Terry Young
Longman · Liberal National Party · Australia
“This weekend is Easter. Of course, way too much chocolate will be consumed, camping trips will probably be rained out in Queensland and the kids will be excited about the Easter bunny, which is all a bit of fun. However, for those of the Christian faith, I would say that this is the most important event on the calendar.”
“It's a message of hope, not fear. In these tumultuous times, hope is definitely what people need. If you don't go along to a church regularly or at all or if you are feeling despondent, anxious or run out of hope with what we are currently experiencing globally, locally and as a nation, I encourage you to visit a church this Easter and he…”
“Freight costs are rising, and that is hitting families at the checkout. Everyone pays. When businesses face these pressures they have two choices; they either raise prices or cut jobs. There is no good outcome in either of those scenarios. But what is particularly concerning right now is not just the cost; it's the uncertainty.”
“We have been told that there is no supply issue, that only six tankers have been cancelled, when Australia normally receives around 80 a month. That's less than 10 per cent. We've been told that there are still 28 days of fuel in reserve, when we normally have 30. That's a difference of just two days.”
“No transport, no Australia—it's really that simple. Everything in this country has a transport component. Every product we rely on, from fresh food to construction materials, depends on fuel to get there.”
“They are living it every day. What they need is relief. That is why I'm calling on the government to urgently remove—temporarily—the fuel excise, as an emergency measure, with a clear review period. It's a practical step that would provide immediate relief to families, businesses and the entire supply chain.”
The complete record
Every one of 149 lines we hold for Terry Young, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 3 of 3.
“Last week I had the honour of attending a couple of Vietnam Veterans Day services in my electorate. We had six, and I got to tour them—one down at Burpengary in the morning and then Bribie Island in the afternoon. They're sombre events indeed, and I'm always touched by the stories they share. The one at Burpengary particularly struck me this time because they shared the story of a gentleman who had gone to war in Vietnam and, as we know, the Vietnam veterans were treated pretty poorly by the Australian people when they returned—very sad. This particular gentleman got married in the late 1970s and had adult children. He died in 2006, and the first time that his wife of over 25 years and his children knew he was a Vietnam veteran was at his funeral.”
“As always, my door is open to meet with you, and, when you see me out and about, please come and say g'day, because I'd love to meet you. I promise you I will work my hardest to ensure our community gets what it needs. I will continue to speak the truth and use common sense and my life experience to serve you and fulfil my vision to make Longman the greatest community in Australia in which to live, work and play.”
“I also want to thank my staff for their commitment and the hundreds of extra hours they did during the campaign, and their commitment to our great party and to me personally. I could not do this without you. I give a big shout-out to my family and friends, who support me not just practically, by handing out at a polling booth, even though a lot don't like doing that stuff—letterboxing and the like—but also with your love and support during the most difficult and stressful of times. My wife, Alex, and my youngest daughter, Jess, bear most of the load, as they are the ones who live with me! The others have all left home. So thank you, ladies. Lastly, thank you to the people of Longman for putting your trust in me for a third consecutive term.”
“As long as I have the honour to serve in this role, I will try and inspire the next generation to have a go, sharing my personal journey with young ears—both the successes and the failures that I've had in my life, because young people need to know it's okay to fail. In fact, failure is not a final destination; it's part of the journey to success, as we learn more lessons from our failures than our successes, and that develops resilience. I want to thank my volunteers not only for their commitment and hard work during the campaign and nearly three weeks of counting the vote but for their service during the term. I won't mention any names, as to miss one name would be an injustice. You all know who you are and the individual but vital role you played in the campaign.”
“When I drive around, I see all these tents and people living in cars—and they're working people. It's horrendous. In my maiden speech I was positive, and I remain so, despite the incredibly negative nature of politics. I've got a slogan on my billboards that says 'Terry Young gets things done'. I'm going to continue to get things done for my awesome community. Common sense, freedom and respect for all Australians' point of view and their right to have their own point of view, even if I don't agree with them personally, are ideals that I'll always adhere to in my role. I will always try to give the people I serve hope, rather than trying to score political points by creating fear and anxiety.”
