View the video recording of this speech here
Record of Proceedings, 26 June 2025
This is a terrific budget that will put Queensland on a great path for the future. Finally, after the crises of the Labor government in health, crime, housing and cost of living, we have a government that is on the side of the Scenic Rim electorate. That is so welcomed by the communities I represent. More than once, people in the community sector in the Scenic Rim electorate—one person in particular—has commented that many parts of it are like the Gaza Strip, cut off and forgotten about under Labor governments. That needs to change. With this budget, we are turning the ship around to deliver more for the Scenic Rim electorate.
I want to comment about a couple of things that have been funded in the budget that are terrific for our region. I will start with the Mount Lindesay Highway. Planning funding has been put aside for future upgrades between Jimboomba and Beaudesert—a significant stretch of highway that has been consistently forgotten about by the Labor government over the last 10 years but also in the generation before that. They have never properly focused on that area. All the upgrades that have occurred on the Mount Lindesay have only occurred because of the LNP coalition government funding from Canberra. We are putting funding for planning for future upgrades in the budget so we can go to Canberra and seek funding for those upgrades.
We also have funding in the budget to do planning for upgrades of the Coulson crossing on Boonah Beaudesert Road over the Teviot Brook, which floods even after minor rain events. It needs to be upgraded. The former government has known about it for many years but they did nothing. They would not even put it on the agenda to plan for upgrades. We have done that and we have also put in the budget planning funding for overtaking lanes for Boonah Beaudesert Road—something I have made an issue of for many years because of the dangerous nature of that road when it comes to overtaking opportunities. We have put that on the agenda through planning funding in this budget.
There is also funding for safety improvements on Tamborine Mountain Road at Tamborine—a vital corridor for that part of the region; in fact, for the entire region. Many people visit our region. Tamborine Mountain is a big tourist magnet so putting safety upgrades on the agenda and in the budget is important for that part of the world, and something that took far too long under the former Labor government. We are backing in the Tamborine Mountain Sports Association with a $1 million commitment to advance their master plan. This is a facility on Tamborine Mountain with great potential from an events perspective and a tourist perspective and in the lead-up to 2032 from a sports visitation perspective as well. One million dollars is not the be-all and end-all there. They will take that money, build on that and seek funding from other sources to advance the plans that they have been putting in place at that facility for many years.
We have already backed the Kalbar Show Society by upgrading the lights at their showgrounds with a $150,000 grant which gives them the best lit facility in the Scenic Rim. I was privileged last Saturday to be at the Kalbar Show—where I am the patron—to be able to switch on those lights for the first time, backed by a funding commitment from the LNP government in Queensland. It was something that I had committed to over previous elections but with the election last year it was terrific to be able to deliver on that commitment which is set out in the budget.
We have also backed more funding for the upgrade of the Boonah Auxiliary Fire Station— something I have been raising for years. It was put in the budget by the former government but there was not enough money put in the budget. There was only $2.5 million put in the budget and they took so long getting on with the job—so many costs have blown out during the stewardship of the Labor Party—there was not enough in the budget. We have had to top that up from $2.5 million to $4 million to get on with the job of replacing the Boonah Auxiliary Fire Station. It is desperately needed. It is one of the oldest in Queensland and we are delivering for that station.
Many members have spoken about Play On! vouchers. It is a terrific initiative. Obviously it has its roots back in the LNP government of 2012 to 2015 with the terrific Get in the Game initiative. I am thrilled to see that we are delivering that for every child to be able to participate in at least one sport backed by that $200 voucher. The money is set aside across the forward estimates for four years. It is a solid commitment. We are not just budgeting year on year. We are committing to those vouchers for four years and setting aside money for regional Queensland and for children with disabilities as well.
There are funding commitments to upgrade some of our schools. There are 30-odd state schools in the Scenic Rim electorate. I note there is a commitment for upgrades at Hillview State School, St Bernard State School on Tamborine Mountain and Rathdowney and Gleneagle state schools. We are blessed with great teachers, great families and great schools in our community, but capital investment is required to help those schools keep their facilities up to date as time goes on. There are safety upgrades scheduled for intersections at Biddaddaba Road, and Mundoolun Connection Road, and Mundoolun Road and Beaudesert Beenleigh Road, as well as the long-awaited Mundoolun Connection Road and Beaudesert Beenleigh Road intersection upgrade—$5.6 million has been put in the budget for that. There have been a number of fatalities there over the years and I look forward to that intersection being upgraded.
To the Premier and Minister for Veterans, I want to thank him for backing the 4 Aussie Heroes Foundation which is a foundation that helps first responders and former defence personnel who are suffering with post-traumatic stress. They run residential courses to help them recover from those conditions. They have built a residential facility in the Scenic Rim electorate and the Premier has backed them in with an $800,000 grant from his portfolio as the Minister for Veterans to enable them to finish their facilities. They have raised over $5 million privately. I am told the $800,000 grant from the state will enable them to finish their facilities. They are so grateful, and I am so grateful that we have a Premier and Minister for Veterans who is backing in those supports for our veterans and first responders. It is a growing issue. A lot of people from the Police Service have availed themselves of those services and this will be a great boost to that foundation.
