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

Youth entrepreneurship is where it's at. When big demographers like Bernard Salt talk about the Sunshine Coast being the entrepreneurial capital of regional Australia, it's not because we import entrepreneurs; indeed, our entrepreneurs are homegrown—in particular, young people. The youth entrepreneurship sector on the Sunshine Coast is absolutely booming. It was only last Sunday when I went to the Fishermans Road Market and I met an extraordinary young bloke, 13-year-old Hugh. Hugh, together with help from his younger brother Finn, runs his own business; it's called Dirty Ventures, a tremendous stall. I couldn't help myself; I had to buy one of his designed shirts. An absolute champion family. Right next door was another venture from 11-year-old Phoebe, and you should have seen the most extraordinary colourful jewellery that she has made herself. There she was, manning the stall. I have to say, whether it was Hugh, Finn or Phoebe, the customer service was second to none. Again, I couldn't help but make a purchase from Phoebe. On the Sunshine Coast, entrepreneurship is absolutely firing on all cylinders, and it's the younger generation which is leading the way.

Around 25 per cent of the Sunshine Coast population is over the age of 65. This is a good thing; it goes to the fact that we are a lifestyle capital. As the federal MP, it's a reminder for me, too, that I need to make sure I'm doing everything I can to represent older Australians in my part of the world. Since I was elected, I have been so fortunate to have a group of people who have been advising me—a seniors advisory committee, very ably led by the wonderful Carol Cashman. Every year I host what I call seniors forums. These seniors forums look at key issues that the advisory committee tells me are key to seniors in my area. Only recently I was delighted to join with the Blackall Range Care Group to jointly host a seniors forum focusing on a range of issues. We looked at aged-care services, Centrelink services, legal services and financial services, with demonstrable experience from those presenters who came along and shared their knowledge. Nearly 100 locals participated. I was delighted to have my friend and colleague Senator James Paterson join me for that forum, where he spoke about the importance of cybersecurity and provided basic tips that we could all learn from—and I know that the feedback was excellent. Thank you to the Blackall Range Care Group—I acknowledge the wonderful work they do in our community—and to my seniors advisory committee.

Christmas isn't far away, and there are some people who won't be having much joy this year. We know that times are tough. While there are people who will be celebrating Christmas, there are going to be a lot of people who will find it the toughest time of the year. My Christmas appeal this year is with IFYS, an organisation that does extraordinary things for people in need right across the Sunshine Coast. For anybody who wishes to make a contribution to those families—children in particular—who might be in need, I encourage them to please purchase any nonperishable food items or maybe even a gift voucher. Feel free to drop it off at my electorate office. My team is working very closely with IFYS to ensure that they will receive those gifts from you and can pass them on to those families and individuals who might be lonely and really in need amidst this cost-of-living crisis this Christmas time.