Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Now that I've been re-elected for a second term, I want to thank the people of Longman for again putting their trust in me to represent them. All I can promise them is that I'll continue to represent and work hard for them in the Australian parliament. I've learnt much from my first term, and I'm even more determined to fulfil my vision to make Longman the most desirable place in Australia to live. To achieve this, I will continue to maintain my level of community engagement by attending as many community events as possible, and I encourage anyone to come and raise any issue with me when they see me out and about. I'm also happy to read written correspondence sent to my office by mail or email and meet people face to face. I will then take this community feedback and advocate for the various projects that are needed in the Longman community to fulfil my vision.

Last term it was amazing to be a part of a government that delivered over 240 projects for the Longman community, from smaller projects like solar panels for local clubs and community groups and fuel vouchers for hard-working volunteers, to major road projects, like the third lane on the Bruce Highway from Caboolture to Steve Irwin Way, the New Settlement Road overpass on the Bruce Highway and contributing to the couple of much-needed improvements for the Bribie Island Road. Much was achieved, but there is much more to do. I'm happy to work with all levels of government, regardless of their political colour, to achieve the outcomes our community deserves.

I'm so proud of my campaign team and volunteers from the election. Unfortunately it was quite an unpleasant election due to the weather but also the negative campaigning, with some of my opponents resorting to mudslinging, intentionally misleading the people of Longman and straight-out lying. The behaviour and language of some of the volunteers from other candidates certainly did not reflect well on those candidates. When I actually spoke to one of the other candidates about this face to face, they said, 'That's politics,' to which I replied, 'It doesn't have to be,' and I still believe that. I also firmly believe that there needs to be truth in election campaigns, as the Australian people expect, and rightly so, that any statements made in the media and advertising material containing information that includes facts and figures is accurate so they can make an accurate, informed decision. I know this is a new concept.

I was advised by some well-meaning people that I couldn't win by running a positive campaign, that I needed to get down in the gutter and fight dirty like the rest. I didn't stoop to that level, and I'm pleased to say, by the mere fact that I'm standing here, that it must have worked. This is what I'm most proud of: that we ran a positive campaign with integrity and were still able to win. I hope this will be infectious to other candidates from all political persuasions. I believe the Australian public will become more politically engaged if campaigns are run in a more respectful and positive manner. As part of my role I will also put pressure on this Labor government to deliver on all their election promises in a timely manner. What the people of Longman don't want is all these promises fulfilled six months before the next election or, even worse, not at all.

It has now been nearly six months since the last federal election, where the Australian people sort of decided on an Albanese Labor government. I say 'sort of' because the reality is that only 32 per cent of people actually voted 1 for the Labor Party, which was in fact less than voted 1 for the coalition. Although I make this tongue in cheek remark, I do respect the decision of the Australian people, and this government were voted in fairly under our current system. This has, however, prompted many questions from constituents in my electorate of Longman and prompted many discussions and suggestions around our entire electoral system.

While there have been many varied suggestions and opinions, there are a couple of suggestions that the majority of people have and agree on. The first suggestion is that they are tired of the compulsory preferential voting system. Many feel it is actually antidemocratic to force people to fill in every box on the ballot paper. Some are against compulsory preferencing, but most believe in optional preferencing.

Next, people would like to see fixed four-year terms. I'm also personally a supporter of this. Four years would align with local and state government election cycles and give governments time to get more done. I know there are quite a large number of people against a fixed election date, but I am in the camp of a fixed date. The main reason I would like to see this change is that before the last election, like most MPs, I had identified and fought for many worthy projects and programs in my electorate of Longman. As we approached the election date, I asked very clearly if each project was an election promise or a decision of government, as I wanted to communicated accurately to my constituents so that there could be no confusion. We announced decisions on government projects, such as $5 million for the Caboolture PCYC, under the Community Development Grants Programme; $3.5 billion for the Caboolture Sports Football Club, under the same program; $1.8 million, from the health budget, for four years funding for Bribie headspace to help our young on Bribie Island struggling with mental health issues; $5 million for a veterans wellness centre in our community; and funding from the coalition's $28.2 million Peri-Urban Mobile Program for additional mobile towers in communities like Longman that are geographically uniquely located where the suburbs meet the bush. These are all game-changing projects for the Longman community and these are all decisions of government, not election promises.

Unfortunately, due to timing issues with the signing of documents due to going into caretaker mode for the election, some of these were not officially 'signed off'. This created a loophole for the new Labor government to legally, although not morally, back out of these projects, which, for a time, on a couple of them, they tried to do. Fortunately, with the help of shadow ministers, I've been able to ensure that the funding for most of these projects will go ahead as promised, and I hope I will eventually get them all across the line. I also note that this Labor government are now saying that they will fund them under different programs they've come up with, with different names or as election promises. It's a cheap shot—I know—but, at the end of the day, the community gets what they were promised, and that's all that matters.

To prevent this type of thing from happening again, if we had fixed four-year terms, governments would have no reason not to have any decisions of government signed off before going into caretaker mode and remove the issue of a change of government backing out of promised projects. Another issue highlighted in the last term was the need for an update to our Constitution, particularly the powers of state and federal governments. People rightly expected their federal government and Prime Minister to lead through the pandemic. It is reasonable to expect, in a time of national crisis, the federal government to lead and have jurisdiction and freedoms to make decisions on behalf of the nation. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister was not able to do this, as the Constitution clearly states that the states are responsible for the delivery of public health care and imposed the vaccine mandates. This needs to change.

Longman is one of the fastest-growing communities in Australia, and, as such, there is much infrastructure, services and amenities needed to accommodate this growth. My commitment to the people of Longman is that I will work with this government to achieve the outcomes for our residents to achieve the standard of living that they deserve. When good decisions are made, I will support this government; when decisions are made that are not in the best interest of the Longman community or the Australian people at large, then I will speak and vote against those decisions. I commit to the people of Longman that I'll continue to be positive and talk up our wonderful community and our great country.

In closing, I would like to acknowledge all the hard-working volunteers who helped on the campaign, of which there are simply too many to mention here today. You know who you are, and I thank you. A special mention goes out to my campaign committee, including Peter and Beth, Graeme and Lynne, John, Fiona, Peter, James, Beck, Lou and Mitchell. I also want to thank my staff, Sherilee, Sue, David, Emily, James, Peter, Mel, Alistar and Fiona, for all their hard work during the campaign. Lastly, I want to thank my family, who rarely saw me for about six weeks, especially my wonderful wife, Alexandra, who, despite having her own job, helped out tremendously. Thank you, babe; I love you.

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