“After two years of meetings, forums and development, I will present in October to the Queensland LNP government my solution to fixing the homeless situation created by this government's irresponsible immigration policy. It's a solution that I've worked hard on with state members from both sides of politics, with local councils, with organisations that are in the homelessness space and with a lot of the charities and churches as well, and the local community. We've come up with a really great solution, and I think it's going to work. I look forward to talking to the LNP state government about getting this going. I'd like to see something by the end of the year because the homelessness in my community is horrific. I've never seen anything like it.”
“I commend the LNP state government for speeding up this process on the Bruce Highway works, including the four-laning from Dohles Rocks Road right up to Bribie Island Road, as well as the extra work on the new exit that I mentioned earlier. The train crossings at Dakabin, Boundary Road, Narangba Station and Pumicestone Road must be upgraded urgently, as they were neglected by the former state Labor government and their local members for nine long years. We just cannot cope. People are sitting and waiting for two or three light changes to get across a train line, and it's simply not good enough. I grew up in the area, and I can tell you that all these crossings are the same as they were back in the 1970s, when six people and a dog lived in some communities. Something needs to be done because there are a lot of people living there now.”
“These people won't have a way to get to the Bruce Highway, but many of them will be commuting to Brisbane for work. This initiative, planned by the council, will go from Caboolture River Road and the Morayfield Road intersection. A bridge will be built over a shopping centre and a train line to connect to a current two-lane road, which needs to become four lanes, and then it will go out to the highway. I was so pleased to be able to get that promise, but now that it hasn't happened, the council won't have the money to do it on their own—it's a big project for a local council—and that will delay the project another three years, unfortunately. I also spoke to TMR a couple of weeks ago in regard to the Bruce Highway.”
“Sadly, in 2039, there might be a few people there now that might not see the new bridge. We need to bring that forward; it's a car park. The Bruce Highway must have four lanes from the Pine Rivers Bridge to the Bribie Island turn-off, and upgrades are needed at the Morayfield-Uhlmann Road exit and exit 150, Buchanan Road, along with the four lanes and the flyover to Caboolture River Road. I mentioned earlier the election promise I was able to get for $74 million. This is needed, because they have just started turning dirt on one housing estate in my electorate that will contain 25,000 homes, which will house 70,000 people. To put that in perspective, that's one housing estate that's the same size as the city of Mackay in Central Queensland.”
“In the six years that I've been in this place, the voting population of my electorate has grown from 116,000 to 143,000—in just six years. We have over 200,000 people in the electorate, so we need this infrastructure. Morayfield Road takes a lot of the burden when the Bruce Highway is congested on a Friday afternoon or Sunday afternoon, with people going to and from the Sunshine Coast. Having two lanes, down to one lane and then back to two lanes is ridiculous. We need four lanes all the way from King Street, in Caboolture, right down to the highway. We need an acceleration in the timeline of the Bribie Island Road and the new bridge, four-laning from the Bruce Highway to the bridge, and then a new bridge. It's currently set for completion in 2039. Bribie has the oldest average population in Queensland.”
“As one of the fastest growing communities in the country, these projects are vital for the Longman electorate, and the message people of Longman got from Labor during the campaign was they simply don't care about the people of Longman. It's not too late, Prime Minister. If you want to show the people of Longman that you do care, I'll be only too happy to discuss these projects with you and get them underway. I'm going to continue to advocate for the people of Longman and work with the Crisafulli state government and speak to them about a lot of these vital projects, like the four-laning of Morayfield Road. As I said, we're a very, very fast growing community, and the infrastructure is simply not keeping up with the population growth.”
“There will be no help with the toilet facilities at the Bribie Island Golf Club or extra shade sails for the Bribie Island Bowls Club or the new cabins at the Bribie Retreat and Recreation Centre so that more camps can be hosted. Stanley Rivers Rugby League Club misses out on a much-needed clubhouse and change room upgrade as their female participation rate continues to grow. The Caboolture netball courts won't get the resurfacing so desperately needed, and the Narangba Crows AFL will miss out on their lighting upgrade to LED. But the biggest commitment that I was able to obtain was the $74 million for stage 1 of the much-needed Caboolture West connectivity initiative.”
