Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to say a very big thank you to 1,788 constituents of the federal seat of Fairfax for filling out my Ted's Biggest Survey. The Sunshine Coast is truly unique. It's a place where the values of the past and the opportunities of the future coexist. But you can't do your job as their representative unless you very genuinely listen. Every time you listen, at least in my case, you learn. Let me just touch on three key themes that came out of my biggest survey, with my assurance to constituents in the seat of Fairfax that we will be doing a very thorough and comprehensive analysis to identify not just the key issues but what actions are required. There were three key themes.

The first was in the area where we asked, 'What's your biggest concern?' There was a broad concern—and this won't surprise anybody—around the cost of living. Despite us living in a piece of paradise on the Sunshine Coast, people are still doing it tough. I think everybody in this chamber understands that. But when you head down to the beach or you're in the hinterland, and especially when you see families together and the smiling faces, it's easy to forget that people are doing it as tough on the Sunshine Coast as they are across so many regions in the country. So that was indeed the No. 1 concern.

More locally, the concern was about infrastructure—especially infrastructure that can bust congestion. Two main projects were nominated based on the feedback. One was that the heavy passenger rail line should go all the way through to the Maroochydore CBD. I want to make mention, too, that we have well over 5,000 people on a petition just for that project. But the people have spoken again, that it is absolutely key. So too did people want to see more lanes on the Sunshine Coast Motorway. That would be of no surprise to locals on the coast, but now that we have that coming through in the basic data it also allows us to speak with a degree of evidence on behalf of the local constituency.

The second area that I thought I would mention is the area of energy. This actually surprised me because I would have thought that the increase in electricity prices would have been the No. 1 issue nominated. In fact, it was No. 2. Still, it was nominated as having an enormous impact. But No. 1 here was actually the fear of losing reliability: more than double the people who expressed concern about price are concerned about the lights going out in the future. Given the time parameters of this speech, I certainly won't express my views on that topic. I think my constituents know it's a topic on which I speak very frequently. But I found it interesting that, like me, one of the things that keeps Fairfax constituents up at night—to use that expression—is the fear that our grid is becoming more and more unreliable, and we do see threats of the lights going out. And that's about more than interrupting the footy! This is about a genuine threat to the Australian economy, and that includes our area on the Sunshine Coast.

The third area was taxation. If there were a higher percentage response in terms of concerns around taxation, it was around superannuation more than anything. People fear that they will be taxed in their retirement. Of course, the Sunshine Coast is disproportionately represented by older Australians. People over the age of 65 represent about 16 per cent of Australia but over 20 per cent on the Sunshine Coast. So that was of no surprise, either. I only touch on those key themes to give an assurance to those at home on the Sunshine Coast that we hear you, we are analysing those results and we're very grateful.

There are few privileges in life one has greater than representing your home, your friends and your neighbours. Everybody in this place has that honour. It's a vocation, not a career. It's one I take very seriously. I genuinely thank every constituent who took the time to fill out that survey.