With Parliament in recess, April has been a month to catch up with local residents, small businesses and local community groups here on the southern Gold Coast.
I recently attended the Robina State High School Careers Expo where I talked with parents, teachers and students about the many pathways that are available to our school children. I also continued my series of Listening Posts where I discussed local issues and assisted local residents with federal concerns.
As part of Autism Month, I toured the Journey 2 Learn Neuro-Inclusion Centre in Reedy Creek, where I saw first-hand the wonderful work they’re doing to help the lives of neurodivergent children and their families.
On Anzac Day I joined with many local residents to remember the service and sacrifice of all Australians who served in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. It’s always a great honour to be a part of these moving ceremonies where we reflect on the fact that more than 103,000 Australians made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms. I was also very pleased to take part in The Walk4Remembrance to raise funds for the Veteran Support Centre that provides support and services to our veterans.
I hosted one of my favourite local events this month – my annual McPherson Community Achiever Awards. It’s always wonderful to recognise hardworking volunteers for their dedication and service to our community. Congratulations to all recipients!
And no discussion of our local community would be complete without mentioning recently retired councillor for Division 13, Daphne McDonald, who I recently caught up with at Palm Beach SLSC. Thanks for 33 years of great service.
At a national level, this past month has been challenging in many ways. The terrible attack at the Bondi Junction Westfield was shocking, not only because of the senseless violence, but because it occurred at the type of place we’ve all visited before. And yet, even at dreadful moments like this we see the absolute best in Australians, including the heroic acts of complete strangers risking their own lives to protect and care for others.
A number of rallies against domestic and family violence were held across the weekend. There’s clearly more that needs to be done as the well-meaning approaches taken by governments in the past haven’t worked. We need to broaden our solutions to ensure a greater focus on tougher sentencing, bail law reform, police resources, and more practical support for those at risk.
It was disappointing to see recent ABS figures showing that Australia added more than 100,000 new people in just one month – further evidence that Labor are not properly managing our borders and migration system.
Also of concern is how Labor's cost of living crisis continues to hit people’s budgets and is adding to the student debt of 3 million Australians. Labor’s economic mismanagement is now impacting many younger Australians as their HECS debts soar – with Australia’s core inflation now higher than most major economies.
And instead of having cheaper power bills, as was promised repeatedly by Labor, more Australians are experiencing serious energy hardship.
As always, please feel free to get in touch if there's anything you'd like to discuss.
Until next month,