“The Moodlu men's shed won't get their much-needed upgrades. The Bribie Island surf club may have to compromise on the size of their extensions to their clubhouse. The Caboolture Snakes rugby league will have to wait longer for their new clubhouse. The kids who use the Bellara skate park on Bribie Island are disappointed. The Narangba Eagles will miss out on stage 2 of their clubhouse redevelopment. The Delaneys Creek Pony Club won't get their building upgrade. The Elimbah Soldiers Memorial Hall will have to wait for its much-needed refurbishment. The Lindsay Road sports complex, Sandstone Point community complex, the Burpengary and Morayfield community halls, along with the Burpengary Pony Club and St Eugene College will all miss out on much-needed CCTV security cameras to protect community assets.”
“I spent most of my life living in the Longman community, apart from a couple of stints away for work, and, as a result, I know the community pretty well. As a result of these meetings and my experience there, I was pleased to obtain 27 election promises if the LNP had been elected on 3 May. Sadly, Labor only made two of the same commitments—so that's 25 much-needed projects that will either not go ahead, be delayed or have to be funded another way. It means that the Pine Rivers Cricket Club won't get their lights so they can expand their ever-growing junior and female sides, as there's not enough daylight to support extra teams. The Caboolture Sports Football Club—or soccer, if you want to call it that—won't get their electronic scoreboard. North Pine Netball won't get their courts resurfaced.”
“We all have our place in society, and we're all of equal value, regardless of our gender, sexuality, race, religion or vocation. Of course, different vocations are remunerated in different ways, for many reasons—the market demands, the amount of sacrifice required through training and the amount of risk needed in each vocation, and that's fair enough—but to say that those on higher incomes are more valuable is just not right. The attendants in this place, who look after the politicians so well, are just as valuable, and I thank them for their service. Being the member for Longman for six years, I've always visited and met with the various community and sporting groups along with the City of Moreton Bay council to find out the needs of the Longman community.”
“I wanted to give back in another way to this country that had been so good to me—hence my run in politics. I'm also driven by the fact that, in many cases, kids who aren't particularly academic feel like they are second-class citizens. If they don't get a degree, then they have no future. I want to give them hope. I want them to know they can make something of themselves, that they have value and as much value as someone with a degree. I despise this hierarchical system that we've created in our society, where people in some vocations are considered by many as more important than others with other types of jobs, simply because they earn more. Monetary worth should never define our value to society or our self-worth. How well we do our job, our behaviour and what we contribute should determine these things.”
“The temptation, of course, at that stage is just to cruise to retirement for the next 20 years and then do a bit of part-time work in the business in retirement, but I don't think I'll ever fully retire. But I want to reflect on how good this country has been to a kid who was raised in Kallangur and then moved slightly north to Caboolture, which are both very blue-collar, knockabout communities. I left school at 15 and started work as a garage attendant, or petrol pumper as they used to call them in those days, and spent the first four years of my working life working full time on a minimum wage. I understand what it's like to eat vegemite toast for dinner. I worked hard, and I ended up owning businesses and employing young people who were just like me.”
“So then I had the Christian community saying to me, 'Why are you putting a Christian last when you're a person of faith yourself?' Then I had to explain it, and that was very difficult as well. It was a pretty messy election, to be honest. But we move on. Just for a little bit of history, I was very happy in small business before my political career began. I had reached the point of being 50-years old—or young, as I like to say—and getting to the stage where things had got a little bit easier than in those early days in business. We'd navigated those difficult and costly first few years, where 70-to-80-hour weeks and running on fumes was the norm, and the two businesses I had ownership in were 10 years old, and they'd matured.”
“It was just awful, and he was obviously a confused, young 19-year-old. I took it very hard on having to make a decision, again, on whether to leak that for political gain or to just keep that to ourselves and not put this young man out there for the media to hammer. We took the decision—I think the right decision—to just put him last on the ballot paper and not put him out there to be destroyed by the media, because they can be very, very hurtful. The problem was that was he disendorsed by the party—and I thought, 'Well, that solves that problem'—but what had happened was the ballot papers were already printed and he still appeared as the Family First candidate.”
