STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Ms CLAYDON (Newcastle—Deputy Speaker) (13:31): The opening of the M1 Pacific Motorway extension is a major milestone for Newcastle and the Hunter. After years of planning and construction, the missing link between Black Hill and Raymond Terrace is now complete. The new 15-kilometre motorway will transform the way people move around our region.

It'll cut travel times and remove 25,000 vehicles a day off local roads, making journeys safer, faster and more reliable. This project is part of a bigger program of infrastructure investment right across Newcastle. It sits alongside the Hexham Straight widening, the Old Maitland Road upgrades and the Newcastle inner city bypass, taking another 30,000 vehicles a day off crowded Newcastle roads.

Combined, these projects represent a more than $2.4 billion investment from the Albanese Labor government to completely overhaul our city's road network. This has been huge for jobs and developing local skills. More than 2,700 people worked on the project, with 70 per cent of the workforce coming from our region, while 99 apprentices and trainees gained valuable skills and experience.

I want to thank everyone who helped deliver this project—local workers, engineers, planners, contractors, businesses and the fabulous member for Paterson. This is Labor delivering the infrastructure that Newcastle and the Hunter needs and building the foundations for decades to come.