Last week I was out visiting flood affected communities in the Hawkesbury and Nepean area. The overwhelming message from these communities was the need for immediate action. These communities will face continual flood risk, so we need urgent action and solutions that can be delivered right now.
I have developed a plan that would not only improve and bolster flood prevention and evacuation infrastructure across Western Sydney, but do so quickly.
A government I lead will invest $200 million on identifying, planning and starting work on upgrading critical evacuation roads. We will spend $24 million on building a series of major protecting levees at Pitt Town, McGraths Hill and Peach Tree Creek. The community has been calling for these levees for many years and they will help deal with moderate and mild flooding.
I have also pledged to significantly improve communication infrastructure by spending $1 million on self-powered trailer-mounted, cell towers to be deployed to disaster areas to replace damaged or destroyed mobile phone towers. This will allow critical information, including evacuation information to continue to be distributed to flood affected communities.
NSW needs a government that will act now, and that is what I am committed to doing.
NSW also needs a government that is committed to addressing the climate crisis, we cannot continue to ignore the growing frequency of extreme weather events. A NSW Labor Government will legislate for net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and a 50 per centreduction in the state's emissions by 2030. We will also establish a Net Zero Commission who will develop the plan to net zero by 2050, monitor and review the plan and update the plan every five years.
What the flood hit communities went through cannot happen again. The time for talk is over, we need immediate action.
