Mrs GASH (4:48 PM) —I will start my contribution to the address-in-reply debate by expressing my great honour and gratitude to the people of Gilmour for their confidence, friendship and guidance in returning me as a member. I am grateful for the opportunity and for being permitted to continue representing them in this House. I would also like to thank Martin Laverty and David Smith and all my campaign team for their trust and confidence in me. Now the work really starts. Among the first of our campaign promises was that this government would introduce institutions for excellence in trade skills. Already expressions of interest for 24 regional areas have been called for throughout Australia. The Illawarra is one of those regions, and as the Shoalhaven is part of the Illawarra I can assure residents that the Shoalhaven City Council and industry have already lodged an expression of interest.

The Shoalhaven has many unique advantages to offer and a great opportunity to bring social and economic benefits to a region that the New South Wales Carr government is obviously leaving behind. I see two specialty areas that would be ideal in developing a synergistic component to complement our local industrial base. Those areas are the composite industry—fibreglass, carbon fibre, Kevlar and so on—and electrical engineering and avionics. Members may be aware that Nowra has a naval base, HMAS Albatross, supporting naval air operations. It was once the headquarters of the Fleet Air Arm and so has a long and illustrious tradition in supporting military avionics.

Nowra also has a vibrant boatbuilding industry which will complement trade training facilities when established. The boatbuilding industry has a strong export focus and many of the international racing yachts manufactured in this country and exported to Asia and Europe are manufactured in Nowra. The synergy between the aviation industry and the boatbuilding industry with regard to composites would provide a firm foundation for a curriculum to be offered. This curriculum would also support the automotive industry, which, in recent times, as all of us would realise, has been increasingly orientated towards composite materials both in the original equipment and in the repair automotive sectors.

The defence industry capability around Nowra has grown in recent years. Many of the international defence companies are represented in Nowra, thanks to the Howard government fostering the defence industry and to the foresight of Shoalhaven City Council to encourage those industries to be established in our electorate. For years those in the industry and business sector have been discussing with Shoalhaven City Council the problem of skills shortages and the amount of headhunting that exists. It is a well-known trend that the Australian defence department trains its people well and industry is not backward in poaching this expertise at the expense of the Australian taxpayer. I should add here that as a former business employer I am fully committed to seeing employers made responsible for the training of their employees so that all can share in the benefits.

Shoalhaven City Council is one of the first councils to put their money where their mouth is by putting on additional trainers and apprentices, and I commend it for that. Within the Shoalhaven, over 500 employers currently participate in a vocational education program with local high schools. In addressing some of the skills shortages in this aviation industry, one local registered training organisation, Aerospace Training Services, has developed a course approved by the New South Wales Board of Studies as part of the higher school certificate program. It offers this to local students in both the Shoalhaven and the Wollongong areas and is undertaken at the Australian Aviation Museum located at HMAS Albatross. This is just one example that is addressing our dire skills shortages.

Discussions have already ensued between Shoalhaven City Council and the University of Wollongong, who have a campus in West Nowra whose creation was made possible by this federal government. All are very keen about the prospect of such a facility being available in the Shoalhaven, as the present education precinct would auger well for a technical college, and commencing next year a medical school—again, fully funded by the government. We have a TAFE college with in excess of 4,000 students and there is the recently announced Sealab, now known as the Shoalhaven Marine and Freshwater Centre. All are located in the university precinct. So, Mr Deputy Speaker, you can see why we would like to add a technical college to the site to work in conjunction with our high schools. A meeting has been called to gather all our expertise to present a united approach. This brings me to another promise made by me that I would investigate the possibility of training for nurses, especially in aged care and how that could interact with our medical school. I will be discussing this with the university, the Minister for Health and Ageing and the Minister for Education, Science and Training.

Where to from here? As far as the electorate of Gilmore is concerned, I can report a genuine atmosphere of confidence. Even those who may not have voted for us realise that Australia and Gilmore are doing pretty well. It really came home to me last week when some of the training network providers claimed they had difficulty in filling places for Work for the Dole as people were actually working. Today people seem to be more satisfied with their lot, and there is a distinct absence of apprehension about the future. I am heartened by the many positive statements people have expressed to me recently, suggesting they have faith in the direction in which we are going.

The Shoalhaven, Kiama and the Southern Highlands have been rediscovered. People want to live, work and play here. Yet one of the greatest obstacles to encouraging growth was the lack of job opportunities and the absence of comprehensive and modern services. This is changing with more and more commercial enterprises setting up shop, creating employment opportunities for young families.

