Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm glad we're talking about disabilities, because something I've been fighting for, for Tamworth, is a disability transport hub. I'm glad that we have secured in excess of $600,000 to go towards building that. As you know, Mr Deputy Speaker Freelander, politics is made up of about10 per cent politics and about 90 per cent public service, and, if you get the public service part wrong, you don't have to worry about the politics part. Down here it's probably the other way around; it's probably about 90 per cent politics and 10 per cent public service. But back home overwhelmingly people just want you to deliver.

One of the metaphors for delivery—I'm from the hills, the real hills. We always thought that we were just forgotten about, like hillbillies—is a place called Weabonga. Weabonga is a village, not what you do. We managed to get them a new mobile phone tower, which is great. They said to me last time I was there that they needed a hall. Their old hall had fallen down. It's an old gold-mining town. We have secured over $80,000 to give that community a place to go again. You think it's not important until you go out there to see them. You think no-one's going to turn up, until you see about 30 people standing around. I believe that if you can deliver for Weabonga then you can deliver for so many other places.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It sounds like a good motto for life.