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

I would like to take this opportunity to speak about some of the positive actions that the coalition government has been taking over the past few years in my electorate of Forde. It is a government that has delivered for many Australians, a government that is focused on growing the economy, a government that is focused on creating more jobs and a government that will support those who need it most.

I am proud to say that, over the past two terms, I have delivered on every commitment made at the 2010 and 2013 elections, and I have every intention of continuing that record. I have committed to a number of important community projects to support organisations that provide services to our community. We have committed $350,000 to the Loganholme Football Club to upgrade their clubhouse. The Loganholme Football Club is a fantastic local club. It is continuing to grow and is a major force in the Brisbane Premier League. I am proud that we have been able to support its members, players and supporters. We have also committed $100,000 to the Ormeau Bulldogs Junior AFL Club so they can install, with the help of Gold Coast City Council—and I thank them for their partnership in this—lights on their fields so that the club has the capacity to continue to grow, through being able to move the seniors and the older juniors to training at night. That makes it much easier for the club to manage their training programs.

Beenleigh & Districts Senior Citizens Centre will receive $90,000 to upgrade their kitchen facilities. The kitchen is not only used by the seniors citizens centre, which is one of the largest, if not the largest, in South-East Queensland, but it is also used by our local Meals on Wheels, a terrific local organisation that supports many families in need. This will allow them to prepare more meals, store them better and get them out to our local community.

Along with these exciting projects, we have also committed a further $525,000, through our safer communities program, to fund the installation of new CCTV cameras around Logan. The government is committed to making our communities safe, and we are also committed to improving the local environment. Through the Solar Communities program, we allocated $100,000 for six local organisations to install solar panels on their roofs to mitigate some of the costs of running their organisations. These organisations include the Park Ridge Panthers Football Club, Twin Rivers Community Care at Eagleby, Beenleigh Multisports Association, Bethania community centre, Pimpama community hall and Waterford Demons Rugby League Club.

A new Green Army project for the Albert and Logan Rivers was also announced, with $200,000 to improve water quality and protect the waterways through revegetation, the removal of invasive weeds and the introduction of measures to reduce erosion. When it comes to roads, the coalition government has committed more than $40.6 million in Roads to Recovery funding to the Logan and Gold Coast councils in Forde. This funding is helping local governments to repair and maintain our local road networks. This funding is in addition to the $10 million we contributed to upgrading Exit 54 at Upper Coomera, and that vital project will be completed in a matter of weeks.

During the election the Turnbull government made a significant commitment of $215 million to help fund two important upgrades to the M1, in Logan and on the Gold Coast. It was a tremendous win for the electorate of Forde but also the electorates of Fadden, McPherson and Moncrieff on the Gold Coast. This announcement means the Turnbull government has taken two of the biggest items on Queensland's infrastructure wish list and moved them from the 'one day' column into the 'ready to go' column. The $215 million commitment is in addition to more than $13 billion of investment by the coalition government in Queensland infrastructure.

Queensland is already receiving more transport infrastructure funding per capita than any other state in the Commonwealth. I commend my senior cabinet colleagues for this contribution to Queensland and my electorate of Forde. I am extremely proud to be part of a coalition government and I look forward to another productive three years of delivering on these commitments in my electorate of Forde.

House adjourned at 17:00

Mr Georganas: to move:

That this House:

(1) expresses its deepest condolences for the victims of the devastating earthquakes that hit Central Italy on 24 August and 30 October 2016;

(2) recognises the:

(a) ongoing suffering and displacement that the earthquakes have caused to the residents of the affected towns; and

(b) courageous and tireless work of the emergency and medical workers, and volunteers to save lives and prevent further tragedies; and

(3) expresses our sincere thanks to the Australian communities who have rallied to show their support and solidarity in the face of this tragedy.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Buchholz ) took the chair at 10:00.