Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

In 2019 I am committed to doing even more to listen to the people of Fisher. That's why I'm holding listening posts every Friday morning by roadsides and in parks all over Fisher. It's also why I'm hosting coffee catch-ups in local shopping centres every Tuesday morning and why I'm taking a stall at weekend markets in Kawana, Currimundi, Mooloolaba, Maleny and Landsborough. People in Fisher can find out where I'll be each week by checking my Facebook page.

I'm also stepping up my program of community forums and consultations. Already since mid-January, I have held an NBN forum, an NDIS forum and held sessions for my seniors, youth and defence councils. Invitations are going out to my upcoming Fisher construction industry forum and a law and order forum which will provide more opportunities for local residents to provide feedback on some of the critical issues that face us in Fisher. I have many, many more forums planned for 2019.

To kick off 2019, however, I wanted to hold a listening post in every town of my electorate, but I also wanted to understand better some of the transport challenges facing my community so I created the Tour de Fisher. In five days I cycled over 200 kilometres on my pushbike and stopped—in lycra—to speak to local residents in 26 different towns around my electorate. I had one-on-one conversations with more than 200 constituents about the issues that matter to them.

In every town I visited in lycra there were local projects that residents want—from an upgraded pool for Conondale, new beachside facilities at Currimundi to not wanting to see their federal member in lycra! I'll be looking into these projects and, where possible, I'll be fighting for federal support to make them a reality.

But across Tour de Fisher in all of my listening posts this year four issues stood out. Local seniors are absolutely gutted at what Labor plans to do to people who've worked hard all their lives with their unfair and punitive retiree tax. Home owners, renters and the many construction workers in my electorate rightly expressed similar concerns about Labor's disastrous property tax and want to see it stopped. Most residents want to see a stronger diverse coast economy which offers them the great new jobs that they want. Sunshine Coasters are sick and tired of congestion on roads. They want to see construction on the Bruce Highway and the north coast rail fast-tracked, and they want to see action from our helpless and hopeless state government.

Finally, I believe very passionately that physical fitness is inextricably linked to mental wellbeing, and that's why I chose to do this ride.

See this speech in context