Hills Shire Infrastructure

Mr WARREN KIRBY ( Riverstone ) ( 16:05 :47 ): It is an honour to speak in this petition debate. As the member for Riverstone, of all members in this place, I understand the magnitude of what happens when a government rezones land and puts in tens of thousands of homes without the infrastructure to support them. I acknowledge the Mayor of the Hills Shire Council, the Deputy Mayor of the Hills Shire Council, Councillor Cartwright and Councillor Singh from Blacktown City Council, who are in the gallery. I provide some context. The member for Kellyville would have us believe this started before the former Liberal Government was in power. The Liberal Government came to power in 2011. At that time, Box Hill and Nelson had 1,738 residents. By 2018, that number had dropped by 100 residents to 1,647. From 2018 to 2023, the number jumped to 18,378. That is a more than 1,100 per cent increase in the population.

That is what happened as a result of the rezoning and by‑law changes that occurred under both the former Liberal State Government and the Liberal Hills Shire Council. They were complicit in forcing that population into our area. It went on and on. In 2017 the Hills Shire Council Mayor—and it is on the Hills Shire Council website—described the New South Wales Government's announcement to rezone land around the new Bella Vista and Kellyville metro stations as a move that would provide certainty for Hills residents. She said:

This will provide certainty to everyone in The Hills about where density will ultimately be concentrated—it's always been Council's vision to locate density around transport and town centres ...

She noted that:

Council's role will be to make sure the delivery of the community facilities and public domain for each new area is done ...

That is the same mayor who was outraged in 2015 by the doubling of the number of dwellings in the Hills Showground Station precinct. In 2019 she made specific changes to the local environmental plan around that precinct, including introducing new clauses regarding the maximum number of dwellings and corrections to building heights and floor‑space ratios. They were the actions of the former Liberal State Government and the current Liberal‑dominated Hills Shire Council. Money has been allocated for council projects that should be brought on.

It should be noted that in June 2013 there was a $4.5 million investment for developer contributions for the Showground Road precinct. The contributions were to be used for community facilities as a direct result of development, so Fred Caterson Reserve was identified. That $4.5 million went to an elite rugby club, the Eastwood District Rugby Union Club, which secured a 21‑year lease. The general population was locked out. The same thing happened with the $118 million rugby league centre of excellence in Kellyville. That was not for the community but for the Parramatta Eels. The examples go on and on. There is another one in Caddies Creek involving AFL, which again locked out local residents for developer contributions.

This is not just about the complicity of the former Government; this is about what the Government is doing to sort out this situation. What we are doing, particularly in the case of Box Hill and the broader Hills area, is building more schools because we are absolutely clear that students, parents and families in Box Hill and the Hills area were starved of schools under the former Government. In fact, the only schools they got under the former Government were Bella Vista Public School and North Kellyville Public School back in 2019. By contrast, this Government has built the new Box Hill Public School and preschool and Box Hill High School, and a primary school and preschool in the Gables and a new primary school in Tallawong are underway. We have also upgraded Excelsior Public School, Rouse Hill Public School, Matthew Pearce Public School and Castle Hill Public School.

The Government has contributed over $500 million to school infrastructure. The mayor was clearly confused about that because she said they are not good enough and need to be made permanent. Of course, they will be made permanent but those were desperate measures for desperate times. If the premise of this petition were genuine, I would be hugely supportive of it, but I cannot help wonder whether the campaign was designed to benefit the Hills community or bolster the chances of Michelle Byrne as the candidate for Kellyville. The factional heavyweight on the other side of the Chamber, the member for Kellyville, is a lightweight community representative and he is handing over the baton.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER ( Mr Clayton Barr ): Order! The member for Leppington will come to order.

