it comes to its failure to deliver basic services to my local community. Indeed, there is no doubt in my mind that, based on the evidence, any jury would find this Government guilty of the charge of short-changing my community on the basic services they have paid for and indeed deserve.
