Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's a pleasure to rise and speak about the great range of things that the Morrison government and coalition governments over the past few years have been delivering across the electorate of Forde. Health, hospitals, schools, child care, local transport, infrastructure, sporting and community facilities and, finally, environmental funding: they've all been part of our plan to deliver for the community of Forde.

Since we came to government in 2013, we've increased funding to Queensland hospitals by over 102 per cent, from $2.7 billion to $5.4 billion in Commonwealth funding. The Commonwealth has subsidised, over the past year, some 2.3 million prescriptions through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Since October 2013, 2,847 new or amended items have been listed or will soon be listed on the PBS. This is the equivalent of 30 new or amended medicines a month, with an overall investment of some $14.3 billion.

One of the important issues, sadly, in my electorate and, I know, in many other electorates across Australia, is mental health funding. I'm pleased to say we have delivered on that in the electorate of Forde through the support of not only the existing Meadowbrook headspace but also the new headspace at Upper Coomera, both of which are doing an enormously important job for the youth in our community. Sadly, their services are now more greatly required than ever, and I know that they are busier than they ever have been.

We have also seen tremendous investments in our schools, not just from recurring school funding but also from various grants to improve school facilities. There has been the Marsden State High School oval upgrade, which now sees Souths Logan Magpies train there, and they will play a number of games there this year. Norfolk Village State School and Eagleby State School have benefited from the health and wellbeing hubs. Parents no longer have to travel to the Gold Coast or Brisbane for services for their children. Those health services now have somewhere where they can meet with the parents and the kids on the school grounds, saving enormous amounts of travelling time for parents. We are finding that parents are more readily able and more willing, importantly, to meet with those services to see how their children can be helped at school. There is Kimberley Park State School, with their oval upgrades to provide disability access. All of these are examples of the Morrison government continuing to deliver for the electorate of Forde.

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