In recent weeks, the Liverpool area has been beset with an abnormally large number of mosquitoes. Although this time of year, when the weather warms up, is known as mozzie season, this year has been worse. A major source of the outbreak has been identified as the Liverpool Water Recycling Plant in Warwick Farm. Last week I attended a briefing from Sydney Water to understand the background of the issue and learn what action was being undertaken to urgently address the situation and provide much-needed relief for our community. For the House's information, the aquatic weed frogbit was first noticed on the oxidation pond at the Liverpool Water Recycling Plant in April this year. The plant is prohibited in New South Wales under the Biosecurity Act and subject to a complicated process which meant the weed could not be simply removed offsite.

Although the initial weed was removed from the pond, the combination of warmer spring weather and the nutrient‑rich oxidation pond meant that, following a recurrence, the frogbit grew approximately eight hectares in eight weeks to almost completely cover the pond and provide ideal conditions for mosquitoes to breed and multiply. Thankfully, at that briefing we also heard from NSW Health's mosquito specialist that the species of mosquito at the site was of low risk to human health. Mosquitoes have been a problem pest in Liverpool for some time. In 2019 Liverpool City Council under the then mayor, Wendy Waller, developed a mosquito management plan in response to an outbreak of mosquito-borne Ross River virus to drive down the numbers of the pest in our community.

The plan involved identifying problem areas, hand-spraying grounds with an environmentally friendly bacterial larvicide that was safe for both humans and animals, and a public education campaign about staying safe from mosquitoes. It also highlighted the need for the ongoing implementation of the plan and the potential for a hotter and more humid climate to make mosquitoes a bigger problem for our community going forward. However, implementation was suddenly and inexplicably stopped in 2022. Some in this place and at other levels of government have sought to use the issue to assign blame and whip up panic in our communities. We have heard outlandish statements in publications about Christmas being on the chopping block. Fearmongering serves exactly no‑one—except maybe the political ambitions of those seeking a run on television or in the paper.

As members of this place, we have a duty to inform our communities of action being undertaken to resolve urgent issues. I know that local and State governments have mobilised quickly to manage and treat areas affected by the current outbreak. Mosquitoes do not see electoral boundaries, so I have sought to make sure regular updates and assistance from my office is made available not just to my own electorate but to any community member who reaches out. At the Liverpool Water Recycling Plant, there is a dedicated team working seven days a week to address the issue. In addition, there are six excavators, two vacuum trucks, three transport trucks and two boats onsite to help remove frogbit and administer larvicide. A helicopter was also onsite yesterday to treat the oxidation ponds from the air.

Thanks to that rapid mobilisation, approximately 50 per cent of the frogbit has been removed from the oxidation pond in a short amount of time. For the safety of our children and the peace of mind of our parents, the Department of Education has been treating school campuses as a matter of urgency. So far, 24 schools have been sprayed and cleaned, with another 12 scheduled for treatment this week. Those schools were treated after parents across the community let me know where the hotspots were. I thank those who reached out and shared their experiences. In times like these, this is what our community expects of local members. People do not want mudslinging, fearmongering or political pointscoring; they want, expect and frankly deserve action.

There will be time for an honest assessment of all the factors that led to this situation. Those from the area know that mosquitoes have been a longstanding problem around the Georges River and other waterways in Liverpool. This did not suddenly begin in the past few weeks. It requires ongoing control efforts across all levels of government. There will be time to learn from this and do better, especially as our environmental conditions change. Making sure such a panic is not repeated is dependent on the ability of representatives like us to operate in good faith and work with institutions, government departments and each other to ensure that our community is protected and informed. It is my hope that we focus on doing just that—that we focus on doing our jobs, instead of the constant mudslinging and airing of petty grievances that our community has frankly grown tired of.