Sue Boyce (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is my hope that Luke Howarth will become the federal member for the seat of Petrie after the election in September. Luke Howarth is a 40-year-old small-businessman. In fact, it is his experience and the experiences of so many of his colleagues in small business that has led Luke to nominate as our candidate for the seat of Petrie. Luke, his extended family and his friends were sick to their stomach at the incompetence of the federal Labor government—an incompetence that Luke knew was based on the complete lack of real-life experience amongst Labor MPs.

Luke Howarth has a deep and abiding connection to the electorate of Petrie. He is a lifelong resident of the electorate, having been born at the Royal Brisbane Hospital—where I was born—and brought home by his proud parents, Ron and Denise, to their home in Bracken Ridge.

Luke and his wife, Louise, were married in 1999. They have three sons, William, Thomas and Samuel, and the family lives at Woody Point, in the electorate. Luke and Louise have grown and operated their family owned pest control business together. Their staff has grown from an initial three people to now 15 local people. Some have been with the company for more than 20 years. Luke is very proud of the family culture and respect that exists within the company's workplace—the management and staff have jointly developed the company's core values.

Luke is a keen sportsperson. He represented our state in judo as a teenager and he continues to teach judo at the Redcliffe PCYC. He has spent many years on the management committees of local PCYCs and of Crime Stoppers Queensland. He is currently a member on a local school chaplaincy committee and has been involved with local chambers of commerce in the area for the past 10 years.

Luke wants to continue to serve his community by becoming the federal LNP member for Petrie. He says that it is his frustration with the Rudd-Gillard government as a small business owner that has prompted him to put his hand up for the honour of representing the people of Petrie. Luke says:

I've watched the Rudd-Gillard Government stumble from one failure to another and I've seen them take our nation from zero debt under the former Coalition Government to now owing hundreds of billions of dollars that my sons—everyone's children—will be paying off.

I've seen my local community suffer. I've seen friends in business suffer and I want to give the voters in Petrie a genuine alternative to the incumbent.

I would now like to turn to that incumbent, Mrs Yvette D’Ath. Back when Mr Kevin Rudd was Prime Minister, she was the blond who sat behind him doing the noddy-doll impersonation—the more Mr Rudd smirked, the more Mrs D'Ath nodded.