Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is good to be here in the House while the Minister for Small Business is at the table—I thank him for visiting Canning during the nonsitting week. We had a forum with local small business owners, and that was very successful. They found it very useful. I know how hard our ministers work—I think you were home for one or two nights, Minister, over an extended period, so thank you.

I, like no doubt many others in this place, am regularly asked by constituents what I do as a member of parliament. Sometimes that question comes out of sincere curiosity; more often, though, it comes from a place of suspicion and cynicism. Many Australians struggle to believe that politicians achieve anything, let alone that they have the interests of their electors at heart. So, fundamental to the role of an MP is the enacting of good legislation—legislation that serves the public interest and sets conditions for a flourishing Australian society. Since becoming the member for Canning, just over 18 months ago, I have sought to ensure that the interests of people from my region, the Peel region, are reflected in the laws that we make.

Last year the federal government passed the backpacker tax, which made a huge difference to my fruit growers in the north of Canning. Canning is home to a thriving horticultural industry. We grow some of the best fruit in WA. One of the perennial issues we face is that we struggle to secure Australian workers. When Senator Sinodinos visited Canning last year, he spoke directly with the fruit growers and they said to him, 'We are competing with the welfare system when it comes to securing Australian workers.' That is why backpacker labour is so important. We also needed a competitive tax rate for working holiday visa holders, and the government has delivered just that.

We also had a postcode issue. Some growers were living in postcodes that rendered them ineligible for the working holiday visa extension: postcodes 6076 and 6111. It was great to see the Hills Orchard Improvement Group, led by spokesman Brett DelSimone, lobby me and also the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. He met directly with them, and we were able to come up with a good solution. Now those fruitgrowers are working at full steam, and they are being productive. So that is one example over the last year when I think about what my role as an MP in parliament is: it is creating the conditions where my constituents can flourish.

In the budget from last week, there are some great opportunities and measures for the Australian people. I think straightaway of the measures to cut red and green tape. People in Canning want it to be easier for local businesses to have a go and get ahead. We spoke about that with the small business minister when he visited. People want to see jobs in their region. Many want greater freedom to run their own businesses. I have done a lot of town halls over the last month—six, in fact—and the feedback I have had from constituents is frustration with red and green tape. I think of Stuart McCormack from Pinjarra, who spoke for the farmers in Coolup when he said that their competitiveness was being strangled by red tape and environmental regulations. He mentioned prohibitive, inaccessible regulation as being a major disincentive for most farmers expanding their operations. So, in the budget, we have committed to reducing red tape by providing $300 million to the states and territories to remove unnecessary regulatory barriers. This builds on the $5.8 billion of red tape reduction that has so far been delivered by the coalition government.

Also for small business, we are delivering small and medium business tax cuts that will help the 11,570 businesses in Canning with turnovers up to $50 million if they are incorporated, and up to $5 million if they are unincorporated, to invest and employ more Australians. I think of the instant asset write-off. The 2017 budget extends the $20,000 instant asset write-off for a further 12 months, to 30 June 2018. The turnover threshold will also be lifted to $10 million. This measure will help improve cash flow for small business, helping them to reinvest in their business and replace or upgrade their assets. Many businesses in Canning can take advantage of this.

I think of one new business which opened up only 10 weeks ago, King Road Brewing Company in the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale, owned by Dave McKee. They had to open early because of the overheads, and now they are turning away people at the gates. I took my wife and my son for a meal there on Mother's Day. We rocked up at 11.30, and they had already shut the gates because they had exceeded their 200 patrons. It is great to see business thriving. There is a lot of negativity out there, but I will tell you what: there are signs of life in Canning, and it is again small business taking the lead. It is very encouraging.

One thing that is also in the budget is the introduction of compliance measures such as drug testing for 5,000 welfare recipients, which will take effect in January 2018. We have a serious drug problem in Canning. I do not pretend Canning is a perfect part of the world. Our wastewater indicates this. In fact, regional WA has a higher-than-national-average rage of ice usage. Just last week, approximately 250 metres away from the Centrelink office in Mandurah and about 300 metres away from my own office, I was breath-tested at 10.30 in the morning, not because I was driving erratically but because we have a drug and alcohol problem in the centre of our town. So I am hoping that this measure can be rolled out. I have spoken to constituents. They want to see action taken.

