Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia, quite appropriately, is full of aspirational voters, but I have to say that I find the aspiration that was just expressed by the member for Newcastle, in which she assumed that this government was going to be defeated at the next election, quite amazing. Given all of the polling, which indicates that the next election will be quite difficult, I do not believe that it is appropriate for anyone to say with certainty who is going to win. But she asserted, quite definitely, quite unambiguously, that after the next election the government was in fact not going to continue to carry out the excellent government and administration that it has since 1996.

Tonight in the grievance debate I wish to place on record in the House, on behalf of the Sunshine Coast, some of the promises announced by Premier Peter Beattie during the recent state election campaign in his attempt to win the state seat of Caloundra, to win back the seat of Noosa and to hold the seat of Kawana. Now that the Sunshine Coast and the rest of Queensland have voted, I hope that the Premier has the same level of commitment to these promises that he had prior to the poll.

The region that I am privileged to represent in the Australian parliament sent an overwhelming message to Mr Beattie that it was very unsatisfied with Labor and with the Labor Party’s administration, and particularly dissatisfied with the Labor Party’s local representation. The Premier’s track record, and that of his local candidates, has not in recent years been as good as it should have been. While sadly the state overall has changed little in political complexion in terms of the seats represented in the Queensland parliament, the political landscape on the Sunshine Coast has changed considerably. If the coalition had done as well elsewhere as it did on the Sunshine Coast then the Queensland government would have been in diabolical trouble.

For instance, in my electorate of Fisher, the state seat of Kawana experienced one of the biggest swings in the state to unseat the sitting member, Beattie government minister Chris Cummins. The swing was close to eight per cent. It was a most amazing result, a great tribute to Steve Dickson MP, the new Liberal member for Kawana. Equally importantly, it was a great result for and a great tribute to all of those hundreds of Liberal Party supporters who worked to make sure that the seat of Kawana was once again represented by a conservative member.

Steve Dickson is a former businessman who was elected to the Maroochy Shire Council and he has already demonstrated his hardworking dedication to the people he has represented at the council level. I am sure that that hardworking dedication will continue to be apparent in his representation of his constituents in the state seat of Kawana. As planning chairman of the Maroochy Shire Council, he was successful because he understood that it was important in this position to represent the people and to listen. He was determined not to fail in that position. He was an extraordinary success and I am quite confident that that success will follow him into the area of state politics.

I would also like to congratulate the Liberal Party’s Glen Elmes, who was selected by the people as the new member for the seat of Noosa. Glen has a background as a businessman and has demonstrated for many years his energy in working for the community. He managed to defeat the sitting member Cate Molloy, the former member who became independent. In the time that he was a candidate, and before and since, he has demonstrated a strong level of enthusiasm for and devotion to a community he loves and now has the privilege of representing in the Queensland parliament the Noosa area, where he will obviously seek to achieve good things for local residents.

I would also like to congratulate the Liberal Party’s Mark McArdle, who increased his margin to take a stronger grip on the state seat of Caloundra—also in my electorate of Fisher—while the National Party’s Fiona Simpson, whose electorate office is really just about 300 or 400 metres from my own, also increased her vote to continue her respected position as a local representative.

It is important to recognise that the reason that the Liberal and National parties did so well on the Sunshine Coast is that they were able to work together in a sense and a spirit of unity and purpose. The Liberal and National party candidates worked as a team, and it showed on election day. The election day was a resounding success for the coalition on the Sunshine Coast.

Now that the election is past us and the new term of the Queensland parliament is upon us, it is important that the people of the region actually receive what they were promised during the campaign. Pressure must be maintained to ensure that the Queensland Labor government does not let down the people of Queensland, who decided to return this government for another term. The promises made to the people of the Sunshine Coast during the election campaign included a new hospital for the Kawana region. Mr Beattie announced a new hospital, at an estimated cost of $940 million, to be built on a site south of Lake Kawana Boulevard, in western Wurtulla. This project is scheduled to be finished by 2014. If Mr Beattie’s track record is anything to go by—and I hope that it is not—there does remain concern about this project. This hospital announcement followed a similar announcement for a hospital in Sippy Downs, also in my electorate, last year. That announcement was not carried through and that project was scuttled.

Also, despite promising a medical centre on a site near the University of the Sunshine Coast, that promise was later downgraded. Indeed, now there is going to be nothing at all provided by the Queensland government in that area. I was disappointed that the Premier, whom I know personally, was able to treat Sunshine Coast residents with such disdain. The cancellation also scuttled an ideal opportunity to establish a convenient close working relationship between the medical centre and the University of the Sunshine Coast. The hospital at Kawana, if it is built by the Labor government, may still be able to provide that close working relationship—and I hope that it does and I believe that there will certainly be a high level of commitment from the university to this end—but the distance from the university does present some challenges. Mind you, I think that the community of Kawana richly deserves a hospital and that it has been neglected for years by the Labor government.

The Sunshine Coast remains one of the fastest growing regions in Australia and, as the Premier himself has mentioned many times, the population of Queensland is increasing at a rate of 1,500 new residents each week, a significant number of them being interstate residents who decide to move to what I believe is the best part of the best state in our nation. What this population increase means, though, is that there is a need for increased infrastructure such as hospitals, and it really is important that the Premier does not take the view that because the former Labor member for Kawana, his minister Chris Cummins, was defeated this project ought to be scrapped. He promised it, he did not promise it conditionally, the people have voted and it really is important that this hospital is delivered.

A new health hub has also been promised for Maroochydore. Maroochydore remains the major business centre of the Sunshine Coast and it is the location of the largest shopping centre in the region, as well as a considerable number of other businesses. There are also plans for what will be the biggest single high-rise project in this area. While Nambour, to the west, has long been the home of the Maroochy council offices, decades of development in Maroochydore, based on the coast, and on the Maroochy River has seen it develop into a considerable commercial centre. Some have said it is the preferred site for a major medical hub needed in the region, and it would be sensible to establish such a facility in this area. The Premier responded to these suggestions and announced during the campaign that a health hub would in fact be located in Maroochydore by 2009, with a funding promise of $14.7 million to complete the project.

Also in my electorate, the Premier promised that Labor would direct money towards the redevelopment of Quad Park, a major regional sports facility. During the election campaign, $8.5 million was pledged toward this project, which is expected to eventually be of a standard able to host major sporting events such as first-grade rugby, Rugby League or AFL fixtures. This is a much-needed facility in a local area which has produced some great Australian sports heroes, including Zane Holmes, Rugby League stars Casey McGuire and Chris Flannery and many more.

The population growth brings a need for more schools, and during the campaign Labor promised almost $24.9 million for extensions at the Meridian Plains State College. This is an area to the west of Currimundi that is experiencing considerable development, so additional school facilities are always required. The Premier pledged funds to the redevelopment of the esplanade at Bulcock Beach, at the southern end of my electorate, in Caloundra. It is important that this promise also be delivered. Labor promised $4.25 million for the redevelopment of this Bulcock Beach area by 2009. Extra hospital beds at Caloundra and Nambour have been pledged, at a cost of $203 million, and many more promises have been made. (Time expired)