Michael Johnson (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Amongst the suburbs of the Ryan electorate are Anstead, Karana Downs and Mount Crosby, and the residents in those three suburbs total some 4½ thousand people. They represent almost six per cent of the Ryan federal electorate, which I have the great privilege of representing here in the national parliament. Today in the parliament I want to lend my absolute support to the remarkable and dedicated efforts of a local resident of that area, Mrs Swee-Wan Carpenter of Karana Downs. She has three children at the local Mount Crosby primary school. I am doing this because she has been an inspiration to all of us in government, at the state level and at the federal level, in her push to have a high school built in that area.

Those suburbs represent a very young part of my electorate. It is a family-friendly area, it is a growing area, it is a beautiful part of the Ryan electorate and a beautiful part of Brisbane, and the demand for a high school is becoming more and more apparent. In the parliament today I want to reflect my personal support for this and communicate to all stakeholders, in particular of course the constituents of Ryan who live in Anstead, Karana Downs and Mount Crosby, that I will continue to support Swee-Wan Carpenter in her almost single-handed efforts to raise this issue in the local community. I want to quote an email that she sent to me last Friday, 8 June. She says:

I am very passionate about this issue, and in my enthusiasm to keep the momentum going I ran ahead of myself. It will mean so much to have you Michael, Dr Bruce Flegg—

who is the local state member for Moggill—

Wayne Wendt—

who is the Labor state member across the Brisbane River in the seat of Blair—

and Cameron Thompson—

the federal member for Blair—

all working together for our shared community to get this high school. The power of one united force is better than a splinter here and there.

I say ‘hear, hear’ to that very prescient comment by Swee-Wan Carpenter.

I want to inform all the residents of those local suburbs that I have received hundreds of responses from local residents in reply to the survey that I put together several weeks ago, and I want to thank all those residents who have indicated to me their support for having a high school built in the Karana Downs, Anstead and Mount Crosby area. I call on the state government, which is swimming in GST revenue, to get on board and build this high school, because we all know that the lag time will be some five to 10 years before the first student walks into the first classroom. (Time expired)