Mr WARREN KIRBY: If residents of the Hills want a fairer future, the only clear way to do that is to vote for a Minns Labor Government in future and vote out the Liberal council.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER ( Mr Clayton Barr ): Before I call the member for Hawkesbury, I point out that the final remarks of the member for Riverstone were drowned out by the cheering from Government members. They would do better to remain silent. I call the member for Hawkesbury.

Ms ROBYN PRESTON ( Hawkesbury ) ( 16:11 :11 ): I acknowledge and thank veterans and serving members who may be in the gallery. I also pay my respects to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy today. I acknowledge in the gallery the mayor, deputy mayor and councillors of the Hills Shire Council, as well as our honoured guests, who are here to listen to the petition debate. Box Hill is one of the fastest growing areas in New South Wales. It has attracted aspirational individuals who have moved into the area to raise their families, connect with their community, and lead full and contented lives. The original plan for Box Hill accommodated 9,600 homes and around 28,000 residents, supported by four schools, including three public schools and one private school. Today those figures have risen to 16,000 homes and 50,000 residents, yet no additional schools have been announced to meet that significant population growth.

The Minns Labor Government has confirmed that it will not purchase 48 Terry Road, Box Hill for the co‑located high school, primary school and preschool to cater for an expanding student population as the area continues to grow. Shame on the Government. It does not stop there. There are still no adequate plans to upgrade our roads or deliver the playing fields that our families deserve. The reality is that infrastructure is not keeping pace with the growth in housing, and our community is being left behind. Box Hill faces a staggering $207 million infrastructure shortfall. I tell the Minns Government exactly what Box Hill residents are missing out on.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER ( Mr Clayton Barr ): Order! Government members will come to order.

Ms ROBYN PRESTON: They are being denied essential infrastructure and services that our community desperately needs. Let me remind you that we need 14 traffic signals, 10 roundabouts and three vehicular bridges—

TEMPORARY SPEAKER ( Mr Clayton Barr ): Order! Government members will come to order. The member for Hawkesbury will direct her comments through the Chair.

Ms ROBYN PRESTON: The people of Box Hill are losing out. They need two pedestrian bridges, 13 kilometres of half-width local roads, 10.4 kilometres of shared paths, 16 playing fields, 11 local parks and seven drainage basins.

Mr Warren Kirby: Why didn't you do that while you were putting the houses in?

Ms ROBYN PRESTON: You are in government, not us. We are in opposition. You have to find the solutions. You said you would fix everything in this State, but you are doing absolutely nothing for the good people of Box Hill.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER ( M r Clayton Barr ): Order! Government members will come to order. I remind the member for Hawkesbury to direct her comments through the Chair.

Ms ROBYN PRESTON: I met one of the hardworking mothers of Box Hill who recently moved into the area, hoping to build a better life for her children. She was drawn by the promises of growth, opportunity and improved infrastructure, which were all touted by the Minns Labor Government. But today she is looking to move again because the reality does not match the rhetoric. Instead of safer roads and reliable services, she is greeted daily by traffic cones instead of traffic lights, and traffic gridlocks as commuters try to get to Windsor Road. Locals text me saying, "I'm stuck in traffic. It has taken me 45 minutes to get somewhere that should have taken me 15 minutes." I could spend a lot of time sharing stories like those, but I cannot. I am reminded of Bob Carr's "build nothing" days. For 16 years we had no new freeways, bridges or major infrastructure. That is what we can expect from the Minns Labor Government, although I would like to think not. I hope I am wrong and that we move forward from where we are today. Yesterday the member for Riverstone said in his private member's statement—

Mr Nathan Hagarty: Now that we're in government, we will move forward.

Ms ROBYN PRESTON: I would like to be heard in silence. The member for Riverstone said:

The Minns Labor Government is not just backfilling infrastructure deficits; it is finally working towards getting ahead of the growth curve. That is a shift from reactive planning to proactive delivery, which the community desperately needed.