It is an all-round terrific budget that puts Queensland on a better path for the future. To have a government in Brisbane—in Queensland—that supports the Scenic Rim electorate is the best thing for our region. For too long the problems have been apparent. Since there has been a change in government, information that has come from departments, from government utility providers that knew there were problems that needed to be fixed but while those opposite were in government they just refused to put them on the agenda. One can only suspect it was for base political reasons in what was then a non-government electorate. It is shameful, but we have a long list of things to deal with and we will continue. This is a great budget for Queensland.
I have provided the Speaker with the remainder of my speech for incorporation. He has approved it—he would not let me self-approve the incorporation part. As such, I conclude my contribution with that incorporation in the Record of Proceedings.
The speech read as follows—
Across the board, this Budget delivers exactly what we promised Queenslanders: investment in community safety, health services, essential infrastructure, and home ownership. It supports hardworking locals, small businesses and community organisations across the State.
I have spoken about major road upgrades, and the budget includes funding to continue work on improvements to the Amberley intersection on the Cunningham Highway—an issue that Labor left the cupboard completely bare on after 10 years in office. No design, no plans, no costed project for the State and Commonwealth to fund.
The budget also includes funding for the Mount Alford Rural Fire Brigade station and the Biddaddaba Rural Fire Brigade station. These are projects that have been delayed and held up with unnecessary complication and expense, and I urge the Minister to cut through the red-tape and get QFD on with the job of enabling these volunteers to build their sheds.
I welcome the $4.8 million investment delivered into the Beaudesert community to construct a new indoor multi-sports facility. I will continue to work with PCYC Queensland, the Government and the local community to see the PCYC planning finalised for Beaudesert, for designs to be completed and funding sought. A PCYC will complement the funding provided for this indoor sports facility.
Health services for our region will also receive a significant boost through this budget, with both Metro South and West Moreton HHSs benefitting from our Government’s $33.1 billion investment in hospitals and health care across Queensland. There is so much work to do to reduce Labor’s record ambulance ramping, to stabilise elective surgery waitlists, and introduce real-time health data across the system, ensuring the sector’s transparency and accountability to the people of Queensland.
I am particularly pleased to see the Budget allocation for the expansion of Ipswich Hospital, which, while just outside my electorate, serves many of my constituents. In addition, planning will be advanced towards improving Boonah Hospital. While under Labor plans were advanced that carried nowhere near enough funding to be carried out, our government will work to ensure that options taken forward for expansion and improvement are backed with actual funding commitments.
With the LNP, I always back our farmers. In this budget, the Maintenance Guarantee is extended to ensure our Queensland coalfired generators can continue to deliver the most affordable, reliable energy for farmers and families alike. There is a $50 million dollar boost to biosecurity, providing farmers with better resources to prevent bushfires and protect against the threat that invasive species pose to our primary industries. The extra $24 million provided to the fire ant suppression task force, after huge swathes of the electorate were simply abandoned by the fire ant program under Labor, supports farmers and residents against these ants becoming even more concentrated in the region, with all the havoc they can bring, while specific eradication efforts continue in other parts of southeast Queensland. I thank the Minister for Primary Industries, my friend the Member for Gympie, for securing this funding.
The Budget will deliver meaningful support for first home buyers in Scenic Rim Electorate, with the abolition of stamp duty for first home buyers on new homes, extension of the $30,000 First Home Owner Grant and introduction of the nation-leading Boost to Buy program reducing the deposit gap and making it easier for young families and individuals from the Scenic Rim to achieve the dream of home ownership.
This Budget delivers a comprehensive response to Labor’s youth crime crisis, with the recruitment of 1,600 new police officers, stronger laws, and significant investment in early intervention and rehabilitation programs.
A $560 million state-wide commitment will fund early intervention and rehabilitation initiatives, while $40 million in grants will support small businesses and local governments to implement community safety improvements and crime prevention strategies. I thank all of the local police in the region at North Tamborine, Jimboomba, Canungra, Beaudesert, Rathdowney, Boonah, Kalbar, Harrisville, Rosewood and Ipswich—they do incredible work in often tough situations.
To better support victims of crime, we are also investing $50 million in a new victims advocate service, providing dedicated, practical support, while a further $25 million has been allocated for domestic and family violence prevention, including a GPS monitoring pilot for high-risk offenders.
The safety of our communities is paramount, and this Budget provides real investment in both proactive prevention and responsive support systems.
This Budget goes a way to delivering the infrastructure, services and support that the communities I represent have long been asking for. There is more to be done, and after years of being overlooked—or even worse, actively disregarded for funding— under successive Labor Governments, the Scenic Rim finally has a Government that is listening to its needs. It will take time to deal with all of the issues that need fixing, but every journey begins with the first step. After the change of government in 2024, this budget is that first step. I’m proud to be part of a government that is delivering for Queensland and investing in the hard-working families, farmers and small businesses in the Scenic Rim Electorate.