Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

We in this place all agree that this budget was the most important of our generation. We as a nation have been tested by COVID-19, and my community of Townsville has been hit hard and has been tested. But, because of our commitment to keep people in jobs and to keep the cogs of the economy turning, even if it's slowly, we will make it through. This week's budget has given a lot of people in Townsville hope. The vast majority of people in my electorate of Herbert will be getting a tax cut, which means keeping more of their money. Businesses will find it easier and cheaper to create jobs with the JobMaker hiring credit, and will be reskilling and upskilling people with the JobTrainer and wage subsidy initiatives. We'll be investing heavily in major infrastructure projects that will create hundreds if not thousands of jobs to stimulate our economy—keeping the lights on and keeping the food on the table as we recover over the next few years.

I want to highlight just a few of the fantastic announcements we've made for my area of Townsville—and the feedback that I've been receiving since the start of the week has been extremely positive. The announcement of $76 million for Riverway Drive Stage 2 will see major works to upgrade a local road, one of our busiest, adding important safety measures at intersections and duplicating a large section of the road. This project alone will create 280 jobs, but, more importantly, it will be safer for people in the community to do school drop-offs and to be on the road. We know how important it is that, when people leave in the morning, they return safely in the evening. We're also investing $20 million to identify sections of the Bruce Highway in need of duplication, as well as continuing our more than a billion dollars of worth of upgrades throughout Queensland. We're backing CopperString 2.0. This is a fan favourite: this is infrastructure that will connect Mt Isa to the National Energy Market near Townsville and create nearly 400 jobs. And we know that lowering the cost of electricity will increase investment in the region, and that's exactly what CopperString will do.

As we continue to recover from the 2019 monsoon event, we are investing $60 million for a long-term recovery strategy. This will be through grants supporting reliable access to telecommunications and energy and improving disaster risk-management planning and for preventive mental health measures for children and locally-led resilience activities. We're also investing in $29.5 million for the Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium, the largest Reef HQ in the nation and in the world. It's fantastic, and I hope everyone visits—after COVID-19. (Time expired)

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