Source: Prime Minister of Australia
hanks very much Ben, and I thank the young graduate who was here welcoming us to country. And it’s great to have someone from beautiful Thursday Island – it’s a long way from Thursday Island, from TI to Western Sydney.
I also want to acknowledge Premier Minns and members of his team who are here.
The Leader of the Opposition Angus Taylor who is here.
Ben, I’ll single him out of all the people here, because The Daily Telegraph are of course sponsors of this forum, but more importantly, they have been advocates for this airport for a long period of time.
And he’s quite right, it’s been on, off, on off.
But consistent is the fact that The Daily Telegraph played an incredibly positive role, and a central role in advocating for this airport here.
Not as something that was about giving something bad to Western Sydney, because people around Kingsford Smith didn’t want it, but the opposite.
Just as I’m an advocate for the importance of Kingsford Smith Airport as a major employer in my electorate of Grayndler, what this airport will do is be a major catalyst for economic investment here in Western Sydney.
And it will be extraordinary, as we have seen.
I am absolutely delighted to be here once again, back at the airport today.
An airport that proudly will bear the name as well of Nancy-Bird Walton, a great Australian trailblazer whose very name represents the courage and the conviction to boldly leap into the future.
We are surrounded by the fulfilment of a dream many decades in the making.
When the first passengers begin streaming through this beautiful terminal in October, it will be the first major airport to open in Australia in more than 50 years.
And 40 years since Prime Minister Bob Hawke had the foresight to begin setting aside land at Badgerys Creek.
And we should remember that all those years ago, there was a sod turn at this airport < –
Then there was the Lindsay by-election.
By-elections are dangerous things, as we will see in eight days’ time.
After all that, we are now just half a year from the first bags on the carousel.
And I am absolutely rapt to be here as PM, having championed the airport and worked across the Parliament to turn the vision into a reality.
And at the risk of singling people out, I will single out Joe Hockey, who’s not here.
I worked with Joe across the Parliament really closely to go through the Aviation White Paper, and then to go through the processes in the lead up to the election to make sure that there was bipartisan support for this airport.
There is nothing quite like seeing a promise delivered so emphatically, especially one that is going to make such a powerful and ongoing difference.
Western Sydney International is a reminder of the role of government and how it can work productively with business to deliver for Australians.
Powered by $5.6 billion in Government investment and careful work with 360 separate local businesses, this is a bold vision turned into reality by the energy, talent and dedication of architects, engineers, builders, and an army of tradies.
I say to them: this is an extraordinary credit to every single one of you.
And the power that those workers will feel when they watch every plane going overhead – something I’m very familiar with < –
This airport is a great example of what Australia is capable of when we dare to dream.
When we work together. When we face challenges together. When we seize opportunities and shape the future together.
The future that Western Sydney International represents is one of supercharging the local economy – in a way that delivers benefits to residents and businesses alike.
The Aerotropolis around Western Sydney International, when combined with Moorebank Intermodal just down the road, will drive investment and new businesses, which are innovative and will drive future employment growth.
Yet it is also part of something bigger and even more ambitious.
This is nothing less than an ambitious and timely reimagining of Sydney and what our city represents.
A city that no longer has its focus locked on the CBD and Sydney Harbour, but is increasingly looking here to where most residents live.
Just look at how the airport has driven other infrastructure investment.
Including the M12, which opened to traffic in March.
The new 23-kilometre Sydney Metro-Western Sydney Airport rail project.
Planning for the Southwest Sydney rail extension.
And the Liverpool to Airport Transit Corridor.
That is just part of the difference an airport can make.
What we are doing across Western Sydney, though, adds up to more than just a story of roads and rail and runway – as vital as they are.
It is a story of delivering for the people of Western Sydney – and that is the story that will continue to be told in the Budget in a little over a week’s time.
Making the decisions that help people out.
Shaping the policy that makes a real difference.
Alleviating the pressures, giving people that greater sense of security they need in order to plan their own futures.
We know that right now, people in outer suburbs are particularly feeling the impact of rising fuel costs and increased cost-of-living pressures.
Even if the conflict ends tomorrow, it will have a long economic tail.
< That is why our Government is working day and night, here and abroad, to shield Australians from the worst of the impacts of a war on the other side of the world.
We’ve reduced the price of fuel by 32 cents a litre through the temporary halving of the fuel excise, and the agreement of States and Territories to forego windfall gains on GST.
< We’ve been securing fuel supplies – from unleaded to jet fuel – through our many friends in the region.
In just the last week, our Government has secured 400 million additional litres of diesel on top of our regular supply.
And today I can announce that we have secured an additional 100 million litres of jet fuel for Australian use, and another 50 million litres of diesel through an agreement between Export Finance Australia and BP Australia.
So, three additional shipments in addition to eight separate shipments already announced in partnership with Ampol, BP Australia and Viva Energy, arriving this month and early June.
They represent the first two shipments of additional jet fuel secured under the Government’s new Strategic Reserve powers.
This is on top of the agreement that I reached with Premier Li in a conversation, which was then backed up by Penny Wong, the Foreign Minister, with her visit to China, making sure that we get jet fuel from China in a very important agreement.
And Premier Li, I thank him for that.
Very important in a country like ours.
So, combine this amounts to 450 million litres of additional diesel and 100 million litres of additional jet fuel on top of the normal arrangements that apply.
More shipments are expected under these agreements in the coming days and weeks.
And we’ll continue to make announcements, but our focus is unashamedly about fuel security at this point in time.
Yet our work to find solutions to the ever-evolving fuel challenge is just one component of making life easier across Western Sydney.
Our Government has opened seven Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across Western Sydney – and they have already received around 120,000 visits.
