August marked 13 years since I was first elected to Parliament - it's an ongoing honour to serve our community and represent the southern Gold Coast in Parliament.
During parliamentary sittings this month, I took the opportunity to call for action on planning to extend the heavy rail from Varsity Lakes to the Gold Coast airport. Consistently the feedback from local residents is that this project should be made the priority - to help ease congestion and provide real public transport options for commuters.
I also acknowledged local volunteer firefighters, including Tallebudgera Valley Rural Fire Brigade First Officer Ben Naday who was recently awarded the RFS Queensland State Volunteer of the Year.
With national science week this month, it was disappointing to see just how much this Government has downgraded our space industry, including cutting crucial funding to boost our sovereign capability. It's very short-sighted.
Sadly, Labor's approach hasn't included delivering on their promise to ease cost-of-living pressures - and I know from my discussions at local mobile offices and doorknocking, that local residents are really struggling with skyrocketing prices.
It is tough and getting tougher - and not helped by Labor quietly scrapping the Low Income and Middle Income earner Tax Offset. Or the fact that a massive $62 billion black hole in Labor's energy plan will mean continuing electricity price hikes.
The Labor Government has announced October 14 as the date for the Voice referendum vote. AEC details here. There are deep concerns about the lack of detail and the implications for the future of Labor's proposal - and I have publicly urged our community to consider carefully all aspects of this significant constitutional change.
With so many challenges, the Government should really be focused on practical solutions that deliver real and tangible improvements in people's lives - not more bureaucracies.
Finally, it was an honour to deliver the annual Archbishop Duhig Memorial Lecture at the University of Queensland this month. The first lecture was delivered by Manning Clark in 1976 and Prime Ministers, Premiers, noted judiciary and community leaders have since spoken about the development of Australian culture and identity. You can read my address here.
As always, please feel free to send me an email and provide me with your feedback: [email protected] I'm happy to hear from you at any time!
Until next month,
