November e-Newsletter Gympie Electorate

Glenwood Community Kitchen

Food and supplies are donated by community minded individuals and companies and meals are purchased by a gold coin donation.

Tony with Jamie Dunn and Agro

All Abilities Ball

And the winner is …… the inaugural All Abilities Ball. With my wife Michele, I was delighted to attend and speak at the gold standard event in Gympie for Disability Action Week. Organisers who volunteered their private time for weeks to coordinate the ball wanted to focus on giving people with disabilities, their carers, families, and friends an opportunity to attend such an event.

According to the Bureau of Statistics, in 2021 there were 5,171 or 9.7% of people in the Gympie Local Government area who needed assistance with core activities. The government support they receive is supplemented by the those around them, our much-valued community organisations, and volunteers. It is families, carers, support workers, non-government organisations, and formal and informal volunteers who underpin providing support to people with disabilities.

Those providing unpaid assistance to person with disability has risen in this region from 12.8% in 2011 to 13.6% in 2016 and 14.4% in 2021.

The All Abilities Ball was an outstanding success.

Around the House – in Parliament

Links to the most recent Parliamentary Questions and Speeches.

Questions on Notice

• Voluntary Home Buy Back Scheme
• Great Sandy National Park new management plan
• Planning framework for Gympie hospital
• Gympie Fire and Rescue Station
• Overtaking lanes on Tin Can Bay Road
• Business case for Gympie Hospital
• Cost of upgrades to local bridges
• Fireant Eradication Program
• Upgrade of Tin Can Bay and Bayside Roads intersection
• Rainbow Beach Police facility
• Great Sandy Strait Marine Park zoning changes
• Land for new Gympie Hospital

Speeches

• Body Corporate and Community Management Bill – pages 3415 and 3427
• Local Government (Councillor Conduct) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill – page 3463
• and resumption of Local Government (Councillor Conduct)and Other Legislation Amendment Bill – page 3502
• Committee report: Examination of the Auditor General Reports on the Water Sector  – page 3636
• Disallowance motion:  Fisheries legislation (Spanish Mackerel and Bar Rock cod) Amendment Declaration – page 3764
• Mossman Sugar Mill – page 3933
• Committee Report: Examination of Auditor-General’s Report on Contract management for new Infrastructure – page 3939

Getting the Priorities Right

The countdown is now on to the next State Election which is scheduled for 26 October next year. With less than 12 months to go the LNP has now released its “Right Priorities for Queensland’s Future.” The document which is based on feedback from across the state outlines key priorities on the issues that are important to Queenslanders.

The five areas of focus are:

• Making our Communities safer
• Easier access to health services
• Saving you paying for Labor’s policies
• Securing our housing foundations
• Working harder for Queenslanders

During the next year more detailed policies will be released to address these priority areas. You can read more at https://www.lnp.org.au/right-priorities/

Out and about

During the last month I have been able to attend or visit:

Gympie Gold Rush Swim Meet

Glenwood Community Soup Kitchen Launch

Tin Can Bay Fishing Club Awards presentation

All Abilities Ball

75th Anniversary Gympie Rotary

Resilient Heart Glenwood Event

CBD Action Alliance Christmas get together

Gympie Chamber of Commerce AGM

Tin Can Bay Coast Guard Christmas function

Have your say on the Queensland Youth Crime Crisis

In 2015 the Palaszczuk Labor Government watered down the Youth Justice Act which:

• Removed breach of bail as an offence.
• Introduced a provision that forced the courts and police to put youth offenders in detention only as a last resort.
• Removed a range of early intervention programs.

Since then, crime has escalated impacting Queenslanders every day, and created a generation of hardcore repeat youth offenders who know they are untouchable.

Now the Palaszczuk Labor Government has convened a committee to discuss the problem it created in 2015.

I know you want less talk and more action. But with Labor Government MP’s calling the Youth Crime Crisis a media beat up, a media distortion, and only in people’s heads, they need to hear firsthand the impacts of their policies on real Queenslanders.

If you have experienced the impacts of the Queensland Youth Crime Crisis and would like to make a submission to the Inquiry into Youth Justice Reform in Queensland, please get in touch with me or visit Youth Justice Reform Select Committee.

Submissions to the Committee close on Wednesday 10th January 2024.

Together we can force the Palaszczuk Labor Government to finally listen to you about the impact their Youth Crime Crisis is having on Queenslanders.

