Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

It is always a great privilege to rise in this House to respond to His Excellency, the Governor-General's address. This is my fourth response to the Governor-General's address and my fourth parliament to represent the great constituents of the Gold Coast. Let me put on record my great thanks to the team that came out to ensure that the Liberal-National Party retained the seat of Fadden in some pretty tough conditions. Hundreds of volunteers were out there selling a message of hope and optimism of growth and jobs. I am very proud to be a member of a political party, a movement, that works with community volunteers. We do not have the large bulk of union members that roll out on command. We have everyday Australians, donating their time, money and resources to deliver good outcomes for communities.

I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on how the Gold Coast has changed over the 10 years that I have been representing the north. Over that time, I have been very proud to fight for the community I love. I do not live on the Gold Cost because my families have lived there for generations. Very few families have lived on the Gold Coast for generations. In fact, in the 1954 census only 19,000 people lived on the Gold Coast—a city of now 600,000. It is one of the most extraordinary urban growth stories in the country. I chose to live on the coast over two decades ago, after I finished soldiering.

Like many Gold Coasters, we are looking forward to hosting the Commonwealth Games next year, as the world's eyes turn to our fabulous part of the world. There is no better opportunity for us to showcase the great part of the world we live in than next year's games to a billion viewers. I welcome the affordable ticket pricing announcements that have occurred, and I am looking forward to volunteers across the Gold Coast for being involved. The federal government has stepped up. We have put in $147 million in cold, hard taxpayers' cash to assist with putting on the games. There has been some very serious financial lifting by this federal government. The real value, of course, of this investment is through the local infrastructure that will be about legacy post games—facilities like the Coomera Indoor Sports Centre and the Goal Coast Hockey Centre. It is important to have a central hub for the games, but these new infrastructures, which will allow various sports to be played right around the Gold Coast, will have a tremendous legacy impact on our city.

For my area, it is important in catering for the new growth. New residents are coming to the Gold Coast in droves—and, frankly, why wouldn't they? Why sit in the congestion of cities, especially large cities down south, when you can come and hang out in, literally, nirvana? The Gold Coast is growing strongly, especially up in the north. Only 45 minutes from Brisbane and 30 minutes from the centre of the Gold Coast is affordable housing. There is impressive education facilities. Up in Coomera, there are 13,000 residents, and we are seeking this number to grow to 20,000 in the next five years and to an incredible 60,000 in the next 20 years. So this is world-class infrastructure is delivering for these communities.

We have funded the second stage of the light rail—a negotiation I did personally with Deputy Premier Jackie Trad. In fact, $95 million of Commonwealth money has gone into the second stage of the light rail. That second stage is entirely within my electorate; hence, my great interest in fighting for that electric community rail. It connects the Gold Coast community hospital to the Helensvale heavy rail link and, of course, Westfield. The $95 million from the federal government sealed it. It is what got the project going, and I certainly thank Jackie Trad for her very honest negotiation, as well as the mayor, Tom Tate. The route that goes from the heavy rail link through to the Gold Coast Hospital is the most expeditious route. There are always other areas of the coast where people want it to go, and of course I will be fighting very strongly for a spur of the light rail to go through to Harbour Town.

Since the light rail began in 2014, there has been an increase in overall public patronage of more than 25 per cent. Punctuality and reliability is 99.95 per cent. It is no surprise that there have been millions and millions of passenger trips. Having stage 2 to connect to Helensvale creates a passenger hub, with the incentive to use public transport. The Gold Coast is perfect for public transport—some 80 kilometres long and 20 kilometres wide and flat. There is no point in building infrastructure that does not fit in with where the public wants it to go. So I have every confidence that stage 2 will fit in perfectly and that patronage will soar.

Transport infrastructure is vital to ensuring our region maintains its lifestyle. It is why the federal government partnered with the Queensland government and Westfield to ensure that exit 54 was upgraded. This will allow the Coomera town centre development to proceed, it will give easy access to Dreamworld and it will cut down the time parents have to spend on the school run to at least six schools that hang off Foxwell Road. I have been watching progress carefully and I am looking forward to seeing the project completed soon.

