Vince Connelly (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on how the Morrison government is demonstrating that it is on the side of our local communities, including in my electorate of Stirling?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Stirling for his question, and I commend him on his first speech to this chamber yesterday. As I sat and listened to that speech I was so impressed by his commitment to service, and that's what's brought him into this place. He has served our country in uniform and now he is serving it in this place. He brings that culture of service leadership to this parliament, and I commend him for doing so.

He is one of all members of this House who have the opportunity to provide support to their local communities through the various programs that our government has introduced to provide direct support. There are projects that this government has brought in through the congestion-busting program and through two successive budgets, which means improvements in Balcatta, at Osborne Park in Hamersley in the member's electorate will see people get home sooner and safer.

On top of that, we have the Building Stronger Communities Grants Program which is accessible to all members in this place, and has been, in particular, supporting the work of surf lifesaving clubs all around the country which I know the member is a keen supporter of. Veterans in our communities are being supported at a local level with the establishment of our Veterans' Wellbeing Centres, whether it's in Adelaide, Townsville or many other locations around the country.

The Accelerating Commercialisation grant means that GET Tracker, a mining equipment and service company in the member's electorate, has benefited from a million dollar grant to support mining technology and ensure these businesses can get ahead, go ahead and employ more Australians. The $1.25 billion program for local community health and hospital projects is also ensuring that those local communities are being supported.

On top of that, we have the $30.2 million Local Schools Community Fund: $200,000 per electorate that enables schools in our communities, public and independent, to get access to additional support through the hard work of their local members, in touch with their communities, and to get access to those programs to deliver real meaningful change on the ground.

And, on top of that, there's the Communities Environment Program that the Minister for the Environment spoke of the other day in this place. It's a $150,000 program, which is available in each electorate, for every single member of this House to reward and support practical environmental action dealing with local waterways, local parks and local beaches.

This is a government that is absolutely focused on the needs of local communities and partnering with those local communities to deliver on the projects which they say are important to them because, on this side of the House, we understand that government is about the people of Australia. It's not about political parties and it's not about individuals; it is about the people who sent us here to do this job. They have sent the member for Stirling here to do this job. He's going to do an outstanding job, as all of our members will be able to do through these important community based programs.