Wyatt Roy (Longman, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As this is the last sitting week of the year, I think it is really important that we reflect on what has been an amazing year of achievement locally. Probably the biggest difference that I have noticed, particularly in the last few weeks, as I get around the electorate, is that prosperity is returning and businesses are prepared to put on more staff. That is as a result of our policy settings, whether that was getting rid of Labor's carbon tax or the mining tax or, this year alone, over $2 billion in red tape.

Kennedy's Timbers in Narangba have put on five staff.

Mr Brough interjecting—

The member for Fisher interjects; I know he opened that business. I think they are very good people. Well, they have just put on five staff, including a new apprentice, since we repealed the carbon tax, after downsizing during the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years. We helped R&R Hire Services in Caboolture with their red tape as part of our red-tape repeal agenda, and they have, in about the last six months, doubled their staff.

We have also signed landmark free trade agreements with Korea, Japan and China, and they are helping macadamia farmers in Elimbah. Packer Leather in Narangba pays a 14 per cent tariff going into the Chinese marketplace, which all goes under this Chinese deal. And they are putting on more staff. So we are seeing prosperity return to our small businesses.

But the coalition government has also approved nearly $1 trillion in environmental approvals for projects, and those include part of the approval for North East Business Park, or North Harbour, locally, which has just got under construction. This is incredibly exciting. It is a project that had been delayed for nine years. Over 15 years, their independent economic modelling shows, that will create 20,000 jobs across our region.

So, while things are moving in the jobs market locally, we have also made very significant changes across a whole range of areas locally. One of the best things that I have done in this job is to walk down to Dale Street in Burpengary where, as locals know, it floods every time it rains. As somebody who lost a family home when I was growing up, I can sympathise with what these people face. After years and years of inaction by both state and federal Labor governments, I sat down with the Prime Minister and said, 'This is something that we need to do for this community,' and we funded $1.9 million to build a flood levee for the people in Burpengary. To tell them that they no longer have to go through the issues that you go through when you lose a family home is probably one of the best things anybody can do in public life.

Also, as to saving lives locally, the D'Aguilar Highway, as locals know, has seen tragedy after tragedy. I campaigned on this in 2010. We came to government last year. I can now say that $1 million has already been spent on the upgrade, with $15 million more to be spent early in the New Year to upgrade the worst spots on the D'Aguilar Highway. It was something that had been put in the too-hard basket for too long; now there is $16 million flowing.

Nearly $3 billion is being spent on the Bruce Highway between Pine Rivers and Gympie. As locals drive up it, they are seeing the work that has been done on basically every intersection along that highway—

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