Box Hill needs that infrastructure as well. The Government cannot deny the people of Box Hill what they have been waiting for and deserve. The member for Riverstone was right to some extent because there is $276.3 million over four years for Garfield Road. Similarly, recently the Government announced $50 million to duplicate the Thornton Road Bridge in Maitland and $1 billion to upgrade Fifteenth Avenue. Is that pork-barrelling or what? At the end of the day, we need a solution and this Government is not providing it.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER ( Mr Clayton Barr ): Order! The member for Riverstone will come to order. The member for Parramatta will come to order. Members will direct their comments through the Chair.

Mr STEPHEN BALI ( Blacktown ) ( 16:16 :27 ): I welcome to the gallery people from the north-west. According to the member for Kellyville, there are thousands of people in the gallery and watching on TV—that is what we expect from him. I thank the 20,000 petitioners and welcome the Hills Shire Council Mayor, Michelle Byrne, as well as the deputy mayor, Tina Cartwright, the CEO and everybody else. The population of Western Sydney is a given. Since the 1950s we have grown at a rapid rate. Since the Minns Labor Government came to power—and I note Minister Scully is in the Chamber—we have been trying to rebalance population growth by spreading the load, and the love, across the Sydney Basin. I welcome the mayor's advocacy on that issue.

When the Liberals were in power, she referred to "those 12 long years that the Liberals were in power." When the Liberal Government changed zonings in the Hills, the mayor said, "I'm outraged that the community and the council has been deceived." I agree with her. Where was the member for Kellyville when his Government deceived Michelle Byrne in her first term as mayor? She said, "I'll be writing to the Minister for him to intervene." I think she has probably had more meetings with the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces than she had with Liberal planning Ministers during the Coalition's time in government. At the same time, the mayor expressed her outrage by saying, "We appreciate that the New South Wales Government doesn't have a pot of gold with which to solve all the State's infrastructure problems." So one minute she is outraged and the next minute she is saying, "Oh well, there's not enough money there." I want to know who got to her. Maybe it was a Ray Williams preselection challenge—I do not know.

Let us consider Rouse Hill Hospital for a second. In his contribution to debate the member for Kellyville acted like the fount of all knowledge on Rouse Hill Hospital. In 2014, to much fanfare, $700 million was announced for Rouse Hill Hospital, together with shovels—they probably still have the shovels—but it was cancelled after the 2016 State election. In 2018 a new location and announcement was made for a hospital site in Blacktown, but only $300 million was committed to and, after the 2019 State election, that hospital was also cancelled. In 2021 a new location was announced, and again $300 million was committed. The project went to State planning but was never approved—even though, in 2023, the then candidate and now member for Castle Hill, the failed Liberal candidate for Riverstone and the member for Kellyville were out there with their shovels. But once again it was never approved.

Even the council raised concerns at the time, asking where the road infrastructure budget to support the Rouse Hill Hospital was. It was delivered by Labor. Funding went from $300 million to $920 million by working with the Federal Government and Michelle Rowland, with the advocacy of the member for Riverstone, Tina Cartwright and the whole Labor team out there. Working together, we are now delivering an emergency department and maternity services in a fully functioning $900 million hospital. Michelle Byrne has put this petition together, and we welcome it. It is really good. But many items listed in the petition are actually council issues. It is great to have so many people from the Hills here and, according to the member for Kellyville, thousands watching online.

Let us have a quick look at the cash balance of the Hills Shire Council. In 2021 the cash equivalent of its investments was $471 million. By 2024, at the time of the most recent annual report, it was $548 million, with no debt. It has increased by $77 million. The development contributions for parks and reserves that they are all waxing lyrical about at the moment went from about $134 million in 2021 to $243 million. The people in the gallery and out in the streets want the council to put the money into the community, not just into bloated bank accounts. While residents are facing cost-of-living pressures and paying mega-interest on their mortgages, the council is squirrelling away money because they have $500 million to earn interest on. Where is that all going? It is time that we look after the residents. This Labor Government, under Premier Minns and the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, is delivering for the community. We are providing the infrastructure. It is about time to get politics out of it. Let's help the people of the Hills and Blacktown.

