ROBYN PRESTON MP MEMBER FOR HAWKESBURY

In my first column for Hills to Hawkesbury Living as the Member for Hawkesbury, I would like to thank you for giving me the privilege of representing you. I will be a representative for all people of Hawkesbury and I look forward to assisting you wherever possible. The re-election of the Berejiklian Government means the many projects under construction will be completed and will have a real positive impact on our Hawkesbury community.

The biggest infrastructure project which is now operating is the Sydney Metro Northwest. I am proud to say it is $1 billion under budget and delivered ahead of schedule. It will give Hawkesbury commuters another choice in the way they travel. Getting more people to use public transport every day, means less cars and congestion on our road networks and that is an important consideration.

Meanwhile, I am advocating for dedicated park and ride carparks around Hawkesbury where you can drive to a location, park your vehicle, board an express bus to the Northwest Metro Station and have the option to take a train every four minutes. It will mean we change our travel routine – but it’s great to have other options in the way we move about.

One topic that I would like to be addressed for Hawkesbury is aged care. As your elected representative I will be advocating for an increase in aged care facilities that will improve the support and care for our ageing population within the Hawkesbury and promote an understanding of the real health challenges associated with dementia, heart disease, cancer and Parkinson’s disease.

As the member for Hawkesbury I want to bring mental health to the forefront for my electorate. Mental illness is often a silent illness and I do not want Hawkesbury residents to feel isolated because they are not able to access the proper care and treatment. Clinical depression, anxiety, autism, bipolar and posttraumatic stress disorder are more frequent diagnoses now in society and I am eager to look at ways to improve the support, care and understanding of these diagnoses for the people of Hawkesbury.

Hawkesbury is a large region and so that I can engage with more of you, I will be hosting mobile offices around the electorate in the future. I want to be as accessible and available should you need to discuss what matters.