On 25 March it will be one year since the 2023 New South Wales State election and the election of the Minns Labor Government. It has been a great pleasure to serve as a member of this Government and I am very pleased to say that the past 12 months has seen significant investment take place in the Swansea electorate. Upon the election of the Government, work commenced to deliver on our election commitments to the Swansea community. I am pleased to say that our first budget provided funding for those commitments.
We have already delivered the first round of dredging of the Swansea Channel as part of a $1.5 million investment in dredging, with another round to come later this year. The dredging has removed almost 17,000 cubic metres of sand and established a 30‑metre‑wide channel. This follows years of neglect by the former Government, which put the safety of boaties at significant risk. Alongside the dredging of Swansea Channel, I have been a passionate advocate for funding to address traffic congestion on Carters Road at Lake Munmorah. In fact, I made consistent budget submissions to the former Government, but I am sad to say they fell on deaf ears.
The people of Swansea can be assured they now have a New South Wales government that values our community. After years of the Liberal-Nationals Government turning a blind eye to the congestion on Carters Road, I can confirm that Labor's first budget provided $1 million to fund a traffic study to help plan a collector road link between Tall Timbers Road and Chain Valley Bay Road, Lake Munmorah. We are also delivering millions of dollars in funding for footpaths right across the Central Coast, with $2 million a year to fund essential footpath projects over the next four years, and $2 million in funding has also been delivered for planning of the Central Coast shared pathway. The path will link coastal walking tracks from Lake Macquarie to the Central Coast to form a great coastal walk.
The Government is committed to supporting critical community infrastructure in our growing communities, and I am thrilled that the New South Wales Government is providing $6 million to design and build a new sports complex at Colongra. The Colongra Sporting Complex will be a multi‑use facility with two turf sporting fields, three netball courts, a car park, amenities building, play space and a skate park. It will also have the capacity to host regional events—something we have not been able to do in the north of the electorate in the past. We are also providing $174,000 to upgrade lighting at Blacksmiths Oval. The current system is outdated and in need of upgrades to allow the Belmont Swansea United Football Club to continue to grow. Another $120,000 will fund floodlighting at Halekulani Oval, which will allow the Budgewoi Bulldogs Junior Rugby League Football Club to use two fields, which they have been calling for. We are also backing our local surf clubs, providing over $100,000 in combined funding to purchase vital equipment. Catherine Hill Bay Surf Life Saving Club, The Lakes Surf Life Saving Club, Swansea Belmont Surf Life Saving Club, Caves Beach Surf Life Saving Club, and Redhead Surf Life Saving Club will all receive funding from the Minns Labor Government.
Since being elected, the New South Wales Government has worked diligently to rebuild our essential services by scrapping the wages cap—that was most important. We have been delivering pay rises for teachers and paramedics. Locally, teachers have been delivered employment certainty, converted to permanent positions after having been casual for more than a decade in some cases. In addition we are beginning the rollout of safe staffing in our hospitals and paying police to study at the NSW Police Force Academy at Goulburn. We have delivered all of this in under 12 months, and we will not waste a second in government. There is more to come and I thank the New South Wales Labor Government for it.