Mr MARK HODGES ( Castle Hill ) ( 16:21 :31 ): I thank the Hills Shire Council for bringing this important petition to the House. The council clearly understands the deep concerns of the residents of the Hills shire about the need for infrastructure. I acknowledge the mayor, the deputy mayor, the councillors and also the general manager, Mr Edgar, who is sitting in the gallery. The petition raises numerous issues, including the shire's need for 45 key intersections; improvements to bus, walking and cycling connections to metro stations; funding for more sports fields; and a commitment to build 13 new public schools. With the additional housing created by the Housing Delivery Authority and the Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy, the Hills will now require 15 new schools. The Hills shire has some of the most overcrowded schools in the State, and the situation is getting worse by the day. Three of the schools operating in the Hills are at double their enrolment cap, and the Minns Government is doing nothing about it.

Mr Paul Scully: Except for the nine schools in your local area.

Mr MARK HODGES: I will be heard in silence. All the Minns Government does is claim that it is building 600 new classrooms in the Hills shire. But when we look at it, we see that many of those classrooms are actually in Blacktown, not in the Hills shire. The Government needs to do proper analysis. The population growth in the Hills means that we will need 13 new public schools to keep pace with planned growth. Earlier this week I happened to be at Castle Towers. I was talking to some residents and met a lady named Kelly. I do not know Kelly, but I spoke to her and said I was the member for Castle Hill. The first thing Kelly said was that we need more schools. She asked, "Where will our children go to school?" That was a heartfelt plea from a mother. She also said that all the mums are talking about there not being enough schools in the Hills and that they are worried. They are worried because you are not doing anything. So, on behalf of Kelly and all the mothers, I ask the Minister, through the chair—

Ms Yasmin Catley: Point of order—

TEMPORARY SPEAKER ( Mr Clayton Barr ): The Clerk will stop the clock. The member for Castle Hill will resume his seat. I will hear from the member for Swansea.

Ms Yasmin Catley: Mr Temporary Speaker, the member for Castle Hill is being quarrelsome with the members on this side of the House, and he is not directing his comments through the chair, which he knows to be the rules of this House. I ask that you bring him into line and ask him to direct his comments through you.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER ( Mr Clayton Barr ): I thank the Minister. I was also going to say to the member for Castle Hill that—

Mr Adam Crouch: Point of order—

TEMPORARY SPEAKER ( Mr Clayton Barr ): I will rule on the Minister's point of order before I take another point of order. The incited noise on the Government side of the House tends to come when the member with the call starts pointing and speaking directly across the Chamber. There is far less fuel for the fire when a member's comments are directed through the chair. I ask the member for Castle Hill to be mindful of that. I will hear the member for Terrigal on a point of order.

Mr Adam Crouch: I point out Standing Order 52. Members are to be heard in silence. At no stage during this debate has anybody from this side interjected during the contributions of those opposite. Mr Temporary Speaker, I ask you to refer members to Standing Order 52. If members want to interrupt, they can just leave the Chamber.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER ( Mr Clayton Barr ): I thank the member for Terrigal for his point of order. The member for Castle Hill will resume his contribution and direct his comments through the chair. The Clerk will restart the clock.

Mr MARK HODGES: Certainly, Mr Temporary Speaker. I will have a quick look at the showground precinct as well. As we know, in September 2023 the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces removed the cap for dwellings so that that area can now have at least 9,500 new homes, which will house about 20,000 residents. That is a lot of people. And yet there are no schools. I know that the Premier and the Minister were out at the Castle Hill Showground precinct on 31 August, and they would have seen cranes all over the place. Those cranes are being used to build apartments, but not one of them is being used to build a school. We have all this building taking place in the showground precinct but absolutely no schools. The Landcom website, which is a government website, refers to the need for more schools:

School Infrastructure NSW (SINSW) has confirmed that a new primary school is required to meet future demand generated within the wider Hills Showground area.

