Mr REPACHOLI (Hunter) (19:45):
On the day that I was lucky enough to be elected as the member for Hunter, I made a commitment to the people to work hard every single day and deliver for my electorate. As I have made my way around the electorate, talking to people and talking to local small-business owners, I have heard what people need and what people want. You often hear a lot of promises from politicians, but actually delivering is really the only thing that counts. That is what I have been focused on doing: delivering.
In the past few years I have been able to deliver things that I hope have truly changed people's lives for the better, things like pay rises, free TAFE, cheaper medicines and cheaper child care. But the one that stands out the most to me is the introduction of same job, same pay. Just a couple of years ago, thousands in the mining industry in the Hunter were being ripped off. They were being paid less while doing the same job as the person next to them. Now, because of same job, same pay, thousands of miners are receiving tens of thousands of dollars extra, and there are still applications underway. This means thousands in the Hunter can go home feeling more secure about their jobs. They can get a loan to pay off a home. The opportunity to live their life the way that they want is right there in front of them because not only are they being paid what they deserve but many have secured full-time work as well.
This is the fundamental purpose of the Labor Party—looking out for workers and delivering them a better life. This is what our party was born to do and this is what we have achieved for many in my electorate. It's not only people in mining who have benefited in the last three years. More than 7,000 new full-time jobs have been created in the Hunter electorate. This is only the start because we are bringing back Australian manufacturing with programs like the $1 billion Solar Sunshot program. This means more well-paid, secure jobs for the Hunter. We have also been able to deliver almost $1 billion for key infrastructure projects like the Singleton and Muswellbrook bypasses and the Mandalong Road upgrade, changing the way that people move around the Hunter, getting them out of the traffic and home from work quicker and safer so they can be with their families. We also helped to get an Optus tower built in Laguna, giving people in that area access to phone reception for the first time, giving them telecommunications like they've never had before.
Something that has been a big focus is making sure that people can have access to health care when they need it. Your access to health care should not depend on how much money is in your bank account. We have delivered the Cessnock Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, restored the hours to the Toronto GP after-hours clinic, delivered two Medicare mental health clinics across the electorate and tripled bulk-billing incentives for GPs to deliver more bulk-billing in the Hunter.
All of this would not have been possible without the support from our amazing ministers. I know you all work hard and I know that I probably increase your workload, but thank you for always listening to what we need to make sure the people in the Hunter are getting their fair share.
To the people of Hunter that put their trust in me as their representative in Canberra, I have worked hard every day to repay you for that trust. I know there is always more that can be done and the work never stops. I look back with pride on all that we have achieved. I hope that the people of Hunter can look back on the past few years and feel like their lives have been impacted in a positive way.
My job is to make a difference in people's lives, whether it is through improving access to health, infrastructure and road upgrades, better pay and conditions at work or being able to save a bit of money when you are sending the kids to child care, I hope I have been able to achieve this in some way or another. I feel privileged to call our amazing part of the world home. It is an honour of a lifetime to be able to represent the amazing people that live in the Hunter. You can mark my words that every single day that I am the member for Hunter I will keep working my backside off to deliver for you and our area to make sure we are never left behind. Very shortly, we will go to an election. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has put their faith and trust in me to be in this building and be your big loud voice and representative here in Canberra. As I said in my speech, it has been the honour of my lifetime. Thank you. We will go to the polls again soon. I really hope that you can find it in your hearts and see that we've done a pretty good job for the area and that we've always been out there fighting for you to make sure the Hunter never gets forgotten about. I will always do that. I will continue to do that. Thank you very much for putting your support in me. I look forward to going to an election and hopefully being here again once the election is finished.