Without a doubt, the most significant project we have going is the construction of main road 92 or the Shoalhaven Highway from Nowra to Canberra. The benefits that this link to the economic centres of south-east Australia will bring to the region are enormous. Such a link will have the effect of redistributing traffic flows of freight so that, instead of bypassing the South Coast, they will be able to add yet another economic centre to their routes. Yet after announcing $34 million worth of funding as far back as 1998, six years ago, progress remains slow. The state government continue to drag their heels seemingly with disinterest at cultivating this new economic hub. Rather, their emphasis has been on preserving the status quo, discouraging growth through inaction and hesitation six years after the deal was made.

So many opportunities have been lost. No wonder that people lose faith. What should have been done was to build the road together with the eastern gas pipeline and the Telstra fibre optic cable. Now of course—you guessed it—cables et cetera have to be moved at a huge cost to the taxpayer. However, being the eternal optimist, I am pleased to report that the work will be commencing in 2005. It is almost as if there is a reluctance on the part of the state government—but for reasons best known to them. As if to emphasise this reluctance to open the South Coast to economic benefits, the state government continues to avoid confronting the need to upgrade the Princes Highway, despite the appalling record of road deaths over recent months.

My colleague in the state seat of South Coast, Shelley Hancock, is also conscious of the surge in demand and has called on the state government to accelerate the investigation of a third bridge crossing over the Shoalhaven River. The present crossing represents a traffic bottleneck where, if a major incident blocked the existing crossing, road traffic would have to be diverted through Goulburn. In this day and age, people have greater expectations of service and, clearly, the existing infrastructure is well overdue for a makeover.

As enthusiastic as I might be about opening road links, I know and appreciate how important it is to find the right balance. I also appreciate that it is not wise to assume that everything will remain constant and that there exists a need to hedge for the future. That is why I have been enthusiastically pursuing new innovations that will contribute towards a more diverse economic and social culture. Health is becoming more focused in importance each day as our population grows in Gilmore. More and more the community is doing the work of the state government.

A linear accelerator is required for our increasing number of patients having to travel to Wollongong for treatment—and I use the word `travel' loosely, for you can forget about the trains; you need a car. Until you have been caught in such a situation, it is difficult to imagine the plight of my constituents who rely on this external health service. That is why I will fight tooth and nail to see an MRI licence being granted for the Shoalhaven. Once again, our people have to go to Wollongong for this, as that is the only service licensed in the Illawarra. Shoalhaven has one but it is not licensed and therefore not claimable through Medicare. I am in constant contact with the minister on this matter and anxiously await his decision. Yet again the public have rallied for an oncology unit for the Milton-Ulladulla area hospital and are still waiting for support from the state government, as they are waiting for a linear accelerator.

In 1996, when the government came into power, Gilmore's aged care services were well below the quota. All licences went to the Illawarra, Wollongong and Shellharbour with Kiama and the Shoalhaven not on the radar. I am pleased to be able to report that since then 1,600 extra beds and aged care packages have been delivered. That is not to say we do not need more—we certainly do. We are hopeful of further announcements to be made. Each of our aged care facilities are first class with excellent staff who really care for our elderly.

With respect to youth, where do I start? There are always the positive aspects which rarely get mentioned, such as our Defence cadets, our citizen cadets, our recent young people's first aid training course, our talented musicians, our young playwrights and artists—and the list goes on and on. But, as ever, the media concentrates on the negatives, and we have not missed out. There is no doubt that all governments, parents and schools have a responsibility towards lowering our road carnage. This government has announced it will be supporting the notion that young drivers should be taught skills to enable them to survive the carnage of our roadways, and the Princes Highway is certainly a separate issue to be addressed.

Many of the drivers involved are in the high-risk bracket. They are predominantly male in the 17 to 25 year age group and we have a large percentage of young people in Gilmore. They are not always the victims, but this demographic looms large in many vehicle accidents. Even before the concept of compulsory driver training for that age group was raised, we had started the process to have such a facility in our electorate, both in Nowra and Ulladulla. Yet the New South Wales government withdrew funding recently for one such program, which is hardly surprising given their record. I am on the record as stating that schools have a role to play in the education of would-be drivers, starting by educating them at primary school, certainly with the rules of the road, a sense of respect for others, awareness and respect for the law and setting the right examples in behaviour.

