Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was welcomed with a standing ovation, a thunder of clapping and blinding flashes from cameras by members of the greater western Sydney community during his latest visit to the region.
On Friday, Prime Minister Rudd received a rock star's welcome when he attended the Filipino Friends of Labor fundraiser, Dinner with Kevin Rudd, for Chifley MP Ed Husic at Rooty Hill RSL.
Mr Rudd revelled in the reception, attempting to speak Tagalog [the language spoken in the Philippines] to fundraiser attendees.
He also used the reception to thank his loyal supporters.
Before he left the event, Fairfax Community Newspapers managed to ask one question of the Prime Minister.
We asked: ''How do you plan to connect with western Sydney voters?"
Mr Rudd said: "It wasn't about reconnecting with western Sydney voters, but what Labor is actually doing for western Sydney".
"Throughout my political life I have always had a connection to this part of Sydney.
"'What are we doing for western Sydney?' is the more important question.
"One of the things that I would point to is that if everyone of your readers could go to their local primary school and have a look if their school has a new classroom, or a new library or a new multipurpose facility and ask 'where did that come from?'.
"Well it comes as a result of the Australian government investing into these schools right across western Sydney."
Apart from investing in schools, Mr Rudd said the government was committed to rolling out its new high speed broadband.
"It's so important for people who don't live in the CBD's of Australia and the central business districts of the main cities," he said.
"It connects people to the rest of Australia and the rest of the world, and it's the new infrastructure of the 21st century.
"So, I've made your local member here, Ed Husic, the Parliamentary Secretary of Broadband.
"This is the biggest construction project in Australia's history and it's designed for people, house by house, business by business in western Sydney.
"You can say stuff about western Sydney but I'm in the business of doing stuff."
Mr Rudd said investment in local hospitals was also strong.
