Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Lying at the foot of the Blackall Range on the Sunshine Coast is the beautiful town of Nambour. I can tell you that Nambour has it all. It has the most extraordinarily beautiful local environment and transportation connectivity which is second to none—road, rail, right next to the Bruce Highway. It has schools and hospitals that are likewise absolutely excellent. It has a community which is close-knit; they give each other support and they're building that local economy.

But Nambour has been struggling of late, and that is evidenced by a petition which has garnered around 1,500 signatures, which says: 'Make our parks and public spaces safe again.' This reflects an influx of people, where there is no accommodation for them in the town. Homelessness is something that I care deeply about and it's why I have secured around $4 million to address local homelessness over recent years. But the influx of people is impacting not just homelessness; it is leading to a lot of antisocial behaviour, to people feeling unsafe, to businesses being worried about their staff and households being worried about their youngsters.

I want to assure the people of Nambour that the three levels of government are working together to find an integrated solution. Bright days will indeed be again ahead.

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