Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Firstly, in this address-in-reply I would like to reaffirm that it was a privilege to return to the House of Representatives with the new 45th Parliament of Australia, having once again been re-elected in July as the federal member for Capricornia. During last year's election campaign, the coalition committed an unprecedented $330 million in infrastructure and other funding that will benefit the people of Capricornia and surrounding parts of Central Queensland. Shortly, I will outline this funding as part of our economic plan for jobs, order and growth in Capricornia.

Before that, this area of Central Queensland is both the gateway and the farm gate to northern Australia, and we are arguably Queensland's most important mining, agriculture and Defence training location. Recently we have been through a difficult time as the needs of Defence, national security and agriculture clashed. I refer to plans by Australian Defence to expand facilities at the Shoalwater Bay military training ground. I am pleased to report that there has been a good outcome on this issue for landholders in this area.

By way of background: Shoalwater Bay is north of Rockhampton and is located in the Shire of Livingstone. Singapore is one of the many countries that train at Shoalwater Bay with our Australian troops. In the middle of last year, under the joint Australia-Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Singapore pledged to invest $2.25 billion in Queensland based military training sites at Shoalwater Bay and Townsville. However, late last year, as Australian Defence leaders began further outlining their plan to expand the Shoalwater Bay facility, it emerged that military might require additional surrounding farmland. Some farm owners struck a deal and willingly sold their properties at a large profit. However, during the course of this process fears were raised about the prospect of Defence enforcing legislation to compulsorily acquire farmland as a last resort. For the past two months, this has caused great anxiety, uncertainty and anger amongst the landholders, seafood sector, workers and small business in that district. Families like the Geddeses Couti-Outi Station feared their historic family property would be consumed by Defence.

Last year I met with stakeholders and I promised that I would sensibly and firmly push behind the scenes to ensure that their concerns over the possibility of forced land sales were heard at the highest levels of the federal government. I was in constant contact with the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Defence. I had the defence minister come to Rockhampton to meet with the stakeholders. Several weeks ago I took the Deputy Prime Minister out to Couti-Outi Station to talk with a group of farmers, small business and workers representing the entire district. On the first Monday back in Canberra the member for Flynn and I met with the Prime Minister and defence minister for further robust talks. We met gain with the Prime Minister, the defence minister and the Deputy Prime Minister and, as a result, on the first day of parliament this year I welcomed a pledge from the Prime Minister that no landholder in the Shoalwater Bay district would be forced to sell their property to Defence.

This has come as a big relief to local landholders. Farmers who do not want to sell voluntarily will still be able to approach and talk to Defence themselves, but the government has confirmed that Defence will only purchase land from willing sellers around the Shoalwater Bay training area. This successful outcome for local landholders demonstrates my strong representation to lobby behind the scenes as appropriate for a desirable outcome for the local district.

So what about other elements of investment in Capricornia? I mentioned before that, over the coming years, the federal Liberal-National coalition has committed an unprecedented $330 million in infrastructure and other funding that will benefit the people of Capricornia. One key part of this pledge is water infrastructure. Projects like Rookwood Weir near Rockhampton must go ahead to create long-term jobs. We will cooperate with the state and private enterprise to help get it off the ground as soon as possible. Other projects, like a feasibility study for Urannah Dam, near Mackay, and water infrastructure for Clermont were also vital to secure a future for the region.

Unlike Labor, the Turnbull-Joyce government promised to chip in $130 million to cover 50 per cent of the cost of building Rookwood Weir near Rockhampton. On top of this, the Commonwealth will pay a further $2 million to ensure that the state government can complete the final business case required for the project to proceed. The Turnbull-Joyce coalition further committed $225,000 to secure water infrastructure for Clermont and Theresa Creek Dam and $3 million towards a feasibility study for Urannah Dam, near Mackay, benefitting an area from Eungella to Collinsville and the northern tropics.

It is clear from the federal coalition's commitment to Capricornia that we want to move ahead with water projects in northern Australia. But when it comes to Rookwood Weir near Rockhampton, the Queensland state Labor Party is holding us back. Despite a federal commitment of $132 million, the current Queensland Labor government, led by Annastacia Palaszczuk, is leading a go-slow on supplying the business case to us. This is despite the fact that in 2006 Labor Premier Peter Beattie promised to have Rookwood Weir built by 2011. It is the same year that Annastacia Palaszczuk, the current Labor Premier, was elected to parliament. Essentially, she was elected on a Labor promise to all Queenslanders to have Rookwood Weir built by 2011.

So, where is Rookwood Weir? And why, 10 years after that Labor promise and five years after Labor said it would be finished, are they still dawdling over their business case? This is why Labor is bad for Central Queensland. The longer they stall the business case then the longer they stall water security and the potential for 2,100 new jobs. I am now hearing rumours that the consultants hired by the state government to complete this business case may already be demonstrating a negative bent away from Rookwood Weir. If this is substantiated, then that attitude is unacceptable.

In other areas of Capricornia, community sport is also an important social and economic element. That is why the Turnbull-Joyce government also delivered $14 million in sports and health infrastructure in Capricornia. Sport contributes a valuable part of the social fabric of our local communities, and by enhancing local facilities sporting groups can attract state and national competition. This injects further money into small business in our local economy. Investment in sport is part of our $330 million water, jobs and growth plan for Capricornia.

