Mr PERRETT (Gympie—LNP) (2.53 pm):
Address-in-reply I am honoured to represent the electorate of Gympie in the 56th Parliament. I am humbled by the trust that electors have again shown in me. I will endeavour to represent and fight for the things that matter to them. I am immensely proud of the Gympie region and the values that its residents hold. During the last parliament I was given opportunities and experiences which I hope will stand me and my community in good stead in the next two years.
Mr Deputy Speaker, congratulations on your appointment to an office which carries a long and
powerful history in the Westminster tradition. Elections always bring change and loss. Some choose
retirement and some have it imposed on them by brutal arithmetic at the ballot box, such as the former
member for Redlands, Matt McEachan; the former member for Hinchinbrook, Andrew Cripps; and my
neighbour in Noosa, Glen Elmes. Thanks also to my party’s former leaders: the former member for
Southern Downs, Lawrence Springborg—someone I have known since my days in the Young National
Party—and the member for Clayfield. Being opposition leader can be onerous and lonely, and I thank
them for their service. I would also like to congratulate our new leadership team, the member for
Nanango and the deputy leader, on their election.
Without the support of our family members none of us would be able to do this job properly. I
would like to publicly thank my wife, Michele, and my daughters, Stephanie and Josie, for their support.
They put up with a lot over the years with my absences and the demands on my time.
I would not be here without a team of supporters. We in the LNP rely on the hard work of
volunteers and families. We do not have paid union officials and political operatives hiding under activist
banners to support us. Our support base is transparent and there for all to see. Ordinary, everyday
Australians who feel deeply about their state help us. Thank you to my campaign team and supporters
including my campaign manager, Ray Currie; my SEC chairman, Guy Burnett; secretary and treasurer
Kathy Worth; Wayne Plant; and all of the volunteers, friends, booth workers and local party members.
The years that I spent in local government politics have instilled in me an abiding belief that what
matters are the basic common-sense policies grounded in our communities and the lives of everyday,
hardworking Queenslanders. When we next face the ballot box, the Labor Party will have been in
government for 26 years out of the past 31. That is more than a generation of government stacked with
union officials and political machine operatives destroying our state and running up the credit card. They
mislead, fabricate, dissemble, avoid, fudge and hide behind spin. Instead of addressing the serious
issues they contract out work to reviews and inquiries. They focus on ‘token gesture’ politics and
campaigns that demonise the values of decent, hardworking Queenslanders. They are beholden to
masters in political activist groups and union thugs. They accept no responsibility for their actions. They
blame everyone else: they blame us; they blame Canberra; they blame local governments. It is time
they looked in a mirror and accepted their own responsibility and culpability for creating many of the
problems that face this state.
Unemployment levels are a real and concerning issue in regions such as Gympie. Our
unemployment rate is 8.9 per cent, which is 2.9 per cent above the state average. The Wide Bay youth
unemployment rate of 23.5 per cent is almost double the state average of 13 per cent. Common sense
would tell you that all government decisions cannot be isolated from their impact on our budget, our
economic health and real long-term jobs. Many government policies have flow-on effects in the local
jobs market. Every policy which does not equate to better employment outcomes, improved chances
for finding jobs such as securing better qualifications and access to employers and supporting our local
industries is wasting taxpayers’ dollars. It is simply not smart.
Anyone who was here during the last parliament would know there are a number of issues that I
have been pushing for Gympie: providing real job prospects; practical support for families and the
Gympie community; greater investment in local infrastructure projects; the maintenance and
improvement of existing facilities; and providing support and incentives for local business which will
allow Gympie to thrive and grow. The Labor Party government’s focus on a Brisbane-centric,
ideologically driven agenda means that the needs of local families, workers, businesses and industry
are being ignored. Practical common-sense policies will let Gympie achieve its full economic and
lifestyle potential. We need policies which use taxpayers’ money carefully and prudently. Unfortunately,
that is not the Labor way.
There is no better example than the appalling waste of more than half a billion dollars of
taxpayers’ money on the failed Traveston Dam project. That $500 million represents losses of more
than $318 million from the purchase and subsequent resale of properties and $200 million from wasted
reports, strategies, impact statements, management costs, design works and investigation. It does not
even include losses from businesses which closed down or moved away. That fiasco is a prime example
of a Labor government which arrogantly imposed a decision on a community with no consultation.
Gympie’s challenges are addressing systemic high unemployment levels; providing infrastructure
which supports future growth and business opportunities; upgrading and making our road network safer
and more efficient; raising the education levels of locals so that they have better a chance to secure
meaningful work; differentiating ourselves from other regions in attracting tourists; and providing quality
facilities for health, education and sport.