Whilst still on the subject of young people, I raise the opposite, so to speak, and that is the role of grandparents. In recent years, I have been dismayed at the increase in grandparents taking responsibility for their children's children through sheer necessity, social problems, family break-ups or health or medical reasons. These are wonderful, caring people and they seem to have been forgotten by governments in the past. It is heartbreaking to see grandparents in their 60s and 70s having to take on the responsibility for young children and sometimes three or four in their own family. But they do it without complaint. I would like to thank our former minister, Larry Anthony, for recognising this and creating legislation that will assist these people to lead a financially improved life. I fully acknowledge that a lot more needs to be done and I will work actively towards those changes.

Without a doubt, family law, child support and child custody is the hardest area to solve in my electorate. It is heart-rending to see parents destroy each other by using their children for their own agendas. There has to be a fairer way of dealing with these issues. Allied to that, this year I have given a further commitment to try and work towards improving the delivery of mental health and depression services. As one who travels extensively throughout the electorate, I cannot but see the areas of concern.

It is far easier for me to concentrate and actively work towards infrastructure and roads, but it is also incumbent upon me to act and to understand the needs of those with that insidious disease that comes to us through no fault of our own and is so common in today's society. It never ceases to amaze me just how many people are affected by it and how people work to overcome it or, worse still, try to hide it and still lead some semblance of normal life. It is true that there are not enough professional people to deal with this growing problem. The state government does little to recognise it, and if you try to find an establishment where you can get such help there is a waiting list of weeks and months. It is a sad indictment that desperate families have begged to have their child put in jail because they feel that there they would at least get proper treatment. This is not something I am prepared live with. I will actively pursue all levels of government in lifting their role to assist. Another group we will be working for, together with pollies from both sides of the political fence, is our Parkinson's support group, by trying with determination to have them acknowledged on a federal level.

Tourism and small business are significant contributors to commerce in Gilmore, and it is no secret why so many visitors flock to Gilmore to enjoy our lifestyle. From mountains to the sea, we have it all—from luxury accommodation to a tent by the beach; from large shopping centres to the village general store. My background has been in tourism and hospitality for many years and, as such, I could wax lyrical about the exciting and challenging opportunities on offer to us. Yet we have not succeeded in putting together a project to gain advantage from the many federal tourism grants available. I intend to address that by working energetically towards formulating a suitable approach, together with the tourism officers from Wingecarribee Shire, Shoalhaven and Kiama, with particular emphasis on the off-peak seasons.

Finally, the completion of our fast-growing university campus at Moss Vale is in sight. It was this government that again recognised the needs of the Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands ever-growing young population and of the need to provide a decent place for tertiary education. With this continued growth has come the need to broaden our horizons and harness the ever-growing cultural, musical and artistic talents on offer. Minister Kemp is well aware of our special icon Bundanon, having visited Gilmore on numerous occasions. Time is now well overdue for a performing, multi-use cultural centre both in the Shoalhaven and Kiama. In a city of about 95,000 such a centre is of necessity to promote our wealth of talent. Council needs assistance to build the facility. The Shoalhaven has an annual growth rate of over two per cent, but council's rate is being stymied through the fact that 65 per cent of the Shoalhaven is either Crown land or National Parks and Wildlife Service reserve. The community has prepared a strong case to support an arts centre, but it needs funding to get the ball rolling. My role will be to help the community find the means to get the project up, an item high on my agenda for this term.

Last but not least I turn to the environment. There is no doubt that Gilmore is an icon in regard to its natural beauty, in beach, estuaries, lakes and rivers, mountains and dams. The Shoalhaven and Wingecarribee supply much of their water to Sydney—a very sensitive topic, I might add. The first, a very large effluent scheme, was instituted by Shoalhaven City Council, whereby the historical effluent discharge to the ocean was minimised by piping effluent outfall to 16 large farming properties. It is proving a real blessing during drought. Kiama municipality in Gilmore is looking at options to provide the same. I intend to assist with identifying possible sources of environmental funding for this and many other necessary environmental projects. Green Corp has been highly successful, both from the point of view of ridding our land of bitou bush, repairing sand dunes and bush regeneration. It has also been very successful in assisting some 3,000 young people in our electorate to learn skills, both in environmental studies and work ethics. Almost half of these young people have gone on to gain full-time employment.

This right of reply has allowed me to document our forward plan for Gilmore, one that I will vigorously pursue. I would like to publicly thank the three local government councils in Gilmore for their cooperative support, those being the Shoalhaven City Council, Wingecarribee Shire Council and Kiama Municipal Council. It is an honour and a pleasure to work with them in getting the job done in Gilmore.