Justine Keay (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to welcome the communities of Bakers Beach, Harford, Hawley Beach, Moriarty, Northdown, Port Sorell, Sassafras, Shearwater, Squeaking Point and Thirlstane into the federal division of Braddon. Last year, the Australian Electoral Commission completed its redistribution of Tasmania's electoral boundaries, and I am pleased to welcome the fact that the entire Latrobe municipality of these towns will be now in the Braddon electorate.

The Port Sorell area continues to be one of the fastest-growing areas in Tasmania. The ALP, in its submission to the AEC, called for the Latrobe municipality to be united in the electorate of Braddon. It is one that I understand and I know that the people of that area feel a closer affinity to the north-west of Tasmania than they do to the remainder that lies, particularly, to the south of the state. The Latrobe Council also made a submission to the AEC calling for the same, and for the same reasons.

I must declare a conflict of interest, Mr Speaker. My dear mother and stepfather live in the town of Shearwater on the main road. My stepfather is a member of the Thirlstane Golf Club. I know they'll look forward to supporting me and Labor at the next federal election. My mum is clearing space in the garden for my poster, which is all very exciting.

Then, of course, there are the magnificent attractions that the area has to offer. Ghost Rock vineyard produces multi-award-winning pinot noir, pinot gris and sparkling chardonnay. Rhuby Delights produces chocolate coated rhubarb, strawberries, blackberries and blackcurrants. The Narawntapu National Park—I'm going to have to learn to say that a bit better—is a hidden gem with inlets, small islands, wetlands, sand dunes, lagoons and an amazing variety of plants and animals and, sadly, has some wombat mange—I inherited this from the member for Lyons who has an intense interest in this issue, and it's one that I am hoping to share with him.

It is one of the best places in Tasmania to easily observe native animals in their natural habitat. The park is also rich in Aboriginal heritage, with many shell middens and artefacts that can be seen on walking trails across the park. I know my colleague the member for Lyons was not too happy losing Port Sorell from his electorate, but there is very little community of interest between Port Sorell in north-west Tasmania and the outer suburbs of Hobart in the Lyons electorate, which I have just mentioned. However, there is that strong community link between Port Sorell, Latrobe and my home town of Devonport—which is only a 20-minute drive away—and, more broadly, the Cradle Coast region.

The Liberal Party, for some strange reason, ignored the wishes of the Latrobe Council in its submission and stated that this area should remain in Lyons. Even stranger, were the actions of the state Liberal government when it came to Tasmania's electoral boundaries. In Tasmania, our five state electoral boundaries are normally the same as the five federal boundaries. Premier Will Hodgman had the opportunity in November last year, before state parliament rose ahead of the state election, to change those boundaries to mirror the federal boundaries. For his own selfish reasons he chose not to.

This has resulted in the ridiculous situation where people within the Port Sorell area at the recent state election earlier this month were voting for state representatives who will not represent them into the future. The Port Sorell area is traditionally a conservative area, and, clearly, the Premier wanted to use that community as political pawns to offset the popularity of state Labor leader Rebecca White, who is a state member for Lyons. The Premier should do the right thing once the parliament resumes—I believe in May—and amend the state electoral boundaries so the Port Sorell areas in Braddon will be the same at a federal level as at a state level.

I want to assure the wider Port Sorell community that I will not take this area for granted. I have already planned next week to have mobile offices at Port Sorell and Shearwater. The first will be held at George and Dave's Café in Shearwater on the afternoon of Thursday, 5 April, between 1.30 pm and 3.00 pm. The second will be at The Trend Shed cafe at Port Sorell on Friday, 6 April, also between 1.30 pm and 3.00 pm.

I encourage the local community to come along and discuss any issues that they have with me, whether they are state, federal or local. I'm really looking forward to representing the remainder of the Latrobe municipality, being able to campaign there, listening to the concerns of the community and seeing how we as a federal Labor government after the next election can further their interests.

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