Gympie needs common-sense policies such as granting the lease of an empty and unused TAFE
building to the University of the Sunshine Coast; continuation of the Bruce Highway upgrade; investment
in a multipurpose function centre; supporting local small businesses to provide real, long-term
employment opportunities instead of short-term subsidies; reducing pointless red and green tape, which
is choking local industries; and family-friendly adventure and nature based tourism opportunities.
Gympie is a high-growth commercial and residential corridor in a strategic location, with over
three million consumers within a two-hour travelling time. Our solid economy is one of the most diverse
of any non-metropolitan region in Queensland, making it more attractive than regions that experience
fluctuating peaks and troughs in industries like tourism and mining. The right investment will provide
confidence in our economy by unleashing the potential of the private sector to value-add, borrow, invest,
grow and generate jobs. That is why the LNP kick-started the Bruce Highway upgrades. Locals are
eagerly awaiting the completion of the Gympie bypass. We recognise the need to integrate all our local
transport corridors. That is why we made a $2.5 million commitment towards a business case for a very
fast train from Brisbane to Bundaberg; more specifically, $13.2 million to improve safety, efficiency and
capacity at 14 intersections between Gympie and Curra; $10 million to upgrade the Coondoo Creek
Bridge; and $100,000 for a long-term strategic plan for the Gympie road network which will open up our
region.
We need that lease of an unused, unwanted, empty TAFE building given to the University of the
Sunshine Coast. For almost four years the University of the Sunshine Coast has been trying to secure
a lease on something that even TAFE says it does not want. It sits across the car park from the
University of the Sunshine Coast site. A lease will help locals who cannot attend university because of
distance and financial factors, unemployed youth who want to gain skills and mature age students who
are trying to upskill but are unable to move away because of work and family commitments.
A proposal was ready for signing in late 2014, before the change of government. The University
of the Sunshine Coast has jumped through hoops. It has done everything that has been asked and has
been submitting and resubmitting proposals and applications. How hard can it be? Meanwhile, the
building deteriorates and taxpayers’ dollars are wasted while a willing tenant is waiting. Constituents
frequently tell me how appalled they are with the wanton waste. At the start of this year the new minister
made some positive noises. We were cautiously optimistic. I even invited the minister to come and see
for herself why it makes so much sense to lease the building. It is almost the end of another year and
the lease is still to be signed.
The upgrade of the Coondoo Creek Bridge has become a political football. It is a state
government bridge on a state road. Last year, when I announced the LNP commitment of $10 million
to upgrade the bridge and approaches to a one-in-50-year-flood height immunity, the local ALP branch
spokesman said that the bridge ‘will be built’. He let the Gympie electorate believe that it was on Labor’s
radar. Despite those misleading claims there was nothing in this year’s budget, and the minister has
tried all year to shift blame to Canberra—for a state road. In August the federal government generously
committed $5 million to the project. While we have heard the minister say that he supports the upgrade,
there is still no mention of the state’s $10 million share. Responsibility stops here in Brisbane, not
Canberra. It is time to stop treating Gympie residents as mugs, with disingenuous weasel words. We
need an unambiguous and unqualified commitment.
This minister has form. For the past two years I have written and asked questions regarding the
notorious Bells Bridge intersection, with constant replies that the government was waiting on Canberra.
Canberra put up its $11.2 million share in May last year. The minister then wrote to me saying that
construction would start by the end of this year. Despite the design works being completed, we found
hidden in June’s budget papers that the funding has now been pushed out to 2021-22. The same
document shows that the minister is spending $17.3 million to extend 2.5 kilometres of a $45 million
three-metre bikeway in his own electorate. That 2.5 kilometres of bikeway could have funded both the
Coondoo Creek Bridge upgrade and the Bells Bridge intersection upgrade, with change left over.
Instead of blaming everyone else and engaging in misleading spin, the government should just do its
job and fix our bridges. Ministers are quick to complain that Canberra is not spending enough in
Queensland, yet Canberra is constantly having to pick up the tab on things that are state responsibilities.
Last year I secured LNP support for many local groups that enhance our community and plug the
holes in missing government services. There is Little Haven Palliative Care, which needs funding
certainty to meet increasing community demand for its services; Gympie Hydrotherapy Group, which is
trying to fill the vacuum created by the closure of the pool at Blue Care Gympie Respite Centre; Cooloola
Coast Medical Transport, which provides a door-to-door service carrying patients to out-of-town medical
appointments; and the Gympie Show Society, which undertakes a massive task in putting on the third
largest show in Queensland.
It was disappointing that in the redistribution the Gympie electorate lost the areas of Cooran,
Pomona and Kin Kin to the south. However, the draft proposal brought out the fighting spirit of residents
and business owners of the Cooloola Coast. The original plan was to excise Rainbow Beach from its
neighbours and attach it to the Noosa electorate, effectively splitting the Cooloola Coast community. It
was a tough task to get the commission to understand how ridiculous the proposal was and to change
its mind. Thankfully, it did change its mind. Across Queensland almost one in every 12, or more than
120, submissions received were regarding the Gympie electorate.
