Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to talk about four members in my electorate of Maranoa—four people who have worked hard for the people of Queensland and who are ready to make a change for a better Queensland. These four people have a lot in common but they share one very special quality: they are part of a team, a team that will help Queenslanders this weekend become part of the new Queensland government. This team, which represents the state electorates that come under Maranoa are ready to deliver a better Queensland, not only for Queensland’s regional communities but for all Queenslanders—from banana farmers in the north to tourist operators on the Gold Coast and to the farming and rural communities in western Queensland.

This team I speak of, and of which I am extremely proud, consists of: Lawrence Springborg, the leader of the LNP, the alternative Premier and the member for Southern Downs; Ray Hopper, the shadow minister for food security and agriculture, the member for the Darling Downs and the LNP candidate for the newly created seat of Condamine; Howard Hobbs, the shadow minister for local government, planning and regional development, and the member for Warrego; and Vaughan Johnson, the shadow minister for police, corrections and sport and member for the central Queensland seat of Gregory. There are the fifth and sixth members of the strong LNP team in Maranoa: John Bjelke-Petersen, the candidate for the seat of Nanango; and Ted Randall, the candidate for the seat of Mount Isa, which stretches down to the remote communities of Bedourie and Birdsville in the Diamantina shire in my electorate. Both are respected community members, family men and small business owners, and both are ready to help Lawrence Springborg become the next Premier of Queensland this weekend.

As members of the LNP they are ready to take on the challenges that face the sunshine state. They are ready to end the 11 years of failed Labor government, which has resulted in Queensland having a $74 billion debt. Where did all the money go? Where did all that money go from the mining boom? It did not go into the health system. It did not go into the regional and rural roads. If Labor can take Queensland into a $74 billion debt, during these good times of a mining boom, how can we trust Anna Bligh and the Labor Party to manage the economy in the tough times? Queensland deserves a team who can manage the economy, return our health care to a respectable standard and provide us with an education system that we can all be proud of.

In Queensland right now, under Anna Bligh and the Labor government, they are actually borrowing the money to pay the nurses, doctors, teachers, police and emergency services personnel—this is the disgrace of the Labor government in Queensland that will be thrown out of office this weekend. The LNP members in my electorate are part of a new team— (Time expired)