Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It has been an honour and a privilege to serve the people of Dunkley over the past 12 months and the extraordinary area in which we live. Dunkley has, as I like to say, the best of the city, the country and the coast—I'm sure the member for Groom, who is in the chamber, will agree. Together, we are working to protect, to enhance and to further each and every aspect of our wonderful electorate. Dunkley is a major hub of health services, servicing people from all over the Mornington Peninsula, out towards Cranbourne and further up the coastline, back towards Melbourne, and I secured via the federal government $6 million in funding for a full Medicare licence for MRI at Frankston Hospital, which was the No. 1 health concern for many local residents and others in our region. Additional funding of $536,000 has also been delivered for Peninsula Home Hospice, who provide important palliative care services, to be provided at home. Headspace in Frankston have also had a boost of $240,000 for lead mental health site funding, to enable them to provide essential support and resources in this field.

One of my strongest areas of advocacy, however, has been a focus on the facilities, resources and rehabilitation available to people and families of people who have had their lives damaged by the impact of alcohol and drugs. Dunkley's local drug action task force was the first to be announced in the country. We are working with a number of local stakeholders, such as Peninsula Health, Victoria Police, sporting clubs, schools and local elders, to prevent alcohol and drug use in our region. I have reached out to each and every resident to let them know that there are important supports available locally by delivering An Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Resource Guide to every household in Dunkley.

Dunkley also has over 16,000 small businesses, equating to 97 per cent of our local economy. I worked with my coalition colleagues to reduce the tax burdens for small business and I am proud to have fought, along with the coalition government, for a reduction in the tax rate for small business from 30 per cent to 27.5 per cent. In addition, our Dunkley apprenticeships have grown as a result of the Dunkley Apprenticeships Drive we recently undertook, which resulted in a 31 per cent increase in local apprentices taken up compared to the same period last year.

I know my time is short, but I lastly want to mention the school funding reforms which have resulted in funding being increased for every school in Dunkley. We have also funded several Green Army projects and locally we have cooperated to save the Frankston Dolphins, who will now have their VFL licence reinstated for the 2018 season. And we have done much, much more. Also, I have released a Facebook video over the last week commemorating what has been achieved locally over the last 12 months and I look forward to working with the local community to continue to advocate for the people of Dunkley over the year to come.