Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Everyone in this House has a reason to be here, something that made us stand up to want to represent our local region and the people that live within it. Many people who have stood in this chamber, past and present, came here to make a difference. We might not all agree on the changes we each want to make, but it's the fact that we want to make change for the betterment of our community, which binds us together.

I rise today to express my disappointment at the political, self-serving behaviour of Queensland health minister and member for Murrumba, Steven Miles. The state electorate of Murrumba encompasses a small pocket of my electorate, including Mango Hill. Last year during the state election, the member for Murrumba promised funding for a much-needed new high school in Mango Hill. This area is one of the fastest growing regions, and our local high schools are filling up quickly, with North Lakes State College, the high school, bursting at the seams. We've got Bounty Boulevard State School, with 1,400 children—the biggest state school in Queensland and North Lakes—and Mango Hill State School now has over 1,000 children. Parents need a solution as to where they can send their children to high school. If this school isn't built, the number of students at North Lakes State College would be unmanageable. That is why a high school at Mango Hill is essential. Our local families need access to high-quality education close to home.

I was pleased that the state government did actually put some funding into this year's state budget towards the school. But locals received letters from the member for Murrumba inviting them to an information session to hear about the new school. I wasn't invited to attend, but, as the federal member for the area, with the federal government obviously giving a lot of money to the state government for education, I thought I would go so I could also listen in and hear what was happening. I was interested to hear about the plans for this new high school. However, I was incredibly disappointed with the information session because it was a fact-free zone. It was very political, with Labor corflutes put out the front and all the way through the school before the parents came in, and not one new piece of information was given to the parents who gave up a couple of hours of their weekend on Saturday to attend.

The state Labor government has committed to opening this school by 2020. But the problem is they still don't even have a site locked in. They presented a plan for model high schools around Queensland, telling parents what typically goes into a high school, but gave no definitive information about what classrooms or facility the Mango Hill high school would have. They didn't tell parents what the catchment would be, they didn't tell parents what the school values would be and they didn't tell parents what the transport options to the high school would be. Labor didn't tell parents anything, including the location.

When a member of parliament sends out a letter to parents inviting them to come along and learn about a new school, it makes sense to expect to hear some information—something concrete about the plans or catchment, or even just the location. But the member for Murrumba followed the party line. He did what Labor often does: he overpromised and underdelivered. The information session wasn't anything of the sort. It was a political stunt, thought up as a way to try and win more votes. The member is playing politics with the education of local children and he has left local parents in limbo. Parents won't know if they'll be in the catchment area and won't know until a principal is appointed next year. We don't know if they'll take students just for year 7 or if they'll take them for years 8, 9 and 10, up to year 12. Will they be accepted? Mango Hill parents want answers, and the member for Murumba can't even tell them where the school that is due to open in 18 months time is even going to be located.

So here's the thing: the government does have a preferred location, and it's the worst-kept secret in Mango Hill. Parents were raising the fact that the old goat farm in Mango Hill was a preferred location. We know the landholders are in legal communications about the location at the moment. Why not just be open and honest with those parents as to where the school is going and let them know? The school needs to be in the best place for locals and for their children. It needs to make sense for traffic flow and transport options, and the school needs facilities that locals need, not what the member for Murrumba thinks it needs. During the information session, it was made clear that no decisions would be made until a principal is supported.

I was incredibly disappointed to hear that there were no definite plans for sporting facilities in the school design. They talked about possibilities, but nothing was confirmed. How can you know what you're building when you don't know the space you're working with? The one thing that was confirmed was that there would definitely be no swimming pool built, and our local area needs a swimming facility for our swim clubs and for students at this new high school. People overwhelmingly support the idea of a brand-new school, with a master plan being properly planned out.

The state government has given authority to local councils to do with planning, to make sure where units are and to make sure there are places of worship, places for communities to meet. In Griffin, North Lakes and Mango Hill, there are very few of those areas. We've already seen student numbers at the schools I mentioned before, like Mango Hill State School, Griffin State School, Bounty Boulevard State School and North Lakes State College, explode really quickly. When Griffin State School opened just a couple of years ago, it had 200 students. It's now up around 700 or 800. Student numbers at this high school, when it's opened, will explode quickly.

This is a core state government responsibility. We need to make sure that it is properly planned, not just rushed out in 18 months with inadequate buildings and no school hall—a decent school hall that will hold at least a thousand students. If they build something smaller and rushed, we know that it won't be adequate for the future needs of the school. We need a proper master plan, with a large school hall, with proper STEM facilities for classrooms, with a swimming pool so the local Mango Hill swimming club can get established, and with a hall where local community groups can meet, and nothing less will be accepted.

I say to the state member for Murrumba: stop thinking about yourself, stop thinking about how you can win more votes and start actually thinking about the children and parents of Mango Hill and the people relying on this school. It's so very important. The member for Murrumba has shown again and again that he's not listening to locals, with the federal government contributing $120 million for the on-ramps and off-ramps at Griffin; these are desperately needed. I've never seen a community so engaged with an issue. And what does the member for Murrumba come up with when we ask for a small contribution? A study. We don't need no study; we need the thing built.

I've worked with a number of members for Murrumba. By far, this is the worst member for Murrumba that I've ever worked with. I've got five Labor state members in my area who I can work with, but not this guy. I say to the member for Murrumba: stop playing politics and start listening to your community. That's that best way to represent the area.

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