Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are preparing for a fresh showdown in Western Sydney. The leaders will face off tonight on the ABC, in their first free-to-air debate of this campaign. While both sides are promising cost-of-living relief in crucial mortgage belt seats – financial stress is not the only issue affecting residents in this rapidly growing region.
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00:00David Lee has lived in the seat of Werriwa for more than 20 years.
00:07The father of two has enjoyed watching Sydney's south-west grow.
00:12But he remembers a time when there was little to see in the suburb he now calls home.
00:17This area where I'm now, Edmondson Park, used to be all farms basically.
00:22These days the streets are lined with houses and cars.
00:26The whole area is rapidly basically in the last 20-25 years it's completely developed.
00:30One of the problems that we got is that infrastructure has not kept up with the population growth.
00:35The roads are now much busier and his 15-kilometre commute to work is much longer.
00:42It was taking me actually around 15 minutes, maybe less, even in bad days.
00:47But nowadays it's an easy 40 minutes there.
00:50The accountant says he also has to wait longer to see a GP.
00:54If I want to go to the doctor at least two or three days beforehand I need to make an appointment.
00:59And the pressure on services and infrastructure is expected to increase.
01:03In the next ten years Western Sydney will host more than two thirds of the city.
01:08We need to see more roads, more hospitals.
01:10Western Sydney voters have been promised more.
01:13Today we've had announcements about hospital infrastructure for Rouse Hill, rail and road infrastructure.
01:19Peter Dutton has made those announcements too as the Liberal leader zeroes in on Labor's heartland.
01:26Thank you all for being here in this very important part of the world in Western Sydney.
01:29One of the most important battlegrounds of our election.
01:33A battleground made up of 14 federal seats.
01:36Ten are held by Labor, including three on margins below 6%.
01:41Werriwa, Reid and Parramatta.
01:43Working class seats in Western Sydney used to be rusted on for Labor.
01:48But the Labor Party primary vote has been consistently falling.
01:51With the population rising, voters here are also changing.
01:55Western Sydney has benefited over numerous decades to immigration that's landed on our doorstep.
02:00We're seeing new communities form and we're also seeing a younger demographic form in Western Sydney as well.
02:05Western Sydney is home to around two and a half million people.
02:08That's about 10% of the national population.
02:11And that number is expected to grow by more than 750,000 over the next 16 years.
02:17The attention it gets at election time is also likely to grow.
02:22And the majority of students are likely to grow.
02:26And that number is expected to go down a lot.
02:28And that number is expected to grow.
02:31And it's expected to grow.
02:32The relationship between Western Sydney.
02:35And that number is expected to grow.
02:37The relationship between Western Sydney is also expected to be expressed.
02:40And the chance that a lot of people造 in the world must be made to look through.
02:45By which we saw the support outside of the world,
02:47the enemy of the world must be made to remember.