Those words were put on the Landcom website in May 2024. It is now 2025, and the Government has done nothing in the showground precinct. On 25 July the Minister for Education and Early Learning advised that the Hills Shire Council would be consulted, but it has not yet been consulted at all. On 21 April 2021 the Hon. Courtney Houssos, who is now the Acting Minister for Education and Early Learning but was at the time in opposition, asked:

Why has Castle Hill High not been considered for an upgrade, given how many demountables are on site?

At that time it had 41. It now has 50. So why is the Government not considering a school there when it has more demountables? In addition, on 6 December 2021 the Hon. Courtney Houssos asked:

Why has the Department of Education made no catchment changes or infrastructure investment to relieve severe overcrowding at Castle Hill High School?

That severe overcrowding continues to exist, and yet the Government has done absolutely nothing. Baulkham Hills High School is also a shambles. The students do not have an area to play together in. They have to take turns to use the area that is available. We really need the infrastructure to support the Hills local government area. It is absolutely necessary for my community, and I call on the Government to provide funding for the infrastructure required by this petition.

Mr MARK TAYLOR: I seek leave to make a contribution to the debate.

Leave not granted.

Mr PAUL SCULLY ( Wollongong—Minister for Planning and Public Spaces) (16:28:38): In response: I am happy to wait until there is quiet. I think it is in the interest of everyone in the gallery and everyone watching online to have a little bit of respect for their views and for the fact that they want to hear what is going on. I acknowledge that the mayor, councillors and others who signed this petition in good faith are in the gallery. The Government acknowledges their concerns. I appreciate the passion with which this debate has been conducted. I will correct one thing at the outset: Bob Carr was known as Bob the Builder because he built things.

I also remind people that members opposite were in government from 2011 to early 2023. To hear them say during this debate that they had no control and no influence over what happened in the north-west of Sydney, when that is patently wrong, requires a suspension of disbelief. This petition is a testament to the previous Government's failure over its entire 12 years in office to invest in the infrastructure that communities in the Hills needed. During that period the member for Kellyville was no ordinary backbencher in the previous Government; he was a Cabinet Minister. For over a decade Western Sydney was asked to accept the overwhelming burden of new housing without the infrastructure that people in those homes deserved.

Thanks to that decade of neglect, the Hills Shire Council has a shortfall in funding for its local infrastructure commitments in Box Hill. These are the facts. They may be inconvenient, but they are the facts nonetheless. Just as the Minns Government inherited an unprecedented level of debt and deficit in 2023, the people of the Hills shire have been dealing with an infrastructure deficit delivered to them by that same Government. In the latest budget, handed down in June 2025, the Minns Labor Government committed $24.4 billion to Western Sydney infrastructure alone. I will list some of the infrastructure projects in the Hills local government area: a new hospital at Rouse Hill; an upgrade of Castle Hill Public School; an upgrade of Excelsior Public School; new high school and primary school at Box Hill; a new primary school at Gables; an upgrade of Rouse Hill High School; the Annangrove Road upgrade; the Water Lane upgrade; the Withers Road upgrade; and two new open spaces, at Kellyville and Bella Vista. That is in addition to the delivery of new open space at Beaumont Hills in 2024.

The Minns Government has also introduced the Housing and Productivity Contribution scheme to set up long-term funding for State and regional infrastructure. When asked the question of whether the State deserves long-term funding for infrastructure in New South Wales, members opposite said no. They voted against that option. As a result, communities will pay the price in the future. I assure the mayor, the petitioners and the Hills community that the Minns Labor Government is turning around the infrastructure deficit we inherited from the previous Liberal-Nationals Government, a deficit that the member for Kellyville, as a senior Minister in that Government, must be held accountable for delivering.