with Ray Williams MP Member for Kellyville

On 18th September I presented the Fight For A Fair Hills Future petition to Paliament.

Together with neighboring MP’ s respresenting consittuents of The Hills Shire, we brought to the floor the voices of our residents about the lack of infrastructure currently planned for The Hills( which is none) and the lack of infrastrucutre planned to support the massive number of people the NSW Government has demanded for our area( which is also none).

Despite the ongoing issues with traffic along Old Windsor Road, the Members for Riverstone and Blacktown both ignored this matter, and advocated AGAINST us receiving any support- forgetting that their own constituents are stuck on these roads too and will be vastly impacted by what has been imposed on The Hills.

Blacktown and The Hills Shire have been the engine room of housing growth for more than 30 years, with both shires sharing the major road corridor of Old Windsor Road as their boundary. Both shires have been productive partners of successive State governments when it comes to the delivery of hundreds of thousands of new homes and local infrastructure on behalf of families and communities.

Having started my political career advocating for the initial widening of Old Windsor Road, and making this happen, I know how even steady growth can impact this major road. To oppose improvement whilst opting for mass growth is shortsighted, and I say you will“ reap what you sow”.

The Minns Government is forcing The Hills to accept over 23,300 30-storey apartments and over 60,000 additional residents in the next five years, without any proposed additional schools, parks

and playing fields or important major road upgrades. In total, they want 140,000 new residents by 2040.

In the past two and half years, the suburb of Box Hill alone, which was designed by the NSW Department of Planning, has gone from an expected population of 26,000 to what will soon be 50,000. No wonder people are sitting in gridlock and sometimes unable to even get out of their driveway.

How can it be considered, in any practical sense of sustainable planning, to put an additional 60,000 people

into The Hills Shire over the next five years without one additional piece of infrastructure?

Lack of Infratstructure in The Hills is the greatest issue facing The Hills Shire at this time. Together, we will continue to fight by working with Council and the community to advocate for the infrastructure needed.

by Mark Hodges MP Member for Castle Hill

During the September sitting of Parliament, I was proud to stand alongside The Hills community in Parliament, supporting a petition that has now been signed by more than 20,000 local residents.

This petition, brought forward by The Hills Shire Council, sends the strongest possible message to the NSW Government: our children deserve safe, modern schools, and they deserve them now. The sheer number of signatures shows the depth of concern across our

community- parents, teachers, and grandparents alike have had enough. In my speech to the Legislative Assembly, I highlighted the shocking reality facing many of our local schools. At Castle Hill High School, enrolments are more than double capacity, forcing over 50 demountables onto the grounds and leaving students walking through mud to get to class.

At Baulkham Hills North Public, leaking roofs and outdated toilets are letting children down. In Box Hill, families are told there is no room at the local“ pop-up” school and must send their children on a 45-minute commute instead.

Meanwhile, the Government continues to fast-track thousands of new homes without a single new school site secured in places like Castle Hill Showground, Bella Vista, and Kellyville. It simply isn’ t good enough.

That is why in Parliament I called on the Government to immediately commit to at least 13 new public schools in The Hills, with a clear timeline for their delivery. Our families cannot afford to wait.

The Fight for a Fairer Hills Future campaign has made it clear: our community will not stand by while our children are squeezed into demountables

and left in crumbling facilities. I will continue to fight on your behalf until we see the safe, modern, purpose-built schools The Hills deserves.