John McVeigh (Groom, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to alert the House to significant and exciting developments at a region known as Highfields, just north of my city of Toowoomba—some 12 kilometres out of Toowoomba. It's a region that has a population of around 12,000 people at the moment, but that's projected to double within the next decade or two, and it is therefore one of the highest growth regions in our country. Highfields is an area where I was blessed to be raised. As a secondary school student, I lived there with my parents and my siblings, and in later years my wife and I raised our own family in Highfields while our children went through their schooling years, both primary and secondary.

I talk about Highfields because many are under the misunderstanding that Highfields is a dormitory suburb of Toowoomba. It's not. It's a distinct standalone community with leadership from the Highfields and District Business Connections group, focused particularly on the development of a community heart—a civic centre, if you like. It's important to work with the Toowoomba Regional Council, and that's what this group is doing. It's important for the federal government to step up. We've been doing that through the nearby Toowoomba Second Range Crossing. And, of course, the state government has been developing the Highfields State Secondary College, which is a new school in the region. When three levels of government work together with the community, the outcomes can be tremendous.