I speak in the debate on the incredibly important motion of the member for Blue Mountains to thank our frontline workers. I see a few members of the Opposition shuffling into the Chamber now after being called out on their absence. To see the lack of respect from members on the opposite side of the Chamber would be disheartening for our broader community and the many frontline workers who rose up, put in hours of work and went above and beyond the call of duty during the pandemic to support the broader community. I note that during the public interest debate yesterday, the member for Oatley and the member for Holsworthy were happy to bandy about the previous Government's investment in bricks and mortar. They were happy to bandy about the development of Liverpool Hospital as a sign of their focus on south‑west Sydney and as a sign of some form of investment in south‑west Sydney.
But they did not highlight the number of complaints that my office gets about waiting times in emergency departments due to lack of staff because of how they treated our frontline health workers during the pandemic. As was highlighted by my colleagues on this side of the House, our frontline workers voted with their feet. They left the public health system in droves because of the lack of respect, wages not keeping up with the cost of living and, frankly, the sheer lack of significance placed on the effort they put in every day to keep our community safe and healthy and to make sure that our broader community has what it needs to succeed. That is the difference between our frontline health workers and those opposite: The workers give a crap about our community.
The motion is not just about health workers. As a former health worker, I have a soft spot for health workers, but the motion is also about our emergency services workers. In my first few weeks in this place, I was approached by the hardworking crew of Busby Fire Station, who had been left without a home for the better part of six months until the Labor Government came in and fixed the mess left behind by the Opposition. It could not even be bothered to sign contracts to ensure that the much-needed redevelopment of that fire station was undertaken. Again, that is the lack of respect that the previous Government showed our frontline health workers.
As many of my colleagues have highlighted, as a government, we were elected on the platform of making sure that our frontline workers—whether they be in health or emergency services, whether they be school cleaners or teachers—are given the tools and resources they need to ensure that our broader community is supported effectively. In the 12 months we have been in office, we have made that the centrepiece of every decision we take. It is what people speak to me about as I walk through the streets of my community, because they see the difference. For example, they know that Liverpool has one of the largest hospitals in the Southern Hemisphere, which will be the difference that highlights the needs of that facility. We know that it is not just in the emergency department but in the general wards and other parts of the hospital—and in the community health sector as well—where people have what they need under this Government.
