I update the House on activities in the Blacktown electorate under the New South Wales Labor Government. Unfortunately, Sydney is probably one of the most tolled cities in the world, but this Government has introduced a $60 cap. The Blacktown electorate is benefiting from over $1 million being refunded per quarter, which means rebates going to at least 3,300 motorists. Cost of living pressures, like in most places across Australia, continue to mount, and it was great to see a 0.25 per cent decrease in the interest rates announced yesterday.

As well as the toll relief delivered by this Government, bulk billing incentives for GPs have ensured that more GP clinics allow patients to be covered by Medicare. The First Home Buyers Assistance grants introduced by Labor have also provided greater assistance compared to the Coalition's "forever" land tax. This Government's energy rebates amounted to about $435 million, covering $250 rebates for families and seniors, and $350 rebates for low-income earners and people with medical conditions. Those rebates are in addition to the Australian Government's $300 energy rebate.

The parliamentary inquiry into essential worker housing also came to Blacktown, where not many inquiries have been held. The member for Penrith is in the Chamber. We have attended a few inquiries about tolls, which I even presented to many years ago. I give huge thanks to the staff of the parliamentary inquiry into essential worker housing. It was the first time that we ran concurrent sessions where we invited people from the community, and I encourage all members to have a crack at that. About 30 people from Blacktown attended. They were taken to a room where parliamentary staff went through the procedures of what to submit and how, how to write up a plan, and what would happen if they were called as a witness.

Those people returned to the inquiry to watch more of the sessions, and they ended up hanging around. I have been on quite a few inquiries in the past two years, but I have never seen 30 or 40 people sitting in the inquiry for so long. It was good to see everybody. The feedback was that they loved how well the parliamentary staff presented the material in a concise way, and how they encouraged them to make submissions in the future now that they know where the website is and what to look for.

I also update the House on the good, the bad and the ugly of health in Blacktown. Emergency attendances at Blacktown hospital are at 17,069 compared to 15,179 for the quarter we came to Government, and 8,700 in 2011. Patients in the T2 category must be seen within 10 minutes. That emergency list has improved from a low of 16.5 per cent when the Coalition left office, to 22.4 per cent now. That is a very low figure, but it is improving. When Labor lost office in 2011, 85 per cent of T2 emergency patients were seen on time. The Coalition built a shiny new Blacktown hospital, and that 10-minute target fell from 85 per cent to 16 per cent, which is extremely bad. Waiting lists are down to zero compared to reaching a high of about 400 or 500 patients. I appreciate the improvements happening in the Blacktown are under a Labor Government.