Susan Lamb (Longman, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'd also like to thank the member for Fisher, who is my electoral neighbour, of course, for moving this motion, which highlights just how great the regions north of Brisbane are. The electorate of Longman, which I love, is a really friendly and hardworking community of people. I love their strength. I love their diversity. I love the beaches of Bribie and I love the leafy green suburbs of Narangba. But, while state Labor has been helping grow our region, delivering infrastructure and jobs through investments like the $253 million to the Caboolture Hospital and the $6 million Moreton Bay Advancing Regional Innovation Program, we can't pretend that the federal government has shown us much support at all.

While the member for Fisher's motion reads like a bit of a tourism ad for the Sunshine Coast, I have to say there is absolutely zero substance to this motion. There is zero substance and zero policy that will help either the Sunshine Coast or my region of Moreton Bay—because that's what this government is: zero policy, zero action and zero integrity.

Member for Fisher, integrity would be standing up for the many older Australians living on the Sunshine Coast who are waiting for their home care package. Member for Fisher, do you know how many people are waiting in your region? There are 1,074 people waiting for their package in your region, and that's not just limited to the Sunshine Coast, of course. In my local area of Caboolture, 860 older Australians are also waiting for their aged-care package. Ideally, there wouldn't be even one person waiting for their package, but under this government the numbers just continue to rise. If the government spent more time working to get these people what they deserve, then our regions would be doing far, far better, but the honest reality is that they're not. They're not, and it's vulnerable seniors of the Sunshine Coast and the Moreton Bay region who have to suffer because of this government's inaction. Try putting that into your tourism ad, Member for Fisher.

I note that the member for Fisher also sees potential in our regions as potential sites for decentralisation. In theory, I completely agree with him. Take Caboolture, for example. There is a beautiful area with huge potential for growth, it's not too far from Brisbane's CBD and it sits right on the train line. But, as much as it pains me to say it, we aren't quite ready for a huge expansion. The infrastructure just isn't there yet. Again, I commend the work of both the state and the local governments in our area, but the stalling and delays by this federal government are causing our region to suffer.

Last budget, our local federal LNP members—including the member for Fisher and adding the members for Dickson and Petrie—jumped to their feet when the government was announcing and praising the allocation of money towards the Bruce Highway upgrade from the Pine Rivers Bridge to Caloundra. Of course we welcome this funding—absolutely. But I've had constituents tell me that they've been promised these upgrades for years, and the constant delays have seen them all but abandon any hope. Now, though, their hopes have been revitalised with this announcement in the budget. Like I said, we welcome any funding that is provided to the area, particularly for infrastructure upgrades around the Bruce Highway.

There is still one thing that people who come and speak to me are certain of. They're certain that there'll be further delays under this government, delays in things like accessing an NBN connection. Go and ask the people in Narangba; they've now been told it will be 2020 before they get their NBN connection. There are delays in securing an aged-care package; there's a delay you don't want to live with. What about the delay in closing the gap for the Gabi people in my region? And what about delays in making changes to peoples' lives that would deliver a wage growth instead of a company profit growth?

The people in the outer regions of Brisbane have a lot of questions for this government, questions that won't be answered by a motion moved by the member for Fisher. These delays mean that some people are waiting for their livelihoods, but there are some people who are waiting for their lives.

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