Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker Hastie, I rise to speak in the adjournment debate. It is great to see another Western Australian in the chair.

I just want to update the House on one of the local governments in my electorate which you would be aware of, as we reflect on the year and look forward to 2017. The City of Canning is a hardworking council with some very talented councillors and officers, including Mayor Ng, who is very proactive in the community.

I particularly want to update the House on some recent events and issues in the suburb of Bentley, which is in the City of Canning. Over the last few months, I have been contacted by residents in Quinn Avenue in Bentley. They informed me of their increasing fears of one particular household in the street. Their complaints include car break-ins on the street, illegal off-road activity and antisocial and suspicious behaviour of occupants living at this address. However, there has been good news. My office was contacted by the Public Trustee last week, and they informed my office that the residents of the property have been moved on and the locks have now been changed. The house is boarded up, and the trustee will fix it up and sell it. I want to thank the City of Canning and in particular Councillor Jesse Jacobs for his proactive work in ensuring that this matter was dealt with swiftly. After I had the meeting with the City of Canning in regard to Quinn Avenue, they informed me that, during the period from 31 July to November, the city received and actioned 28 customer requests linked to this property alone. The City of Canning worked with the local police and the Public Trustee to address these issues. Two weeks ago, the city's officers inspected the house, along with the Public Trustee—as I said—and with their contractors and the police. The house was found to be in poor condition, and as a result the Public Trustee has moved those occupants out.

I also want to update the House on an exciting project that the City of Canning is working on which may affect your area as well, Mr Deputy Speaker Hastie. The Housing Authority and the City of Canning are working together to regenerate an area of Bentley into a vibrant community, providing new amenities and services and offering a diverse range of housing options. The project is called the Bentley Regeneration project. This project will provide 1,500 new dwellings as well as revitalised multipurpose civic and community facilities, 15 diverse open public spaces, and commercial and retail buildings. This project will be complemented by the City of Canning's City Centre Access and Activation Project, which will see the transport hub at the town centre be redeveloped for better transportation and connection all the way through to Armadale. I look forward to the Turnbull government supporting the City of Canning in these projects. As you can see, the City of Canning is a vibrant community. I look forward to seeing the transformation take place over the next few years.

Before I finish, I want to quickly touch on the ABCC and the success of this government in passing this legislation that took us to the election earlier this year. Common sense and the goodwill of the Senate have prevailed, and the ABCC is coming back. I have been contacted by many contractors from the construction industry who I know from my time in the construction industry. They have rung up to congratulate the efforts of the coalition in bringing the ABCC back to the construction industry. The re-establishment of the Australian Building and Construction Commission is very important in our national interest. It is important to bring down the cost of construction to improve economic growth and job creation. If infrastructure and construction projects across Australia can be delivered on time and on budget, it will give confidence back to investors. By bringing back the ACCC, Australia will have a stronger building industry, and a strong building industry will build a stronger Australia for all Australians.

I normally try to take this opportunity at this time of the year to pass on my best wishes not only to the people of Swan but to my staff, in particular, who have supported me this year, and also to my many parliamentary colleagues who came and supported the seat of Swan during the election. I would also like to pass on my best wishes to the opposition, their families and all their staff—who I know support them in their roles as parliamentarians—for the coming festive season.

I would also particularly like to thank the parliamentary staff, who do a great job—all the clerks and attendants who assist us in our roles—the staff in the CPOs in Perth who assist me in my role in the seat of Swan, the Comcar drivers and the organisers at the Comcar office, the transport office. Best wishes to anyone I have missed, but I would particularly like to thank my wife and my family, who have supported me enormously in the past year. My wife ran my campaign for me and is now my division president, so she plays an important and integral role in supporting me as the member for Swan.