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

I am pleased to speak in the House of Representatives as the member for Ryan and to raise a couple of important local issues from the Ryan electorate, because they are of deep concern to the constituents that I have the great honour of representing here in parliament. The first issue is in relation to the sale of the ABC site in Toowong in the Ryan electorate. It will be well known that the ABC site in Toowong has been the subject of some controversy because of the detection of breast cancer amongst many women staff who worked at that site. So the ABC has now decided to move to new premises, and I understand a new facility will be constructed at Southbank in Brisbane.

The people of Ryan will be interested to know that the ABC site is almost certainly going to receive considerable interest from potential purchasers and developers. Together with my friend and colleague in Brisbane who represents the council ward of Toowong, Councillor Peter Matic, I have been working very hard to draw this issue to the attention of the constituents that we both represent. We have put together a petition which has drawn enormous interest amongst the residents of Toowong and the surrounding suburbs. We have been absolutely overwhelmed by the support we have received for this petition. I would like to present the petition.

Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The document will be forwarded to the Standing Committee on Petitions for consideration and will be accepted subject to confirmation by the committee that it conforms with standing orders.

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

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. The petition talks about the significance of the site, a little bit about the history of the site, and about the issue of redevelopment of the site into parkland for the benefit of not just the people of Toowong and the surrounding suburbs but the wider community in Brisbane. It is one, as I say, that has drawn enormous interest, because this is riverside land. There is not much riverside land in Brisbane and I think that a beautiful site such as the Toowong parkland should really be something for the enjoyment and the pleasure of families. I can envisage all kinds of facilities on the river: barbecue facilities and family-friendly facilities for kids such as swings and slippery slides—that kind of infrastructure that brings families together, that brings communities together. As I said, I am absolutely overwhelmed by the number of people from throughout the streets of Toowong, the families of Toowong, that have really come together to express their deep concern that this Commonwealth land will potentially be sold to a developer who might construct something quite unfriendly to the local landscape.

Related to that is the issue of traffic congestion. People who live in the western suburbs of Brisbane, in the Ryan electorate, will know the streets of the western suburbs—Moggill Road, in particular, and Coronation Drive—are one giant car park in the mornings. I just want to flag the strong representation and leadership of Councillor Newman, the Lord Mayor of Brisbane. He is certainly doing all he can, along with the LNP opposition in Queensland. They are doing all they can, in their respective roles, to flag the indecision, the lack of leadership, the lack of investment and the lack of funds from the state government and from the previous Labor council administration when it was in power.

An interesting common thread is that, prior to Lord Mayor Campbell Newman taking charge in Brisbane, the period of the Labor administration in Brisbane City Council was almost a decade, and that matches the time of the state Labor government. Bar two years of the Borbidge Nationals government, the Labor Party has been in power in Queensland for nearly two decades, yet very little has been done to address congestion or to address traffic problems. Peak hour is not one hour; peak hour is many hours. I am certainly against the governance of the current Queensland government. Hopefully the people of Queensland will rectify that on Saturday, when they go to the polls and bring to George Street a team with fresh ideas, with a new vision and with competent ministers that can actually represent the people. So on the issues of traffic congestion and the sale of the ABC site, which potentially has enormous consequences— (Time expired)