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

It is a pleasure to rise today to speak about the great electorate of Forde and the exciting projects that have been delivered in the electorate over the past few years. I am very proud to say that, over the past two terms, we have succeeded in delivering every commitment made at the 2010 and 2013 elections. I have every intention of continuing that record.

In my electorate of Forde, we have some fantastic community organisations, sporting clubs, volunteers and business owners who have a community spirit that is unmatched. Every day, these people and organisations go above and beyond to make our region a warm, welcoming, inclusive and family-friendly community, and one that I am very proud to represent. Their commitment to the local community is what drives me to focus on delivering the infrastructure and government services they need. Because of them, I will continue to focus on that goal.

I have committed to a number of important community projects to support local organisations and further enhance our growing region. We committed $350,000 to the Loganholme football club to upgrade their clubhouse. This follows some $17,000 we provided through Stronger Communities grants for their other clubhouse, in Beenleigh. Logan Lightning is a fantastic local football club, and I am proud to be able to support its members, players and supporters.

We also announced $100,000 to install lighting at the Ormeau Bulldogs AFL Club so they have the capacity to train at night. As the club is growing, the ability to train only in the afternoon and into the evening really constrains the capacity of teams to train. This exciting project, in conjunction with the Gold Coast City Council, has now been delivered—with the new lights switched just last Monday night.

Beenleigh Senior Citizens Club is a fantastic local organisation and one of the largest senior citizens clubs in south-east Queensland. It is a pleasure to support them with $90,000 grant to upgrade their kitchen facilities. This is so important because the kitchen is used not only by the senior citizens club, but also by our local Meals on Wheels groups to provide meals for those in need in our community.

Feeling safe in our local community is important. Safe communities are happy communities, and I am pleased to help Logan City Council expand their CCTV network with a further $525,000 through the coalition's Safer Communities program. This is in addition to nearly a million dollars that we provided to Logan City Council in the past. This funding has supported the installation of five new CCTV cameras around Logan, as well as a new mobile CCTV system.

For many sporting and community organisations, the cost of electricity can have a big impact. High energy prices can contribute to club fee increases and can cripple a club's ability to expand and invest back into improving their facilities. Through the Solar Communities program, $100,000 has been allocated to six local organisations to install solar panels, including: the Park Ridge Panthers Football Club, Twin Rivers Community Care at Eagleby, Beenleigh Multisports Association, Bethania Community Hall, Pimpama Community Hall and Waterford Demons Rugby League Club.

When it comes to roads, the coalition government has committed some $40.6 million in Roads to Recovery funding to Logan and Gold Coast councils. This funding will help local governments to repair and maintain our local road networks.

My electorate of Forde is one of the fastest growing regions in Australia. We are right in the middle of south-east Queensland's growth corridor and we will continue to face many challenges over the coming years. But, through the efforts of this government in supporting our local clubs and building that much-needed infrastructure, our community will continue to grow, prosper and provide many opportunities for our future.