On a similar scale we have seen $1.9 million in Black Spot Program funding. It is great to see simple community projects, like the roundabout at Turpin Road and Robert Street, being finalised. There is a quarter of a million dollars for the Gold Coast city council for safer seat programs and, of course, we are the movie-making centre of the nation. We have put in almost $30 million in a location offset to see Thor: Ragnarok filmed up on the Gold Coast. It was great to get down there and connect with Chris Hemsworth and Cate Blanchett and see what that film is doing. That is a $200 million direct injection into the community. When a film company is spending $100,000 every week in your local Bunnings this is a good outcome for the community! So we are a huge supporter of producing locally-made films, in this case in partnership with Village Roadshow Studios, and it is an impressive return on our nation's investment.

Last year, we saw Pirates of the Caribbean, and it was great to take Malcolm down to show him around the sets. Dead Men Tell No Tales was filmed on the Gold Coast, and so were San Andreas and Unbreakable. It is my hope that Disney will remember their great and positive experiences from these blockbusters in Australia and will make it a regular occurrence.

It was also a great moment a few months ago to stand with the Treasurer and commit a further $30 million-plus to see Aquaman, a film with a $300 million spend, filmed on the Gold Coast and ensuring employment for the over 1,000 people involved and, of course, looking forward to that direct local spend. If I were Bunnings, I would be stocking up!

We have also seen a whole range of local infrastructure: new memorials at local schools funded through the Centenary of Anzac grants, and of course $300,000 directly into the local community through the Stronger Communities Program. There was $5,000 for the Labrador Community Garden, to get solar panels to make the garden sustainable as well as self-sufficient for water. The Pacific Pines Football Club got $5,000 for portable aluminium soccer goals that make a huge difference, especially when mums have to drag these damn things from where the main facility is out onto the ovals.

The Labrador C&K Kindergarten got $18,181 for an extension and office construction to blend in with the building's heritage there on the Broadwater. There was $5,000 for the Runaway Bay Soccer Club to upgrade their kitchen, including a new oven, fridges, a fryer and a coffee machine. This is a soccer club run by an immigrant family who have busted their guts to get this thing profitable and up and running. It is just superb.

Helensvale Hornets Junior Rugby League Football Club got $5,617 for a digital scoreboard and the Runaway Bay Junior Rugby League Football Club got $6,000 to upgrade their canteen. Again, fabulously run by immigrant and local families who are getting involved.

We got $18,180 for Headway Gold Coast to purchase a specially-designed SportsArt elliptical machine to allow those with a disability, such as brain injury, to be able to work the needs of their body and to develop their muscles and heart capacity. There was $6,648 for the Seachange Homeowners Association for a community garden for older Australians. There was over $9,600 for Montrose Therapy and Respite Services to create an outdoor living space for their respite centre in Labrador. There was $8,000 for a new clubhouse to help out the Ormeau Cricket Club and, of course, a range of other projects, including the Green Army.

I am looking forward to the establishment of the Coomera town centre. We will need a Centrelink established there. Currently, the only Centrelink is right opposite my office in Labrador and the next one is at Beenleigh. The fastest-growing area is in the middle and I think a new Centrelink establishment is needed there.

I will also work hard to ensure that smooth immigration and other services are provided to assist the Commonwealth Games—in particular safety around the Commonwealth Games. I am also making the case very strongly to have our own immigration port service on the Gold Coast to service the luxury superyacht industry. They are coming more and more via Tahiti then through Fiji and into Australia. The spend from superyachts is extraordinary, so getting a clearance facility through immigration and Customs on the Gold Coast is important. Potentially, this could be combined with any planned offshore cruise ship terminal once the council has finished all its community consultations and done the master planning work that it has announced with the state government, all of which makes tremendous sense.

The future for the Gold Coast is great. It is an amazing city. It is a growing city. With the Commonwealth Games hitting next year, it is a fabulous place to live, work and raise a family. I am very proud to represent it. It is great to be here for my fourth term, and I am looking forward to continuing to work with my colleagues from both sides to deliver great outcomes for the nation.

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