Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to rise today to outline some of what I want to achieve for my electorate of Durack this term and what I have achieved since I was elected as the member for Durack three years ago—not quite, actually. The prime reason I ran again as the Liberal for Durack was because I wanted to build on my good start. As people in this chamber may recall, I initially ran for the seat of Durack because I wanted to improve the quality of people's lives throughout the electorate. Durack, which is the second largest electorate in the world and largest electorate in this country, spans over 1.6 million square kilometres and includes over 300 towns and communities, from the Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne to Mid West as well as a very large chunk of the Wheatbelt, which is having a sterling year this year—thank the lord. Durack is home to some of the most rural and remote towns not just in Australia but around the world. With remoteness comes great isolation and many social issues that are attached with isolation. The World Health Organization believes that by 2020 depression may be the second leading cause death, which is incredibly alarming for someone who represents such a large regionally focused but incredibly isolated electorate.

The Turnbull government, as we know, is renowned for being proactive on a number of important economic issues, and we have heard that more recently with regard to innovation, science and technology. But what I particularly want to talk about today is that we are also focusing on other more important issues such as mental health. In the lead-up to the federal election in July, I campaigned on setting up a headspace for the Pilbara. I know I do not have to tell you, Acting Deputy Speaker Irons, that headspace is an incredibly important and incredibly valuable organisation which assists young people between the ages of 12 and 25 with their mental health, physical health, work and study, and also provides drug services and other more work-related services.

In my electorate the two headspace centres—one in Broome and one in Geraldton—are both having a great impact on those towns but also on the region more generally. In the weeks leading up to the recent campaign, I travelled the Pilbara to cities and towns like Karratha, Port Hedland, Newman and Dampier, and over 200 people signed my petition to the government to open a headspace in the vast and isolated region of the Pilbara. The support I received during this mini campaign was overwhelming from mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, aunties and uncles, grandparents, friends and colleagues, who were all in complete support of my aim to have a headspace type of facility for the Pilbara. They all know young people who have been impacted by mental health issues and all want to lend their support, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

When I met with people seeking support to have a headspace type of centre in the region, it reminded me that this is exactly why I decided to run for parliament—to improve the quality of people's lives so that they may have an opportunity to be the best that they can be. I am very proud of this government has made funds available to improve the quality of mental health services throughout regional Australia. I am very pleased to say that the youth organisation YIC, Youth Involvement Council, which is based in Port Hedland has some space in its beautiful new building. I had the pleasure of going there a couple of months ago for the opening of that. They have expressed some interest in accommodating headspace and, for that, I am very grateful as well. It would be terrific if we could just pull that off together and I am certainly working on that.

I am very pleased to advise the House that I am one step closer to getting such a headspace centre opened in the Pilbara. I am due to meet the primary health network who is ultimately going to be the funder of such a service. I do not want to understate this: opening a headspace in the Pilbara region will have a profound impact on the young people's lives in the region, and also impact on their families' lives as well, with the potential to improve the culture that exists in the region.

There were several election promises I made during the election campaign which I will work hard to ensure are delivered across Durack. Local drug and alcohol rehabilitation services will be boosted in Durack. As I announced in May, my electorate will share in some $20 million for improved drug rehabilitation services. This is part of this government's plan to combat the ice scourge across Australia. It is, as you know, is part of the government's National Ice Action Strategy that we announced in December. The Turnbull government's commitment to regional, rural and remote Australia is unrivalled in Australia's history. Only members on this side of the chamber understand the importance of regional, rural and remote Australia, and only members on this side of the chamber respect and deliver for regional, rural and remote Australia. I would like to give a couple of good examples of that.

Earlier this month I confirmed the 11 heavy haulage safety upgrades which I had discussed during the course of the campaign. It is a long list, so if you could just bear with me, but it illustrates our commitment to improving the quality of roads in regional Australia. They include: the construction of a truck bay north of Northampton on the North West Coastal Highway, the construction of a truck bay area south of Geraldton, the construction of two designated truck rest areas with sealed surfaces and litter bins suitable for all weather conditions on the Midlands Road, the construction of two designated truck rest areas with sealed surfaces and bins on the Northam Pithara Road, widening the Ballidu-Pithara carriageway to eight metres sealed on a 10 metre formation to meet RAV 7 standards, the construction of a new road train assembly area adjacent to the town of Port Hedland's zoned area, the construction of six truck bays on the Great Northern Highway between Wubin and Kumarina, providing a truck rest area at the Calingiri-Wongan Hills Road, the construction of a sealed 250-metre heavy haulage bay with shelter to accommodate three or four triple road trains on the Goldfields Highway between Leinster and Wiluna—I know they be very happy to hear about that—and the installation of ablution facilities and formalising of a rest area on Nameless Valley Drive. Just in case you are wondering, yes, that is a real name of a road. Finally, there is upgrade of Harbour Road, including the reconstruction of subgrade and a pavement overlay linking the North West Highway to Carnarvon. It is a very long list, but all are very important. I can tell you that this infrastructure, of course, supports the local communities, supports the small businesses, in many cases supporting the farmers as well and, of course, tourists alike.

We heard from the previous speaker about the importance of a community pool and I, too, have my own community pool story. Community pools, as we know, are important amenities for those of us in country Australia. The government recognises that. 'Hear, hear,' I say. That is why we are investing over $249,000 in the Halls Creek Aquatic and Recreation Centre. This investment will lead to the installation of a solar panel system which will lead to significant savings—you probably know there is a lot of sunshine in Halls Creek—and this is estimated to save over $30,000 a year. This will allow the centre to invest the savings to provide free entry for school children, which I think is a fabulous initiative, and to extend the centre's opening hours. This is terrific news for people in Halls Creek and also the surrounding towns.

Additionally, I have secured $3 million towards the Geraldton Cathedral Precinct Project. The Geraldton cathedral is one of the top 100 cathedrals in the world, and this funding will ensure the completion of the project. The Geraldton cathedral is one of the great attractions in the Mid West in my electorate of Durack. I want to acknowledge Bishop Justin Bianchini for his dedication to this project and who, by the way, was my local parish priest when I was a child growing up in Kalgoorlie—which is by the by, just a little side story. He remembers me not so fondly, apparently.

There has been a whole raft of achievements over the last three years, a few that I would just like to mention now. One is the Karratha Arts and Community Precinct, which is going to go ahead with a $10 million grant from the federal government. I am particularly proud of that, because in that community, I can tell you, there is nowhere a small girl could even do a ballet concert, so this is going to provide just an ordinary, regular type of infrastructure that most other people take for granted. So, I am very proud of that. In that precinct they will have a state-of-the-art library, a multifunctional theatre, a modern outdoor amphitheatre and a war memorial with great facilities.

I am very honoured to have been re-elected as the member for Durack. I am 100 per cent dedicated to this electorate. I am determined to make it the best regional electorate in which to live, work and play. As the local member I offer a personal approach, together with a proven track record, to serve and deliver for our electorate of Durack, and long may I continue to do so.

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