STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mr GEE (Calare) (13:38): The sound of silence continues on the Great Western Highway. We see billions and billions of state and federal funding being showered on projects on the other side of the sandstone curtain, yet, when we need them most, all we get from government are empty words and small change. It's been weeks since the state government announced its fix for this closed nationally significant road corridor, yet, since then, it's been the sound of silence—no word on how much this fix will cost, no word on whether we're going to get more than one lane of traffic each way and no word of any federal contribution for anything.

It's not just government silence. We've now got the sound of silence from shuttered and closed businesses that have gone broke because of government negligence. The Triple 8 Cafe?

Gone. RNA Chainsaw & Mower Supplies? Gone.

ICF Haulage? Gone. Lithgow Bike Stop is being smashed, and I was recently at the Donnybrook Hotel where business is down by 60 per cent.

These inadequate one-off business support grants from the NSW government simply aren't cutting it. It's just a tokenistic political gesture. We need federal and state funding for the roadworks and an ongoing business support package, like we had with JobKeeper during COVID, before more businesses are lost.

This government neglect is disgraceful, and it has to end now.