“I was given some personal information on my opponent which was pretty awful, but I chose not to use it, because I want to be part of the solution not part of the problem. I've said from day one that I'd rather lose playing fair than win playing dirty. It still sticks to this day. Now, we know part of politics is about calling out other politicians or candidates for bad policy, but it should never get personal, especially involving families. The other challenge that I had, which was a little bit unusual, was to put the Family First candidate last on my how-to-vote card. I had it all sorted out and ready to go, and then I was given some very, very damning information on this particular young man—who I had actually met—and, sadly, he had come out and spoken in a terrible way about women and Jewish people.”
“This was my third election, and it was very different to the first two. The first two elections were fought on policy. It was never personal, and I acknowledge the previous candidates for their professionalism in this area. Unfortunately, this election was very personal from my Labor opponent. There were so many lies told about me, and she brought my children into the campaign, which both sides have always agreed is not on. My staff and volunteers were accused of bullying, which is simply untrue. But of course a little bit of mud always sticks, which my opponent of course knew and went ahead with anyway. For the first time I had corflute signs pulled down, and, in many cases, they were replaced with my Labor opponent's signs. Of course, the temptation is to fight fire with fire, and I could have pulled her signs down, but I chose not to.”
“What was even more amazing was that in her rant the member actually inferred that people in the vocations that women, in the main, are more drawn to, like hairdressing, nursing and social work—again, this is simply a fact backed by employment data—are less valuable or important than doctors, engineers and CEOs. I can say to the hairdressers, nurses and social workers out there: whether you be male or female, even if Labor consider you to be a second-class citizen, we on this side of the House appreciate you and consider you just as valuable to our society as a doctor, engineer or CEO, and we thank you for the vital role that you play in our society.”
“Yesterday, I made a speech that simply stated facts based on data. I said that men and women, in the main, naturally draw more to different vocations. Quotas trying to equalise workplace numbers by gender, sexuality, religion or race are demeaning and insulting to women and other cohorts. Everything should be based on merit and equal opportunity for all, and I stand by that. What amazed me was the response from the member for Ballarat, who, in question time, quoted part of my speech and tried to twist my words to mean something they didn't. When you speak the truth, you have to expect this sort of response from the Labor Party.”
“I give a special shout-out to the Moreton Bay Council, as well—they did a really, really good job of informing local, state and federal members of what was going on, and I knew they'd stand up; they always do. But the cream for me was the locals, the everyday people there. I went to a sandbag station over at Beachmere where a lot of people had taken it upon themselves to shovel sandbags. People turned up and, instead of having to find a bag and do their own shovelling, it was already pre-done and they were just loading them into the car. This reduced lines. These were people who weren't getting paid. They didn't have a uniform on; they just took it upon themselves to help out their neighbours and their mates. So well done to everyone. It's a great electorate, and I love representing it.”
“I want to take this opportunity to thank my community for the superb manner in which they dealt with ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. We were pretty fortunate; we dodged a bullet. We didn't get it as bad as some of our southern neighbours, but the eye of the cyclone actually went over my electorate, through Bribie Island. My thanks go out to all the emergency service workers: police, fire and ambulance. They all stood up again when they were needed. Thank you also to those volunteer organisations like the SES, the rural fire brigade and, of course, the legendary volunteer marine rescue, or VMR, over on Bribie Island. Again, they did a great job.”
“We will strengthen Medicare and the health system to ensure Australians get better, more affordable health care. We will lower energy costs through our new energy mix plan, which includes not only renewables but gas and nuclear energy. We will ensure safer communities by getting tougher on violent offenders and boosting our border and defence forces. So I say to all those in the community that I serve, when you vote, forget the spin, the inevitable untruths and the mudslinging. Simply ask yourself: Do I feel safer and more secure than I did three years ago? Am I better off than I was three years ago? It's time to get Australia back on track, led by Peter Dutton and his coalition team.”
