Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is always wonderful to rise in this place and take the opportunity to talk about many of the good things that are happening in my local community of Forde. Today, with Vietnam Veterans Day, we paused to remember all those who fought in the Vietnam War. We also mark 49 years since the Battle of Long Tan. I would like to sincerely thank all of our veterans for their courage, service and sacrifice. More than 60,000 Australian servicemen and servicewomen were deployed to Vietnam between 1962 and 1975, with some 521 killed in service. Many who survived the Vietnam War endured great hardship, returning home with physical and emotional scars.

To commemorate Vietnam Veterans Day, the Beenleigh RSL held a ceremony, so too did the Springwood Tri-Service RSL Sub-Branch, along with the Beenleigh Logan Branch of the National Servicemen's Association. The members also had the dedication of a new national servicemen's memorial plaque at the cenotaph at Springwood Park. I look forward to visiting them in the near future, when I return to the electorate.

I also recently had the opportunity to attend the official launch of a new project in Logan, Logan Together. It is a long-term whole-of-community campaign to create the best life opportunities for every child in Logan. I would like to thank the government and, in particular, the Minister for Social Services, Scott Morrison, for providing $750,000 in funding for this project and for his strong commitment to, and support of, this program. It was my pleasure to represent him at the launch.

The launch of Logan Together marked years of hard work and planning by the Logan City of Choice Leadership Team. It is a team that I am proud to be a member of. It was formed to help address the many challenges facing our community, and it is tremendous to see this hard work coming to fruition. Logan Together is a true partnership between all three levels of government, the community and the business sector in order to improve the wellbeing of Logan's children. As we see the next generation grow and develop, it is so important that we provide the support they need in order to become the best versions of themselves. A recently released report, called State of Logan's children and young people, highlighted a range of wellbeing measures that need to be better if Logan children are to grow and reach their potential. The Logan Together initiative coordinates action across every level of government, across the non-government sector and across the wider community in order to address the underlying drivers of children's vulnerability.

We have around 40,000 children in Logan under the age of eight years and, while most are doing fine, around 30 per cent will need extra focus and support. By age eight, we want all Logan children to have the same healthy outlook and the same literacy and numeracy skills as other Australian children. The Logan City of Choice Leadership Team and the Logan Together initiative will reform the system of support for children and families in Logan. I believe it is a groundbreaking initiative that could become the pilot for similar programs in other communities across Australia that are dealing with similar social issues. I thank all members of the Logan City of Choice Leadership Team and the Logan Together Working Group as well as Griffith University for being part of this tremendous initiative. I look forward to informing the House of its successes in the years to come.

Finally, I recently had the pleasure of taking part in the official sod-turning ceremony for the exit 54 upgrade at Upper Coomera—a vitally important project for the Forde electorate and also for the neighbouring electorate of Fadden. I take this opportunity to thank the minister at the table, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Jamie Briggs for his assistance and support in securing the funding for this project. In the past 10 years, the Coomera and Upper Coomera area's rapid growth has led to the current interchange reaching capacity. This upgrade will improve pedestrian and cycle safety, reduce the number of crashes, provide better access to the new Coomera Town Centre and provide major productivity improvements for local business. I also thank the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Warren Truss, for his support of this project. I congratulate Seymour Whyte Constructions on being awarded the contract. Construction is already well underway, and I look forward to seeing the results at the end of 2016.