Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to congratulate the community of Boonah and the Scenic Rim Regional Council, who had the foresight to allocate $480,000 of the money that we gave them as part of our $300 million local infrastructure fund to the Boonah hydrotherapy complex. The local community at Boonah has raised $480,000. They raised that money themselves. It is a small community. It is the equivalent of about two suburbs in Ipswich, and they raised that money locally. It is a great tribute to people like Sel Pfeffer. Sel and his wife have contributed tens of thousands of dollars for the project themselves. They have been a great inspiration for many others. It was not just them but also the Rotary Club and Ray Squire; people like Kevin McDonald, who is Chair of the Boonah Hydrotherapy Pool Committee and his very committed wife Natalie, who has also worked very hard; the Red Cross; Apex; the Lions Club; the Rotary Club; and many others. I cannot forget Ray Squire, who is the real genius behind so much of the technology which will be used in terms of renewables that will limit the use of electricity and other forms of energy in the complex. This is a tourism magnet, not just something for the rehabilitation of many people in what has become an area with an ageing population. This will be a great project for the local community. It is the sort of project which we have talked about in our new Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program.

On 17 December, the Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Northern Australia, the Hon. Gary Gray, came to Boonah and met members of the local committee and also the council, including the Deputy Mayor Dave Coburn and the Mayor John Brent and many of the civic leaders in the local area. He stressed to them the fact that we are committed to local government and that this was the kind of project that is in line with the federal government’s commitment to local infrastructure. We had a great meeting that particular day. I am pleased to say that the money was allocated the next day. Boonah received $667,000. I should say the Scenic Rim received that money. I have the old Boonah section. I apologise to my comrade the member for Forde—he has the rest of the Scenic Rim. But he has not been left out, because I understand that this week, at a special meeting of the Scenic Rim Regional Council, they have not left out the federal electorate of Forde. They have decided to allocate $30,000 to Tamborine Mountain for a project and $200,000 for work on the Zamia Theatre at Mount Tamborine. So the residents of Forde have not missed out. I am pleased to say that they have allocated, dollar for dollar, $480,000 to Boonah, and that is in keeping with the commitment of the local people, who have raised money in all kinds of ways, through raffles and cake stalls, including at the very successful Spa Festival. They have produced books and sold them in the local area. I have rarely seen a project with such community support and dedication. The local people are to be commended. They have worked tirelessly for this project.

I can just imagine the Brisbane Lions AFL team and the Brisbane Broncos going there. I think it would probably do the Brisbane Broncos good to go to Boonah and spend the weekend at the hydrotherapy complex after a hard game. I am a Brisbane Broncos supporter—a great fan. Living in Ipswich with Alf Langer and the Walters brothers, you cannot help but be a supporter of the Broncos. They could go there and spend the weekend in Boonah and enjoy themselves. The hydrotherapy pool project is a great project. I commend the local community and the council, including Mayor John Brent and Deputy Mayor David Coburn. The foresight shown by the committee and the council is to be commended. I will work successfully with them in the future on other projects, including the House of Living Water project, which is another great project that recognises the Christian heritage of the area. It is being run by the Moogerah Passion Play Association. Congratulations to the local community.