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

I rise to speak on the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2024-2025 and related bills, and on what Labor has delivered in this budget. The reality is that for the people of Petrie there's very little in this budget that the government can be proud of. In the last two years, this government has seen people's cost of living rise and their finances fall through the floor, with rents up, mortgages up and homelessness up.

The government crow about tax cuts, but what they've done with tax cuts is basically legislate bracket creep for literally a million Australians around the country. The government would not be doing anything on income tax cuts if it weren't for the former coalition government delivering stage 1 and 2 tax cuts and legislating stage 3 tax cuts. Prime Minister Albanese promised not to change the legislation then broke his word and changed it. He has inserted the 37 per cent tax rate back into legislation. The coalition had killed bracket creep by making and legislating 30c in the dollar for incomes between $45,000 and $200,000. The Prime Minister said he wouldn't change that, saying, 'My word is my bond.' He has changed it. He's now put in the 37 per cent tax rate for incomes above $135,000. That's clearly a broken promise, and that's just one; he's done the same on superannuation.

He's done the same on electricity bills by throwing $300 around. A one-off payment of $300 is an absolute joke when most bills around Australia have gone up by $1,000 in the last two years. As the member next to me would know, the state Labor government has promised $1,000. It makes this government look absolutely lousy, with a lousy $300. Queenslanders woke up saying: 'Hang on. The state Labor government's giving $1,000, and the federal government wants to give $300. How lousy can you get?' In the next three years after that you get a one-off payment, but in years 2, 3 and 4 you're hit with higher electricity bills. That's since this government's come in.

Let's be clear that people in my electorate will receive tax cuts from 1 July. The coalition voted twice for that—previously, when we were in government, and now. Let it be known that if it weren't for the coalition there would be no tax cuts.

There's little for housing. We're in the middle of a housing and homelessness crisis. Rents have been up for the last two years. Mortgages have gone up 12 times in the last two years. Homelessness levels are through the roof—and this is after, according to the last census, the coalition government reduced rough sleeping around the country. There isn't a place in this country that you can go to now where you won't see more tents, more people sleeping in cars and more people sleeping in swags since the Albanese Labor government was elected. If they don't get their act together by 2026, if they're still in government, homelessness will be through the roof, and it rests squarely with Labor and the Greens party in the Senate. There's no-one else to blame. Labor is in federally. Labor is in in every state on the mainland. There's no-one else to blame.

I welcome the Commonwealth rent assistance increase by the government, but I would say that rents in the last two years have increased by more than the Commonwealth rent assistance payment to people on welfare. I'd also say that there is pretty much nothing for infrastructure in my electorate that wasn't promised under the previous coalition government. Queensland senators from the Labor Party are quick to open the projects that we announced, but there's no new money. There's nothing to improve communities for all those volunteers, those sporting community groups and those jobs that go along with the infrastructure needed. At the last election, I secured $25 million in election commitments from the former Prime Minister. Do you know how much the Labor Party promised? Nothing—absolutely zero for Petrie. The electorate is completely missing out.

I've engaged with the Prime Minister. I've always treated the Prime Minister respectfully. I've walked up to him and said: 'Prime Minister, here's a list of Petrie projects that need funding that will help my community. Could you please consider it?' I did it for last year's budget. There was nothing last year and nothing this year. These are projects like a high performance centre for the NRL Dolphins that would benefit Redcliffe high and other programs in the area. There's nothing for Redcliffe Tigers Australian Rules Club for women's change rooms. There's nothing for the Aspley Bowls Club to help people get out of the sun with a safe outdoor exercise area. There's nothing for the Redcliffe Leagues Softball from the Albanese Labor government. There's nothing for new lighting for the Peninsula Power Football Club, one of the best soccer clubs in Australia outside the A League. There's nothing for women's change rooms for the Aspley Hornets AFL Club in the southern end of my electorate.

The government says they're doing a lot for women, but in the last two years we've seen more women and more partners—men as well, but a lot more women—having to go back to work. Why? Their cost of living's through the roof. This is the problem. They won't even fund women's change rooms at the Aspley Hornets AFL Club. I've got the sports minister in the seat next door in the seat of Lilley. There's nothing. They're missing in action.

I'll continue to raise these issues to make sure that Petrie gets their fair share, but under this government they're not getting anything. There's also the Bald Hills Memorial Hall, where we need a toilet upgrade. That's a very important hall. It was an ANZAC hall, built after World War 1. There were masses of people down there for ANZAC Day, which I was at again this year. We needed $350k from the Albanese government to upgrade there. We got nothing. We got nothing for the lighting renewal for Langdon Park, which is used by Redcliffe Little Athletics. We needed $80,000 for Burpengary and District Men's Shed to install a new shed for a rapidly growing area where there are retired and other men. It helps with their mental health to get together and use their hands. We got nothing for them. We needed $5 million for the Singh Sabha Brisbane community centre. This is an area down in Taigum, on the border of my electorate, where people meet seven days a week, from dusk to dawn. The community needs some new facilities there. There was nothing for them either. The list goes on.

