Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am a proud Queensland Labor member and, after the state election last Saturday, I stand here proud of my Queensland Labor colleagues. The Queensland Premier always said this was going to be a tough election, but Queenslanders knew that Labor was the only party they could trust. It was only Labor that Queenslanders could trust not to sell our assets. It was only Labor that Queenslanders could trust to deliver on local jobs. It was only Labor that Queenslanders could trust to invest in health, TAFE, education, roads, energy and infrastructure.

The Herbert community knew that only Labor would fund the first stage of water security and deliver $215 million for the pipeline duplication. Our community knew that only Labor would deliver the Oasis, a defence hub, and jobs for our veterans, ex-serving personnel and their families. The Herbert community in Queensland remembers the former Newman government Treasurer Tim Nicholls and what he did to Queensland. We remember the 398 cuts Tim Nicholls made to Townsville Hospital and Health Service frontline services. We remember the 197 local TAFE workers sacked under Tim Nicholls.

The Palaszczuk Labor government reinstated frontline health service workers. Labor has a plan for TAFE and jobs—the 'Queensland first' policy for local jobs—and, importantly, our infrastructure spend of $1.6 billion. That will happen under the Palaszczuk Labor government. I congratulate the Premier. She is not only the first woman to win government from opposition, but the first to be re-elected as Premier for a second time. (Time expired)