Get Involved – Have your Say, Grants, Prizes, Surveys, Events and Reviews

• SwimSmart Vouchers – Vouchers up to $150 for tots -0-4 years to learn to swim. Register your interest. 2024 Round 1 applications close 1 May 2024.
• Queensland Great Awards – nominate an inspirational Queenslander or institution. Closes 16 February 2024
• Cash back for appliances – rebates of up to $1,000 to buy and install eligible energy-efficient appliances with a four-star rating. Closes when money runs out.
• Resilient Regional Communities – up to $20,000 or $50,000 grants for events and initiatives to strengthen communities and capability for drought preparedness.  Round two opens 13 February 2024. Closes 26 March 2024.
• Future drought funding – have your say about the next four years of investment under the Future Drought und. Closes 6 December.
• Backing Businesses in the Bush Fund – Supporting new SMEs in regional Qld future drought funding. Grants from $500,000 to $2 million. Closes 14 January.
• Building Bush Tourism Fund – to create visitor infrastructure in regional areas. Grants from $50,000 to $200,000. Applications close 1 February.
• Q Shelter – up to $50,000 to for community housing organisations to access business advice on finance, planning, property development and risk management. Round 2 closes 23 February.
• Q Shelter – Expressions of Interest for Growth Readiness Assessments close 13 December.
• QCoal Foundation scholarships – support of $10,000 a year for three years for students to study at James Cook University. Applications close 31 January.
• Qld Gives – Grants up to $30,000 to assist charities to develop their structures, systems people, and skills. Applications close 15 December.
• Manufacturing Energy Efficiency Grants (MEEG) – Qld based manufacturers looking to increase energy efficiency. Grants of $5,000 to $25,000. Round one closes 30 June 2024.
• Individual Droughted Property Declaration – criteria, applications and information.
• Rural Aid – register for financial, well-being and fodder assistance.
• School Student Broadband Initiative – Free NbN connection for school aged students .
• Young people at risk of homelessness – grants up to $5,000 for essential goods & services to assist moving into accommodation or work.
• Queensland Government Grants finder
• Cannabis and driving – give your input into consultation paper on drug driving in Queensland. Survey closes 17 December.
• Reconciliation Week events – grants of $5,000 or $10,000 to host events for National Reconciliation Week from (May 24 to June 3, 2024). Applications close 22 January.
• Commercial and Charter Fishing grants – grants for initiatives to address ecological risk and promote sustainable fishing practices. May include trialing new gear, industry modernisation, sustainable fishing methods, education, seafood promotion, mental health initiatives. Closes 28 January.
• Recreational or Traditional Fishing grants – to provide benefits to recreational or traditional fishing. Applicants may include community based, non-for profit, fishing clubs, associations, and individuals. Closes 28 January.
• Indigenous Fishing and Forestry grants – to assist with more economic opportunities around fishing and forestry. Closes 31 January.
• Clean Up Australia – register your Clean Up Australia site for 3 March 2024 and go in the draw to win $1,000 voucher. Closes 31 December.

Have Your Say on Bills before the Parliament

• Energy (Renewable Transformation and Jobs) Bill – outcomes for individuals and communities from renewable projects, provide more household support for rooftop solar and jobs, jobs from renewable projects. Submission close 8 December.
• Land and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (No2) –  to improve regulatory efficiency and ensure the administration of state land and the place naming framework remain contemporary and responsive to community needs. Submissions close 16 January.
• Agriculture and Fisheries Bill – broad ranging bill making changes regarding dangerous dogs, forestry, biosecurity, fisheries, farm business debt mediation, animal welfare, and industrial cannabis industry. Submissions close 15 December.
• Emergency Services Reform Amendment Bill –  to restructure emergency service arrangements as recommended in the Independent Review Report and meet certain recommendations made in the IGEM Review. Keep an eye out for when submission close. Including aligning Marine Rescue and SES under the control of the QPS. Submission close 31 January.
• State Emergency Service Bill–  second Bill to continue the changes to restructure emergency service arrangements as recommended in the Independent Review Report and meet certain recommendations made in the IGEM Review. Submission close 31 January.
• Marine Rescue Queensland Bill – third Bill to continue the changes to restructure emergency service arrangements as recommended in the Independent Review Report and meet certain recommendations made in the IGEM Review. Submission close 31 January.
• Summary Offences (Prevention of Knife Crime) Bill – to improve community safety reduce youth offending and minimise the risks associated with knives and other dangerous items. Submission close 19 December.
• Forensic Science Queensland Bill –  to improve and make forensic services impartial by creating an independent statutory position of the Director of Forensic Science Queensland, and office called Forensic Science Queensland,  and a Forensic Science Queensland Advisory Council. Submissions close 18 December.
• Criminal Code (Doubled Jeopardy Exception and Subsequent Appeal) Bill – to create a framework for appeals, a ‘double jeopardy’ exception applicable to certain offences, to expand the offences to which fresh and compelling evidence double jeopardy exception applies. Submissions close 18 December.
• Work Health and Safety Bill – to give effect to the Queensland Government’s response to recommendations from the Review of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 – Final report 2022. Keep an eye out for when submissions close, to report by 23 February.
• Health and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (No 2) –various changes regarding nurse and midwife to patient ratios, disclosing information regarding a health professional, sharing findings and  recommendations from serious clinical incidents, use of termination drugs for abortion, replace the word ‘woman’ with ‘person’ for accessing an abortion, duplicate reporting of dust lung diseases, Mental Health Court reports and the use and release of transcripts. Submission close 15 January.
• Pharmacy Business Ownership Bill – to regulate the ownership, control, and operation of pharmacy business. Keep an eye out for when submissions are due. To report by 8 March.
• Crime and Corruption Bill – to allow the Parliament to publish CCC reports so the public can understand the reasons for its conclusions and any outcomes. Submissions close 27 February, 2024.
• Education Extension of Primary Schools in Remote Areas Bill –  to increase access to designated secondary education services in emote areas. . Keep an eye out on the link for when submissions are due. Submissions close 11 December.
• Planning and other Legislation (Make Developers Pay) Amendment Bill – give local governments the flexibility to charge developers for trunk infrastructure according to the cost of delivering that infrastructure.  Submission close 13 December.