Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On 16 May 2010, I was pleased to officially open the Scenic Rim Community Hydrotherapy and Health Management Complex. It is a fantastic initiative and I congratulate the whole Boonah community. I was present with Labor candidate Andrew Ramsay and his wife, Trish, and it was a pleasure to be there. This project is an initiative of the Boonah Shire Disability Support Group, a volunteer community agency performing a wonderful service to the Boonah district. The pool will include top-class facilities, providing a number of people with wonderful support. I look forward to the day when the Ipswich Jets and the Brisbane Broncos go to Boonah to stay for the weekend and enjoy the wonderful facilities. The complex will offer age and disability assistance. It is centrally located in Coronation Park and will be very beneficial for people requiring physiotherapy post surgery and for people with sports injuries.

The Rudd Labor government has committed$480,000 to the project through the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program. The total cost of this program is over $1 billion. The facility will have year-round use, including learn-to-swim classes for youngsters, and will attract health professionals to the Boonah shire. Forty jobs were created as a result of the initiative. We are determined to provide for local communities.

As I announced at the venue, the claims by the LNP that the Boonah Hospital is to close are simply nonsense and rubbish. Labor is committing enormous funding to regional communities in terms of health. (Time expired)

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