Teresa Gambaro (Petrie, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I wish to speak about another example of the sheer arrogance of the Beattie government in Queensland. Local government in Queensland had started undertaking reform with the size, shape and sustainability review, which was investigating shared services, regional cooperation and voluntary boundary changes between councils throughout the state. Work on the triple S study was well underway, with some significant progress having been made, when, without any warning whatsoever, Premier Peter Beattie and his junior local government minister announced a full review of local government in Queensland. This new study will be on Beattie’s terms by a group of people handpicked by Beattie and in a time frame set by Beattie. There was no consultation with the local governments or community that these changes would take effect. This review was imposed on all of us without any warning. To date, the work on the triple S study has meant absolutely nothing.

When the Beattie government mates bring down their decision in September, I am told that local governments in Queensland will be dissolved and run by interim committees headed by union hacks appointed by the Premier. Mayors across Queensland who have had significant experience will be thrown out and replaced by people who have absolutely no experience in running local government. And under the Premier’s plan, the sustainability of communities throughout Queensland will be in the hands of pencil pushers and bean counters in George Street in Brisbane who have not even visited the communities that they purport to represent. This is another example of the state government cutting funding to essential local communities. In place will be a system to wind things down and replace these councils with centralised, faceless, faraway organisations with no connection to their communities.

Make no mistake: these changes will lead to significant job losses for the people in local government throughout the state and will rip the heart and soul from local communities.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Burke interjecting

Teresa Gambaro (Petrie, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am glad that the member opposite interjects, because the worst example of this was what occurred in Victoria under a similar process. The job losses will include men who do the work on the roads and people who work behind the counter in the corner store. There is no doubt that Queensland families will suffer.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Burke interjecting

Teresa Gambaro (Petrie, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And the member continues to interject. She knows full well how devastated some Victorian communities were after those amalgamations and it will be no different in Queensland. It will have an absolutely devastating effect on communities. It will ruin the local character and it will be the death knell for local tourism and regional status. The City of Redcliffe in particular is a prime target at the moment. Are these the sorts of new communities that we want? The Prime Minister recently described Beattie’s plan for amalgamation of local government in Queensland as an abuse of power, and it is exactly that. It is an abuse of power and it will ruin tourism, small business and development in rural and regional Queensland. It will destroy local economies. (Time expired)