Garth Hamilton (Groom, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was pleased to see in the budget funding the proposal to redevelop the much-loved Clive Berghofer Stadium in the beautiful city of Toowoomba. I urge all levels of government now to rapidly begin the process of consulting with the community. During my recent doorknocking it has been very clear that no consultation has taken place up to this point, and there is a deep desire from residents to be involved in that process. I will always support investment in our city, but I do believe we need to get the investment right to ensure that it supports our local economy, jobs, businesses and, most importantly, residents. Speaking to those residents it's clear that there are already issues regarding noise, congestion and parking that arise when events are held at the stadium with its current capacity.

I'll continue consulting with my community to understand their concerns and how this will impact them, their lifestyles and local amenities. Sadly, at the moment there are lots of unanswered questions. I urge all locals who wish to have their say on the development of the Clive Berghofer Stadium to complete the survey that can be found on my website and Facebook page and in my regular email updates. It's vital that your voices are heard through this process, and I commit to ensuring that local voices are heard here in Canberra as well. As a community, there's great excitement about a new stadium in Toowoomba. We're a growing city with a proud sporting legacy. Let's make sure we get this right.