CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Ms ROWLAND (Greenway—Attorney-General) (17:54): Recently, I was able to join the Mayor of Blacktown City, Councillor Brad Bunting, and the state member for Riverstone, Warren Kirby MP, to open Yarra Park in Tallawong in my electorate. Green space, parks and playgrounds are essential parts of any community, providing important third places for local families and residents to come together and be active.

But for too long, in north-west Sydney, developments have boomed while the availability of parks and play spaces has not kept pace. That's why, through my Better Local Living plan, I'm working with Blacktown City Council to deliver 15 new and upgraded parks, walking trails, dog parks and water play spaces in suburbs all over Greenway. This partnership has already delivered new play spaces like Yarra Park in Tallawong, Grantham Farm and Riverstone and will continue to deliver new and upgraded play spaces over the coming months.

I look forward to keeping residents all over our community up to date as we keep delivering the parks and play spaces that north-west Sydney deserves. Seeing a doctor shouldn't be a struggle. That's why the Albanese government is helping more Australians see their GP for free, with the biggest ever boost to Medicare.

New data shows that there are now 33 Medicare bulk-billing practices across Greenway that are bulk-billing their patients all of the time. That's an extra seven since our boost took effect last year. This means that over 96 per cent of all GP visits in Greenway are now bulk-billed, and that's up by nearly four per cent since October 2023.

This is on top of our work to drive down the cost of medicines by capping the price of scripts, which has saved locals over $9 million on over 1.2 million scripts. Importantly, our government's Rouse Hill Medicare urgent care clinic has already had around 9,000 visits in less than a year, providing bulk-billed care to our community where it matters most. I'm so pleased that our government is ensuring that all Australians, including those who live in my community in north-west Sydney, have access to world-class health care with their Medicare card, not their credit card.

Every child deserves the best possible start in life, and access to quality early childhood education is fundamental to delivering that. That's why helping our kids grow and learn is one of the most important jobs in the country, and it's why we're giving childcare workers a 15 per cent pay rise. This means that, since 2024, a typical full-time educator under our changes is taking home $255 more per week.

And we're making sure that those centres can't just pass those costs on, so fees stay down for families. It's a win-win for early childhood educators and families right across north-west Sydney and Australia. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Lawrence ): In accordance with standing order 193, the time for members' constituency statements has concluded.