Mrs PHILLIPS (Gilmore) (17:52): Just a week ago I was standing at the Jervis Bay Road turn off marvelling at the deck of the new flyover where 11 massive super T girders had been installed. It was an awesome sight to see the 28-metre long concrete girders, each weighing 47 tonne, that had been transported from Newcastle and craned into place during a week of night works. The bridge deck marks an exciting milestone for this intersection, which sees the highest volume of traffic on the Princes Highway between Nowra and the Victorian border. The intersection upgrade and overpass will transform travel along the New South Wales South Coast and provide a key link to Huskisson and surrounding villages. The milestone installation will allow the construction of the bridge to take shape with a mid-2026 completion target, and the project is on track for completion in 2027.

I pounded the pavement with local residents, petitioned, lobbied and worked with Vincentia Matters and I am proud to have delivered $100 million for this important infrastructure project. I have also secured $400 million to continue the Princes Highway upgrade to dual lanes from Jervis Bay Road South to Tomerong. I drive country roads every day as I travel the length and breadth of my electorate. It takes me over four hours to drive the hundreds of kilometres from one end of Gilmore to the other, with dozens of long winding local roads into 180 odd coastal and inland villages across the three local council areas of Kiama, Shoalhaven and the Eurobodalla. I know how important regional roads are, and I know the Albanese Labor government is committed to working with state and local governments to build and maintain them.

Building better roads takes time, and work on our rural and regional roads is never really complete. Just as one project is finished, another one gets underway. In my electorate, I was pleased to secure a special $40 million Shoalhaven local roads package to upgrade six key local roads in the region. That was in October 2022, three years ago, but still not a sod has been turned on any of these road projects. When it comes to fixing local roads, filling the potholes, repairing land strips and making them more resilient against future natural disaster, this government is handing out the money for local councils, and it's up to our councils to get the job done.

However, I am disappointingly finding it's impossible to get updates from the Shoalhaven mayor about the $40 million package I delivered three years ago, and the community is asking: when will our roads be fixed? Governments at every level need to invest in safety improvements and upgrades to keep up with growing communities. We're doubling the Roads to Recovery funding, money that goes straight to local councils to help fix local roads. As the Chair of the New South Wales Black Spot Consultative Panel, I'm so proud that the Albanese Labor government has significantly increased funding to the black spot program from $100 million to $150 million per year. I know how much this will help fix dangerous roads in our communities. We've also established the Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program, which is addressing current and emerging priorities in road infrastructure needs.

I drive rural roads every day, and I understand how important it is that they're maintained and upgraded to ensure we all get home safe every day. Living on the south coast, which has been hit hard by fire, floods and storms, I know firsthand how regional roads are impacted by natural disasters. Road safety is a top priority for people in my electorate, and that's why I have fought so hard to deliver more than $1 billion to get important road projects off the ground. When I drive around Gilmore, I'm immensely proud to see roadworks that I have championed completed or underway—major infrastructure projects like the Far North Collector Road, which was completed thanks to $35 million in federal funding, the Nowra bypass, moving forward with $97 million in federal funding, and the Milton Ulladulla bypass, which has $752 million in federal funding. These are some of Gilmore's big-ticket items, but just as important are the smaller road projects that are happening across my electorate thanks to federal funds. I'm deeply committed to addressing longstanding problems on local roads caused by extreme weather events and also future-proofing the local road network for expected population growth in the region. I will always fight for and deliver the road safety projects Gilmore locals want to see.