Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Finance, Competition Policy and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to take the unusual step tonight of congratulating Linda Lavarch, the state member for Kurwongbah—soon to be known as the seat of Pine Rivers—on her achievements whilst in office. Mrs Lavarch, of course, comes from a well-known family and was first elected in 1997 to the state parliament. In my experience, she conducted herself in the electorate in an exemplary way. She was well involved in many of the local community groups. I saw her at many functions, and she was well respected at those because she provided support to the community. In fact, she encompassed all that was, in my view, good about a good local member. She came from the area, she represented people and their causes, she provided support to community groups, and whilst in parliament she rose to be the Attorney-General in the Queensland state government. As the House is aware, she recently announced her retirement from the state parliament.

Regrettably, it has been advertised quite widely by many in the Labor Party and by media reports that she is to be replaced by a Labor MP from a seat further north of Kurwongbah, Carolyn Male. Carolyn Male is not a person that I personally know, but what I do know is that, if she is parachuted into the seat of Kurwongbah, she brings with her all the traits of the person that the Labor Party last parachuted into an area in Pine Rivers—which they did in 2001—and that was Mrs Cheryl Kernot. If you look at the media reports, many people hold that same view, including many of the local Labor branch members. My call tonight is for the Labor Party to listen to and respect the views of local Labor Party branch members, who are asking for nothing extraordinary except for the opportunity to elect one of their own—somebody like Linda Lavarch who knows the area of Pine Rivers; somebody who is able to represent their interests because they are genuinely interested in representing those interests; and somebody who brings with them the experience to represent our local area.

In 2001, the Labor Party took a decision to override the wishes of the local branch members to parachute Mrs Kernot in, and the result is well known in this place. The arrogance that is being displayed by the Bligh government—a continuity of the Beattie government—for a lot of local people defies belief. People do not want to have imposed on them candidates from outside their own area simply because there has been some sort of a factional deal stitched up by union people in the back rooms of the Labor Party. I want to read into the record a couple of comments which have been made in the press recently. On 1 September, the Courier Mail said:

But this arrogance has now leached into the wider Labor Party. It has been reported that Carolyn Male, Government Whip and Member for Glass House, has abandoned her constituents and manoeuvred a switch—with Premier Bligh’s blessing—to the safer bet of Kurwongbah, now vacated by the retiring Linda Lavarch. This factional game of musical chairs points to the type of arrogance that only long incumbency brings. The Labor Party has come to regard individual seats as its personal property, with the party’s factions taking members and voters equally for granted.

I quote again from the Courier Mail on 1 September, which said:

Glass House MP Carolyn Male has finished window-shopping electorates across Brisbane’s northside and settled on the safer seat of Pine Rivers after Labor was stripped of its majority in the electorate following boundary changes. Her first choice was another new seat, Morayfield, which she said she coveted for a variety of reasons, including her children’s sport, the location of her doctor and—

wait for it!—

better shopping.

The deal was a win for Premier Anna Bligh’s own Left faction. There are a number of other articles which are critical, including some comments which have been attributed to local branch members of the Labor Party. But the point is that the people of Pine Rivers deserve somebody who is local, somebody who is interested in representing their own interests, and not somebody who is a seat-hopper, deciding to take residence in Pine Rivers because they do not believe they can win the seat which they are currently representing any longer. The reality is, I think, that the Labor Party needs to stop the arrogance, to listen to the local branch members and to listen to the local constituents. My prediction is that, at the next state election, the people of Pine Rivers will look at somebody of Cheryl Kernot’s ilk and vote against that person—and rightly so. That is the message that needs to be delivered to Labor. (Time expired)