I spoke about roads yesterday. Six years ago the former coalition government put in 80 per cent of the funding to upgrade much needed roads in Griffin and Murrumba Downs. The people of Griffin in my electorate will know that when we get heavy floods or heavy rain in Queensland—and we've had a lot since Christmas 2023—Dohles Rocks Road completely floods. The former coalition government, the Liberal-National government, was able to invest with the Moreton Bay Regional Council to upgrade Henry Road, but a lot more needs to be done on Dohles Rocks Road. The Albanese Labor government has delivered nothing there. Six years ago, I got 80 per cent of the funding to do the on-and-off ramps at Griffin and Murrumba Downs as well. This was in the Premier's, Steven Miles's, electorate. What's happened in the last six years? Nothing. They couldn't get that done either. Four months out from a state election in Queensland, all of a sudden they're like, 'Let's get Linkfield Road going, or maybe we can get the on-and-off ramps happening.'

It's too little, too late. It should have been done 10 years ago. It should have been done eight years ago. It should have been done six years ago, when the former coalition government funded 80 per cent of these projects. They did absolutely nothing. That's because the Premier is a partisan premier when it comes to politics. If there's a good idea from the coalition: 'No, we can't support that.' I've never met another state member like him. I got $2 million to build a new pool at the Mango Hill State Secondary College, and this bloke got Grace Grace to cancel that project. I had to give the money to the Lakes College at North Lakes, who were welcome to receive the funding. They've got a new pool there—it's got eight lanes and is 25 metres long—at the North Lakes and Mango Hill swimming club. But this is what it means when you have Labor members that are partisan: nothing gets built.

I want to say to the people of Griffin that I won't be letting this go. Dohles Rocks Road will be upgraded. Murrumba Downs and Griffin on-and-off ramps will be done, and whilst I'm your federal member I'll keep raising it in parliament. If we have to elect an LNP state government in October, under the leadership of David Crisafulli, to get it built, that's what we need to do. I also got 80 per cent of the funding for the Gateway Motorway between Bracken Ridge and the Pine River. That was six years ago; I got $800 million ready to go. Do you think the Palaszczuk and Miles governments could deliver that? No—absolutely nothing.

You're right, Member for Bradfield. It's no good. The current transport minister, Minister King, also put a review on all these projects, which delayed the projects further in the last two years. Now they have capped that funding. What's happened in the last six years and after COVID? Everything has gone up. Projects that were funded previously like the upgrade on the Gateway Motorway, which was worth about a billion dollars and we committed $800 million to, will now probably cost $1½ billion to build. This is really important because the people of Griffin, the people of North Lakes, the people of Mango Hill, the people of Deception Bay and the people of Burpengary East who are coming down to work in the morning on the highway, along the Bruce, get stuck there in that intersection. Once again, it looks like we'll need to elect an LNP state government to get this flowing. The federal government can provide a lot of the money, but, if the state government—through their transport and main roads—won't get it started, we need a change in government. That's been a real issue.

In this budget, too, there is no new funding for psychologists to make sure that the Medicare subsidised mental health treatment plan got restored from 10 visits back up to 20. It was 20 under the coalition government. The Albanese government, under Minister Butler, has cut that down to 10 Medicare subsidised services. Just last week, I was contacted by Katherine in North Lakes, who has been seeking mental health treatment through the Medicare subsidised program. She has almost reached her 10 sessions, she's happy with how her psychology sessions are going and she wants the Albanese government to re-establish those 20 sessions. So I wrote to Minister Butler to assist this constituent as a mental health priority, and she should be able to get those 20 treatments. She has actually found a psychologist that is bulk-billing her, which is rare as well. So we need to be looking after people like Katherine to make sure that she can get the 20 sessions that she needs, under the Medicare subsidised mental health treatment plan.

Under a Dutton Liberal-National government, if we're given the opportunity to govern next year, that will be restored. We will make sure that there are 20 subsidised visits to see psychologists, which was cut under the Albanese Labor government, with the support of the Greens Party in the Senate.

Those in the government talk a lot about Medicare, as though Medicare belongs to them. Well, guess what? These are the facts. Bulk billing has dropped under the Albanese Labor government, in Petrie, in Longman—in seats right around the country. The bulk billing rate in 2022 was 85 per cent. Guess what it is now in Petrie? It's down to 75.5 per cent. That's a 10 per cent reduction in bulk billing since the Albanese Labor government was elected. It's not good enough, and we will keep fighting for better health services.

The Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, also outlined in his budget in-reply speech that we will support the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Australian Medical Association, saying:

… a Coalition Government will invest $400 million to provide junior doctors who train in general practice with incentive payments, assistance with leave entitlements, and support for pre-vocational training.

The coalition has welcomed the government's investment in longer consultations for women suffering from endometriosis and pelvic pain. This, they have acknowledged, builds on the significant work that the former coalition government did in this critical area, under the leadership of Greg Hunt. But more needs to be done to support women's health. As the opposition leader has committed to, we will continue to support measures and develop policy in this area, particularly in primary care for menopause and perimenopause.

As the federal member for Petrie, I'll continue to put the people of Petrie first and fight for their needs.

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