Gympie has gained areas such as Widgee to the west and Curra, Gunalda, Glenwood, Bauple
and Gundiah to the north. Improved health services are important for these outer areas. The Cooloola
Coast’s permanent population of 6½ thousand swells by thousands during the peak tourist season.
Patients are forced to travel significant distances for many basic healthcare treatments that could be
performed in a local community hospital. A multidisciplinary centre would ease the burden of patient
travel and provide services that are available in towns with populations of only 2,000.
Glenwood is new to the electorate. It was previously in the Maryborough electorate. Locals tell
me that previous requests to the member for Maryborough for an ambulance station were ignored. More
than 6,000 people live in Glenwood and the surrounding towns, and they have to wait for up to 40
minutes for an ambulance to come from Gympie or Maryborough. The stretch of Bruce Highway going
through the region is notorious for serious accidents, and an ambulance station can provide quicker
response times to save lives.
The car park in Glenwood’s local school needs an urgent upgrade. I am not talking about filling
in a few potholes. I was appalled when I saw the state of the eroding car park. Despite previously being
in Labor’s Maryborough electorate, nothing was fixed. The car park is adjacent to the Bruce Highway.
Drivers have to use an open space between the highway and the school gate, with the drop-off zone
only three metres from the highway. Car parking is dangerously close to a two-metre drop which runs
parallel to the highway. It is unsafe and it is appalling that students, parents and staff negotiate such a
dangerous car park every school day. Requests for action have seen this issue being tossed from the
state government to the Fraser Coast council. It is vital for the safety of everyone who uses this car
park that something is done urgently.
In the last two months Gympie has been hit by both devastating bushfires and destructive
hailstorms. The fires destroyed property including sheds, fences, equipment, livestock and fodder. The
spread of the hailstorms has impacted numerous homes and property owners, landholders and primary
producers, with many reporting significant losses. Producers of small crops such as strawberries,
blueberries, lettuce, lychees, avocados, macadamias and beans have been hit. Some have lost entire
crops and workers have been laid off. The loss is not just immediate. Owners will take some time to
recover. For example, the loss of fodder is devastating as it has become more expensive and supplies
are limited because of tightened drought conditions. Local economic activity will be hit hard, with losses
trickling throughout the community.
This year I have been given the chance to serve on the opposition frontbench. I thank the
leadership team for giving me this opportunity. I intend to hold the minister and this government to
account. As a farmer and grazier, I live and breathe this sector. I have skin in the game. I will be positive
but not at the expense of letting the government or the minister get away with spin and negligence in
advocating for the industries and areas he is supposed to represent in cabinet. Agriculture is worth
$20 billion and employs more than 60,000 across 26,000 farm businesses. It accounts for 315,000
people employed across the whole food supply chain, yet this minister and the government have shown
little genuine interest or understanding of the needs of those in the agriculture, forestry and fishing
sectors.
One of the most pressing issues facing Queensland primary producers is the ongoing drought. It
is relentless and unforgiving. The producers, their families, the workers and businesses in the towns
are all doing it tough. It is important they know they are not facing this alone and that we do everything
we can to support them. This also means government getting out of the way and allowing landowners
to productively manage their properties in times of hardship and drought. The unfair vegetation
management laws are making it so much tougher.
There is a complete lack of trust between workers, families and businesses in the sector and the
government. Funding cuts to the School to Industry Partnership Program are the most recent example
of why they do not trust this government. This is a hands-on education program that showcases where
food comes from and highlights agricultural job opportunities to school students. Practicality and
common sense are needed to deal with the challenges facing this sector. I am talking about positive
solutions such as the federal government’s drought summit and a Future Fund, a royal commission into
predatory pricing by supermarkets which is squeezing dairy farmers and our Agriculture and Energy
Water Council which works closely with key agriculture industry groups such as the Queensland
Farmers’ Federation, Canegrowers, Cotton Australia, Growcom and AgForce. Let us hope that the
minister soon has a light bulb moment and fights for the interests of regional and rural industries. There
is much more to standing up than wearing a hat and some boots or racking up frequent flyer points.
The default position of this government is to increase regulation, licensing, legislation and
bureaucratic intrusion into our lives. It has impacted everyone. We need to promote better government,
not more government. This will only be achieved by real commitments in expenditure instead of
lip-service and window-dressing measures which are for not much more than photo opportunities. It is
unacceptable that this government thinks it can get away with rebadging, reannouncements and
recycling. It is disrespectful to everyone and it diminishes our responsibility to the electors of this state.