CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Ms TEMPLEMAN (Macquarie) (09:44): It is always a good week when you secure $100 million for your community, so I was very pleased to join the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government; the New South Wales Minister for Roads and my state MP Trish Doyle in Mount Victoria this week to announce that the Albanese government is partnering with the Minns government to fully fund and deliver the reconstruction of the Mitchell's Causeway.

Since March, when the Great Western Highway closed at Victoria Pass after serious subsidence of the 194-year-old Convict Bridge, there's been profound impact on our local communities. Our $100 million commitment, matched by the NSW government, will build a new, stable and secure bridge deck that will sit above the Convict Bridge. Effectively, we're building a bridge above a bridge.

We're not just rebuilding the Mitchell's Causeway but expanding it and building back better with an extra passing lane climbing up the hill eastbound. This extra lane will give cars the freedom to navigate around slow-moving trucks and make the climb safer for all users. We saw the work already underway, and the priority is getting two lanes open to allow families, essential workers, freight operators, tourist operators and visitors to again use this vital corridor with the extra lane to follow.

I want to thank the workers on this difficult site. We're wishing you good weather and safe work to get the job done. Macquarie is one of the most disaster-prone electorates in Australia.

We flood. We experience storms, landslips and bushfires like the 2013 bushfire that took my home and the 2019-20 fires that caused so much loss and damage. I joined the Minister for Emergency Management this week to get the message out that, like always, it's time to prepare ourselves, our homes and our properties.

We all know what that means: clearing vegetation around homes, clearing gutters out and discussing plans with family members so everyone knows what to do if a fire comes close. It's particularly important if you're new to the Blue Mountains or the Hawkesbury in those bushfire-prone areas. I'd urge people to use the free Bushfire Resilience Rating Home Self-Assessment app funded by the federal government to assess their home-specific risk and take action to improve their resilience to bushfires.

Documenting your actions can result in discounts on insurance premiums. I want people to know that the national aerial firefighting fleet that we've invested heavily in will be on hand, with many of the fleet calling RAAF Base Richmond home. We know our dedicated rural fire brigades have Get Ready Weekend coming up in September.

I particularly want to give a shout-out to six RFS volunteers who are currently lending their expertise to the North American fire effort, three each from the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury. We look forward to seeing them home safely when their work is done.