That is making a real difference in the lives of Western Sydney residents, just as 1800 Medicare has been since it came online on 1 January.
And both are helping to alleviate pressure on the hardworking staff in the local public hospitals and emergency departments.
There is no shortage of compelling examples of just how practical Western Sydney residents are when it comes to embracing fresh opportunities.
Thanks to their carefully considered choices, Western Sydney is one of the regions driving Australia’s energy transformation.
When we look to the already more than 345,000 homes and small businesses across Australia that have cut their power bills with a cheaper battery, we see that it is Western Sydney leading the charge.
There are eight times as many home batteries in the electorate of Greenway than in the electorate of Sydney.
There are more solar panels in Blacktown than Bondi.
And more electric vehicles in Penrith than in Paddington.
Western Sydney residents are making rational decisions driven by their hip pockets, facing the future with clear eyes and seizing its opportunities.
So much of our ability to face the future is built on the powerful foundation of our sense of home – from the roof over our heads, to our sense of belonging in the community that surrounds us.
That is why we are providing funding to community infrastructure in Western Sydney through programs including Thriving Suburbs and Investing in Our Community.
Whether it’s green spaces, playgrounds, community centres or better facilities for veterans, it’s about enhancing liveability and strengthening social cohesion.
On which note, it’s gratifying to see Western Sydney International’s investment in community through sport, a commitment that’s just been bolstered by a partnership with Western Sydney Wanderers FC. And it’s great that they are here with us this morning.
At heart, what we are doing is about building a sense of neighbourhood – brick by brick, resident by resident, family by family.
Every year, the dream of home ownership draws families to Western Sydney.
Because this is a place where people see themselves building a life – and one day becoming a local.
And that sense of home, that feeling of stability and belonging builds community too: in schools and sporting clubs and local events.
But for more and more Australians, particularly young Australians, the truth is that the dream and the security of home ownership feels out of reach.
They’re doing everything right. Making sacrifices, doing their very best to save.
But they feel like the system is working against them.
That all the effort they are putting in simply isn’t adding up.
That erodes trust in our economy – and indeed, in our democracy.
Which is why, as a Government, we have to ensure that intergenerational equity is a focus.
And you’ll see that in our Budget on May 12, particularly when it comes to home ownership.
Because the best way to make our economy stronger, is to make sure that everyone has a stake in it.
The people of Western Sydney deserve nothing less than a Government with their courage, their resolve and their ambition.
Shortly after we last met, the Australian people returned our Government and entrusted us with continuing the agenda we had outlined.
During our time in office, we’ve seen the biggest jump in the bulk billing rate in over 20 years.
PBS medicines are at their lowest price in 22 years.
The gender pay gap is at an all-time low.
More than 240,000 Australians purchasing their first home with a 5 per cent deposit.
< Today I announce that the Budget will provide $72.5 million to the NSW Government through our National Productivity Fund to speed up the zoning and planning reforms.
This is work we’re doing across the Commonwealth, working with state and territory governments.
And in Premier Minns, you’ve got a Minister who’s had the courage to take on some of the naysayers who say, ‘no, you can’t build housing here’.
And to take that on and to make sure that we do get more homes built here.
Whether it be social and affordable homes, or whether it be private rentals, or indeed right across the spectrum.
And it’s good to work with him and his Ministers in New South Wales to deliver.
These are incentives to get vital new housing projects through planning and into construction.
Crucially, in the last six months alone, we’re working as well to make sure that we have the tradies to build it, through making sure that we have the $10,000 incentive for construction apprentices, of which 11,000 Australians have already enrolled and are participating in that.
More students are finishing high school for the second year in a row after nearly a decade of decline.
And I know that Prue Car will be particularly rapt in that.
Every student in every Western Sydney school is seeing our commitment to full and fair funding for every student becoming a reality, partnering with every state and territory government.
More than 740,000 Australians have taken up the opportunity of free TAFE.
More Australians are starting university than ever before.
And 61,000 nursing, teaching and social work students have benefited from Paid Prac.
I reckon most people would be surprised that someone doing nursing had to take time off and do it essentially as a volunteer to do Paid Prac in order to become a nurse.
All promised. All delivered. And all of it changing lives for the better.
And that is what guides our approach to Western Sydney.
To return to a theme from when we met last year, Western Sydney has grown and changed almost beyond recognition during my lifetime – and it’s continuing to grow and evolve in profoundly exciting ways.
Yet what never changes are the values that Western Sydney residents have always held.
Western Sydney – like our nation – has been built by generations of people, drawn from every corner of the world.
But the story of their aspiration is thoroughly, powerfully Australian.
Because here in Australia, aspiration is not narrow or exclusive.
It’s not limited by where you live, or what your parents earn.
It’s not a far-off dream you hope might one day come true.
It’s a goal you bring closer in reach with your hard work, every day.
And something else that sets Australian aspiration apart is that it is broader and deeper than the individual.
People aspire to a better life: for themselves and their families.
But they also aspire to a stronger and safer community, a healthier environment.
A better society – and better opportunity for the next generation.
That is what unique – and powerful – about Australian aspiration.
It holds no-one back – and leaves no-one behind.
Backed by an economy that works for people – not the other way around.
As we plan and build for a stronger, more resilient future in Western Sydney and beyond, our priority remains helping people with the cost of living.
That will be at the heart of the Budget in 12 days’ time.
It will be our Government’s most important Budget yet – and, without question, our most ambitious.
But as we are reminded so powerfully here today, in this great new chapter in the story of Western Sydney, ambition is how we can truly get our ideas off the ground and make the future take flight.
Congratulations to everyone who has been involved in this extraordinary project.