“But there is hope for the Australian people. If elected, the coalition will put Australians first by reigniting that great Australian dream of owning a home. This housing crisis, which Labor created by allowing 1.2 million immigrants to come into the country in the first two years of their government, drove housing demand up so high that prices became out of reach for Australians trying to get into the market. If elected, we will reduce immigration to 140,000 for the first two years, and then increase it to 150,000 the following year and 160,000 the year after that. If elected, we will also ban foreign investors and temporary residents from purchasing existing homes so that housing becomes more affordable for Australians. Only the coalition will reduce the cost of living by responsible economic management.”
“Under this government, we've seen increases of 10 per cent in health, 11 per cent in education, 12 per cent for food, 13½ per cent for housing, 17 per cent for rents, 19 per cent for insurance and 32 per cent for electricity, before taxpayer funded government rebates. Labor continuously claimed at the last election campaign that Australians would be better off under their leadership, but the reality is the exact opposite. The news just gets worse, with the International Monetary Fund projecting that, in 2025, Australia will have the second-worst inflation of any developed country—second only to the Slovak Republic. Let us never forget that while inflation and interest rates were exploding this government, for the first 18 months of their term, were obsessed with the divisive Voice referendum that cost taxpayers $500 million.”
“Not only have these interest rate rises hurt aspirational Australians paying off their family home; it has hurt renters. Mums and dads who have bought an investment property to assist with their retirement have suffered the same interest rate rises. I spoke to one of those landlords in my community. He said: 'I work for the council, and my wife works in retail. We both earn a modest income, but the mortgage on our rental property has increased by $400 per week. We simply had to pass on $150 per week of that to our tenant, which we didn't want to do, but we had no choice. We've had to fund the $250 shortfall out of our family budget, and we are barely scraping through.' This is not an uncommon conversation. In fact, sadly, it is more than normal.”
“In the past, other candidates have just made rash promises based on emotion, often without any planning or consultation, which has resulted in the City of Moreton Bay council often having to fund the shortfall at the cost of the ratepayer. This is completely irresponsible and unfair to the council, who have their own budgetary limitations. This election is vital to our nation, as all elections are, because a good government will bring with it a better standard of living, which benefits all. Over the past three years, we've seen a government, who, in my view, has had the wrong priorities and policies. As a result, the Australian people's standard of living has suffered. We have seen a record 12 interest rate rises, which have resulted in the average weekly mortgage repayment rising by over $400.”
“As the election fast approaches, people are becoming more politically engaged than they are normally. Unfortunately, there will be the usual spin, smoke and mirrors, and vote-buying attempts. I've watched in dismay in previous years as taxpayers' hard-earned taxes have been thrown about with no planning or consultation just to buy a vote. I want to assure the people of Longman that for six years, I've been working with our community groups, sporting clubs and local council, as well as everyday Australians who live in Longman, to really discover what it is that this community needs. These needs have been costed properly and methodically. I've taken those needs to Canberra, and I'll shortly be announcing which projects I've been able to secure funding for as an election promise.”
“My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. GP bulk-billing rates in my electorate of Longman were at 93 per cent in 2019 before COVID. Under the Albanese Labor government, they've fallen to as low as 79 per cent. Australian families are already facing a cost-of-living crisis, a housing crisis and an energy bill crisis. Why are my constituents now having to endure a bulk-billing crisis under this minister?”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, Australians are currently enduring a crippling cost-of-living crisis that also includes both housing and power bill crises. Now they're facing a collapse in bulk-billing. Can the Prime Minister confirm the rate of bulk-billing has declined from 88 per cent under the coalition to 77 per cent today under Labor?”
“Only the coalition understands what small businesses need, and, if elected, we will ensure that small businesses and their employees will flourish and prosper. It's time to get Australia back on track.”
“It will mean that cafes and others in the hospitality industry that are currently struggling under this homegrown cost-of-living crisis we are currently in will need to increase hours for employees to meet the extra demand. If they can claim the expense, which will be exempt from the fringe benefit tax, it will be the difference for some small businesses between having a Christmas party and not having one. This will boost morale, leading to increased productivity, benefiting the entire country. I've never seen a government more antibusiness than this one. A recent study by MYOB reports that one-third of small business owners cannot pay themselves due to cash flow issues and a quarter have resorted to their personal savings just to stay afloat.”
