Henry Pike (Bowman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over the weekend I met with many small businesses in my community of the Redlands, and they were of one voice in their opposition to the government's extreme industrial relations bill. For the many businesses in my electorate who've not got the luxury of a big human resources department, this will add significantly to their costs and the complexity of doing business. The latest ABS data reveals that 180 local Redland businesses have 20 employees or more and will be in the firing line of these changes. The Redland industries most at risk include accommodation and food services, construction, retail, manufacturing and health care. The government's own regulatory impact statement has estimated that Labor's legislation will cost small businesses $14,600 in bargaining costs, including consultancy fees. For medium-sized businesses, the cost would be over $80,000. Local businesses simply shouldn't have to absorb costs of this magnitude. This would be an incredibly poor outcome at a time when we need Redland businesses to continue to grow and create jobs for locals.

My community has also been outraged by the $50 million that the government has cut from the Safer Communities Fund, a program used by the previous government to deliver CCTV cameras in the Redlands. The former Liberal and Nationals government utilised the fund to deliver some much-needed CCTV cameras around the Redlands, and I was hoping to utilise it to continue to deliver even more. Redland City Council was the beneficiary of two grants totalling over $110,000—the funding provided for 31 CCTV cameras across known trouble spots at Capalaba Place and Weinam Creek ferry terminal at Redland Bay. Since their introduction, Weinam Creek has seen a reduction in auto crimes and antisocial behaviour. Many Bay Islands residents have reported to me that they are now feeling a lot safer at night as they make their way from their cars to the ferry. During the recent election, Liberals and Nationals had committed to investing a further $175,000 to deliver CCTV cameras at hooning hotspots around Cleveland Point. I am calling on the Albanese Labor government to reverse this decision and to restore the funding that has served many communities across Australia so well.

I'm also calling on the federal government to provide clarity on all of the local projects that had previously received federal funding commitments but which on we now have radio silence—the Redland Bay Head to Health facility; the second round of funding for stage 1 upgrades at the Redland Hospital; the intersection upgrades at Wellington Street and Panorama Drive; and all the commitments made by the Labor opposition in the lead-up to this federal election that they have failed to provide any detail on over the subsequent six months.