To those who push back against the drug testing, I can say from personal experience that, whilst on service overseas in Afghanistan, I had to take several drug tests as part of my job. We were sending soldiers into harm's way, and we were still being drug tested. If it is good enough for the ADF, it is good enough for welfare recipients who have a drug dependency. Ultimately, this is designed to help them. The cashless welfare system is the proposed solution if they test positive.

Civic institutions are a really important part of Canning. I think of sporting clubs, including the AFL clubs. I recently went to the Port Bouvard Surf Life Saving Club annual awards. It was a great night. I think of the numerous charities and churches, including the brand-new Free Reformed Church of Mundijong, a beautiful building in a nice paddock out in Mundijong. The Free Reformed Church does a lot of good things in Canning. I recently saw how much they care for their community at the funeral of Laeticia Brouwer, who was a member of the Free Reformed Church of Baldivis. The congregation there was a great example of what a strong and healthy community looks like.

All these civic institutions are separate from government. They do not need our bureaucracy; they do not need our assistance—although we do try to empower them, and the volunteer grants are one way in which we do that.

I can think of two examples where people in Canning have achieved success through collective action. They have demonstrated that grassroots democracy is very much alive. The first example is of the residents of Pickering Brook in the north of Canning. Last year I received a number of complaints from constituents about the placement of an NBN fixed wireless tower in Pickering Brook. It was very close to their homes, it was unsightly, and no-one had really consulted with them about the best place to put it. It was also close to a primary school. The residents, working as a collective, alongside the local shire, the Shire of Kalamunda, persuaded NBN Co to relocate the tower to a more suitable site at the Pickering Brook Sports Club—and, incidentally, if you go there for a beer on a Friday night, your phone goes dead, which is great for an MP but, for a lot of constituents, is unacceptable. So it is good to see more telecommunications infrastructure rolled out into the northern hills of Canning. The second example is the Dawesville Chemmart. Due to pharmacy location rules, the Dawesville Chemmart's application to dispense PBS medications was rejected. What was the problem? It was a mere 25 square metres of floor space—they fell 25 square metres short and, because of the rules, they were not allowed to dispense PBS medications. So the pharmacy started a petition, because a lot of retirees and pensioners in the area walk to that pharmacy, and they need those PBS medications listed. They gathered over 2,000 signatures and brought that matter to my attention, and, on behalf of the pharmacy's owners, I then lobbied the former health minister for a ministerial intervention, and she agreed to our request. The Dawesville Chemmart is now dispensing PBS medications and providing a good service to the community. In both these instances, change was driven by people at the grassroots level with the support of government.

The coalition has also been supporting civic society in Canning through the aptly named Stronger Communities Program. Thanks to this program, we have secured better sporting equipment for gymnastics and netball clubs in Roleystone and stadium lights for Mundijong Oval. I went down and watched the first game under lights with my little feller a couple of weeks back, at the Centrals. There has also been park equipment in Coolup and a community garden in Byford, just to name a couple. It is great to see those local projects supported by the coalition government.

It is also important to acknowledge and support volunteer organisations which bridge the gap between civic society and government to provide essential services. Recently, I visited this year's Canning recipients of the coalition's Volunteer Grants program. It is incredible to see how a little support from government towards fuel costs or administration goes a long way towards enriching the lives of everyday families, like those who are part of the Manta Rays Swim Team for disabled children in Mandurah. I also think of Riding for the Disabled in Orange Grove; I saw the delight on the faces of the children, some of whom struggle with a range of illnesses, as they got on the back of a horse and got therapy in that way. It was incredible to watch. So I am very proud that our government is supporting those little institutions which make up Australian society.

The bread and butter of every member in this House is constituent work, but, in the daily running of an office, we are at risk of forgetting why we help our constituents. I do not help constituents because I want their votes; I help them because it is my duty to help safeguard their interests. It is always a pleasure to help someone who is very clearly a Labor or a Greens supporter; that is our job.

See this speech in context