Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to say thank you to the Prime Minister and his executive for announcing this week that the federal government will do a city deal with South-East Queensland. There's no doubt that this government is already delivering enormously for South-East Queensland, but there's more to do. We have to ensure that we stay ahead of the population curve in one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. We have to ensure that, while we respect each distinct community and their needs, from the Gold Coast to the Sunny Coast and from Ipswich to Toowoomba, we also need to improve the connectivity across those communities, across South-East Queensland.

That's where a city deal comes in. It's vitally important to have a future vision for what South-East Queensland needs to be and a road map to get there. And the only way to do that is in a united fashion, where you have all three tiers of government—local councils, the state government and the federal government—working as one on a set deal process. That's the only way too that we can maximise the gains for residents and unlock private capital to make it happen. Today is a big day, because I can get on my feet and celebrate that an SEQ deal is on the way.