“The coalition will move amendments that increase the threshold to $30,000 and make it permanent to give businesses certainty, which they certainly need more of in uncertain times. It's like this government meets every day to try and find ways to punish small businesses and their workers. In contrast, we see them rubbishing the coalition's recent announcement allowing small businesses to claim up to $20,000 for business related meal and entertainment expenses. Labor keep pooh-poohing this, saying that it's free lunches for bosses—what rubbish! The people that will benefit most from this measure are, in fact, some of the lowest-paid workers.”
“If we must go down this path, at a minimum, interest should be paid on moneys owed to the entity after 14 days. Although schedule 4 of the bill, which reinstates the $20,000 instant asset write-off for small business for the 2024-25 financial year, will be welcomed by the small-business community, small-business owners see it for what it is: pure politics leading up to an election. Instead of legislating this earlier in the term because it was the right thing to do to help small businesses, this Labor government will bring this in with the alleged financial impacts to be felt after the election—again, thinking purely of the politics and not of the actual impact this has on small businesses and their workers.”
“This latest proposed measure, coupled with the first tranche of the much-hated ute tax that came in on 1 January, is simply hitting hardworking Australians when many of them are doing it tougher than they ever have before. Schedule 3 again punishes small businesses through cash flow. Currently if there is an error in the amount of tax paid through the BAS system, the refund is issued within 14 days. This bill proposes that that be extended to 30 days. The measure is in response to a recent and new practice of fraud through social media. However, as is a practice of Labor governments, the innocent are punished along with the guilty rather than Labor managing by exception and more severely punishing the offenders with stiffer penalties.”
“This means LandCruisers, Patrols and the like will not qualify for the new luxury car tax threshold—surprise, surprise. Only EVs will qualify—another example of this government trying to force their ideologies on the Australian people, whether those ideologies suit their lifestyles or not. The coalition will move amendments so that Australians who choose to purchase a vehicle that suits their lifestyle will not be discriminated against for making this choice. When I talk to everyday Australians in Longman, they tell me that if people choose to buy an EV they respect their right to do that if that's what suits their lifestyle. All they expect is that they be shown the same respect when they make a choice to purchase a vehicle that suits their lifestyle.”
“Disputing decisions is already time consuming and costly and will become more costly with the risk of non-deductibility if a remission request is denied. These delays from the ATO will now cost taxpayers even more. This government's decision to introduce this measure despite widespread criticism shows that the business community should have no confidence that this government can consult and no confidence this government listens. The second hit to small business, and to all Australians, is to those who choose not to purchase an EV because there is no EV option to tow their caravan or load up their tools, no charging stations where they live or not enough range. In schedule 1 of this bill, the luxury car tax threshold will be increased to $91,387 only if the vehicle achieves under 3.5 litres per 100 kilometres.”
“CPA Australia says that denying these deductions will create undue financial hardship for small businesses and individuals, exacerbating existing challenges in the current economic climate. This is an indiscriminate measure that fails to address situations where taxpayers have historically done the right thing or have, through no fault of their own, accrued these charges due to legitimate tax disputes or administrative delays. In the explanatory memorandum, the government points to the ability of a taxpayer to apply for remission of an interest charge—that is, to ask for it to be waived. But stakeholders report the measure comes at a time of long delays in ATO service delivery and inconsistent outcomes on remission requests.”
“Their submission found: … it is unlikely that increasing the cost of SIC— special interest charges— will impact an entity's ability to correctly self-assess their tax liability and the current cost of GIC— general interest charges— means that many taxpayers already have a strong incentive to pay tax on time. Making SIC and GIC non-deductible will inappropriately increase compliance costs of honest taxpayers. … There are already a wide range of targeted measures that the Australian Taxation Office can undertake to improve the collection of tax debt, and the latest annual report indicates that such measures are beginning to make an impact. Certified Practising Accountants Australia made a similar submission urging the government to reconsider its proposal.”