Let me recap, and provide an outline of figures covering what we will achieve over the coming three years. As I mentioned, the Turnbull-Joyce government has committed $130 million towards Rookwood Weir, which would lead to 2,100 jobs. Plus there is $2 million for the state to finish the final business case for Rookwood Weir. There is $225,000 to secure water for Clermont and $3 million towards a feasibility study for Urannah Dam near Mackay. We have also committed $30 million to a Bowen Basin jobs-and-investment package. This is to help with training, following the earlier coal downturn and includes infrastructure grants and grants for small businesses to expand into new areas of expertise.

In other areas of the community, we are providing $10 million to kickstart a Mackay Regional Sports Precinct, located at CQU's Ooralea campus in Mackay. There is $75 million to help kickstart the Walkerston heavy vehicle bypass—or the Bowen Basin Service Link—in Capricornia, west of Mackay, to rid Walkerston of heavy vehicles and dangerous loads entering the Peak Downs Highway.

There is $1.5 million for Emu Park's Hartley Street Sports Reserve, stages 2 and 4; $1.5 million for the stage 1 Pilbeam Walkway up to Mount Archer in Rockhampton; $600,000 for the Rockhampton Hockey Association for a second artificial turf; and $7 million towards Rockhampton Hospital car park. At the time of this pledge, this was the only funding on the table for this project. State Labor had no money in their budget and had to scramble to find funding—the biggest issue in Rockhampton and they continued to ignore it.

We are also fixing mobile phone blackspots. New priorities include Yeppoon, Emu Park, Clermont and Sarina Range near Koumala. Other areas where coverage has either already been improved or is soon to be fixed include Clarke Creek, Gargett, Marlborough and Mount Chalmers Road near Yeppoon.

We have committed $50,000 for solar panels at Rockhampton's women's domestic violence shelter, $220,000 to kickstart repairs to the battered Putney beachfront on Great Keppel Island—this project is underway; $350,000 for the Sarina BMX track facilities; $250,000 for Sarina's Field of Dreams project, Mackay Regional Council; $60 million for a four-lane highway from Gracemere to Rockhampton to ease dangerous congestion of freight trucks, cattle trucks and commuters; and $98.6 million to create four lanes on the Bruce Highway north of Rockhampton for a safer and more efficient entry point to the city's northern outskirts. We are committing $3 million to support Beef Australia 2018, which provides a $40 million direct injection into the Central Queensland economy and hundreds of millions of dollars into our global beef trade. There is $350,000 put towards widening the intersection on Bondoola Road near Yeppoon to allow for better access of B-double road trains involved in the timber sector and other industries. There is also $90,000 to install solar power and solar battery storage at several community organisations. Under the scheme the Central Queensland Aboriginal corporation in Rockhampton, the Dreamtime Cultural Centre in Rockhampton, Emu Park State Emergency Service, the Marlborough State Emergency Service, Sarina Bowls Club and Sarina Surf Lifesaving Club will each receive $15,000. We also encourage a $400 million investment in two new solar farms at Moranbah and Clermont to generate power and jobs.

One of the saddest facts about Central Queensland and North Rockhampton in particular is that it has the highest rate of domestic violence outside Brisbane. One of the highlights of my political career was to successfully lobby for a permanent Federal Court circuit judge in Rockhampton, also servicing Mackay, Gladstone, Emerald and Central Queensland. This will help families struggling in Family Court and domestic violence matters, among the most vulnerable in our community. I would like to thank Senator George Brandis for his assistance with this.

On top of this, the federal government's free trade deals with China, Japan, Singapore and Korea have helped cement confidence in our CQ Beef export sector, one of the factors helping to deliver record beef prices in Central Queensland. This has encouraged investors to consider new ventures such more abattoirs in Capricornia that will create more future jobs. We also support the expansion of coalmining. We approved all environmental factors under strict Commonwealth conditions to pave the way for Adani coalmine 160 kilometres west of Clermont in Capricornia. Sadly, green activists who are bedfellows of the Labor Party have tried to stall this project and the thousands of jobs it would create.

In the past few years I have also been able to secure federal funding for other local infrastructure, either completed, underway or in the pipeline. There is $190 million to build future CQ defence projects under the Australian defence white paper, $10 million for the Yeppoon beachfront, $7 million towards the development of Rockhampton's riverbank precinct, $2.3 million towards a new Capricorn rescue chopper hangar, $300,000 for Rockhampton's new Meals on Wheels kitchen and $3 million for 16 Green Army projects for young people who have been doing a great job repairing community recreation sites in the electorate.

Further to this, after much lobbying, the Turnbull-Joyce government is spending $166 million to fix up the notoriously dangerous Eton Range on Peak Downs Highway west of Walkerston. Our coalition government is also providing $35 million to replace four country bridges in the Isaac shire on the Peak Downs Highway. Speaking of major road projects, last term the Deputy Prime Minister officially opened the $136 million stage 2 Yeppen South project on the Bruce Highway on the southern outskirts of Rockhampton. Finally, as we look ahead into the future, I want to recognise that a key issue facing families in Capricornia is labour hire or casualisation of the workforce. As we see a dramatic change in the way our resources and mining companies operate in a downturn, we are seeing people removed as permanent staff to be made casual staff where they have no access to sick leave, holiday leave or essential family leave. This is causing families to break apart. It means people turn up to work sick, because they do not have an income. It takes away the leisure time spent with children. This is an issue that I will certainly be talking more about in the future.

In the meantime, Capricornia has a great future, and I am proud to be part of a coalition government that is taking a keen interest and delivering for our region. I would also like to thank all the people who supported me in winning the seat of Capricornia for the second time: my staff, my family, the enormous number of volunteers who helped us. It certainly is not a job that one person does; it is a team effort, and I truly thank all of those people.

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