Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take my job as the member for Petrie very seriously. I love to represent the people in my electorate, and I get out and listen to as many people as I can about their priorities for our electorate. We've delivered some great projects recently: major road upgrades; sporting facilities; community facilities; increases in essential services for health, hospitals and schools; the local environment, which is really important; and safer streets with CCTV. But there's always more to do.

Last night I was really pleased to be able to deliver some great local projects in the budget for my community, including $500,000 for the Redcliffe coast guard, who protect people on the water and help out people who use the water regularly. We're going to extend their club house, and I want to thank everyone for that campaign and for getting on board. Also. We've got $263,000 to upgrade lighting facilities for the North Lakes Eels AFL club, who play out of Mango Hill at St Benedicts Close, and enable them to get more juniors playing. There's $1 million for the North Lakes Blues Netball Club. North Lakes has a massive shortage of sporting facilities, which is why I've been so vocal and strongly against the sale of the North Lakes Golf Course. We want to make sure the council doesn't rezone that sport and recreational facility to residential aged care. The new courts for the Blues will be great for young girls and women who play netball. There's $300,000 for the Ridge Hills soccer club down in Bald Hills.

We've recently upgraded a lot of major roads. When we were elected in 2013, an election promise was to upgrade the Gateway Motorway. I'm really pleased that in the infrastructure spend—they're moving it from $75 billion up to $100 billion—there's $800 million for the Gateway Motorway, which runs from St John Fisher in Bracken Ridge through to the Pine River, because that is still a bit of a bottleneck northbound in the afternoon. It will help all of those people in the Moreton Bay region, from Griffin, Mango Hill, North Lakes and Deception Bay up to Burpengary East. So that's great.

I want to say thanks to the people in my electorate. I will continue to work hard and fight hard for the area. I think the budget last night was good. I got into politics because my father always taught me to spend less than I earn. It's great that the budget for next year has, for the first time, come back into surplus. That's very important. It's how we can deliver lower taxes and make sure that people get to keep more of what they earn. The less tax that Canberra takes, the more for you—to help you with the cost of living, to raise your family, to pay off your house and everything else. As your federal member, I'll continue to fight hard, listen to you and do the best I can.

Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 193, the time for members' constituency statements has concluded.