“The other people it affects are the workers in these small businesses. The extra financial burden by removing this tax deductibility from small business means they'll have to take the money from the only controllable cost you have in business: wages. So much for being the party of the worker. This proposed measure is seen as such a threat to the small-business community that Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, the Institute of Public Accountants, the National Tax and Accountants Association and the SMSF Association made a joint submission calling for schedule 2 to be removed from the bill entirely.”
“I rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives and Integrity) Bill 2024. Last year, there were a record number of small business closures in this nation—over 13,000. There have been over 27,000 since this government was elected. That's more than at any other time, including the pandemic, which is hard to believe. At this most difficult of times for small businesses, this government's response is to impose more pain on businesses, many of which are on the brink of closure. Schedule 2 of this bill proposes the removal of the tax deductibility of interest paid on late tax debts. I've got news for this government: they're late paying the tax bill because they're struggling and their cash flow is tight. Taking away this tax deductibility is like kicking someone when they're down.”
“It is in these times that we rightly try and make sense of why a life such as Charlize's, from such a fine family, could be taken. Sadly, this is a question we can never answer. But to Steve, Renee, Stephanie, the two grandmothers I met last night and all the other family members and friends: in the future there will be many milestones that will be missed in Charlize's life, but I encourage you all, in these times, to focus on all the milestones you did celebrate—milestones like birthdays, that first step, first word, first tooth, first day of school, first Nippers carnival, the lead role in last year's performance of High School Musical and her high school formal, which was just last Friday night. My thoughts and prayers are with the entire family and community as they grieve and endure this most difficult of times.”
“I thank everyone who came to remember, grieve with and support this beautiful family. The entire Zmuda family are part of the fabric of the Bribie Island Surf Life Saving Club. From Nippers to serving on the board, patrolling or representing the club at carnivals and competitions, this family has, for years, selflessly given so much to the club, protecting the lives of those who visit this piece of paradise in Queensland. Yesterday, just one day after the tragic loss of his daughter, Charlize's father, Steve, was insisting that we all encourage people that they continue to come to Bribie—that it's a place that the Zmuda family have and always will love, despite the loss of their beautiful daughter. What remarkable strength.”
“on indulgence—Last evening, it was with deep sadness that I attended the vigil, along with 2,000 to 3,000 others, for Charlize Zmuda on her beloved Woorim Beach on Bribie Island's surf side. Charlize was a teenager who tragically lost her life from a shark attack on Monday. Bribie is renowned as a tight-knit community, and the vigil last night was no greater example of this island community's care for one another. The lives of Charlize's parents, Steve and Renee, and her sister, Stephanie, will never be the same again. But I'm convinced the outpouring of shared grief and love from the Bribie Island community, her St Columban school and Bribie Island Surf Life Saving Club families has eased the unimaginable pain they would be enduring right now just that little bit by the love expressed on that beach last night, which was truly tangible.”
“She ensured that, before we started school, we could write our names and do some basic maths, which I am now grateful for. With this in mind, it was great to hand out some times tables and spelling charts to the students at Jinibara, Caboolture and Dakabin state schools last week . I apologise to the other 28 primary schools in the great electorate of Longman that I couldn't get to. If any schools, mums or dads out there would like these charts so your kids can get ahead, please call into my office and pick one up. If you can't get in, then contact me and we'll get them out to you. All the best to all the preppies out there. I'm sure you'll do great, and well done to all our hardworking teachers. If you can't get in, then contact me and we'll get them out to you. All the best to all the preppies out there. I'm sure you'll do great.”
“It was back to school for so many of our children and teenagers last week, but for some it was the first day of their school and education life. For some there was anxiousness; for others, excitement; and, for all the preppies starting, the obligatory backpack that is almost bigger than them. Don't worry, kids; you'll grow into them! My mum was a state schoolteacher in grades one to three her entire life. I know and appreciate the unseen work that our schoolteachers do after hours. I can remember Mum getting home after four o'clock, cooking dinner for our family, making sure we got to bed and then starting lesson planning and marking before retiring for the night a few hours later. Mum also instilled a great value on learning the basics into my two brothers and I—much to our disgust because it interfered with our play and wrestling time.”