Matt Smith
Leichhardt · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“But what did those opposite do during this time? They talked it down, called for rationing and scared people. There was a marked decrease in tourism leading into Easter because words matter. But so do actions, and, on this side of the House, we do actions. Today is a great day for actions. Paid parental leave—26 weeks.”
“The world changed. Things that we didn't think could happen happened. A war on the other side of the planet impacted supply lines. Facebook changed the way we gathered information, changed the way we got our fuel, changed the way we got our fertiliser.”
“The minimum wage is increasing by 4.75 per cent. That is a noticeable difference. People will feel that that in their hip pockets, and that money will flow on. People will have the confidence to go take the kids to a movie and make sure that the birthday party goes the way that it should. It is a fantastic thing.”
“It was, as Senator Bragg said, a vacated space for 20 years. If you go back three years before the space was vacated, you get $25 scripts, something that we have proudly bought back in so people once again are not making a decision between health and food.”
“That is a holiday in beautiful Far North Queensland with a trip to the reef and out to the Daintree and to the crocodile farm! That is what we're delivering: cost-of-living relief and great holidays in the Far North! I'm proud of what we've done here in our 12 months.”
“I rise to support the Major Sporting Events (Indicia and Images) Protection Amendment Bill 2026. We'll do the legislative stuff first. This bill modernises the Major Sporting Events (Indicia and Images) Protection Act 2014 to ensure it remains fit for purpose.”
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“We've got the most wind; we've got the most sun; we've got the most space; we've got the most water. The regions will lead the way in a renewable energy tidal wave that will take Australia into the 21st century—not looking backwards, not trying to prop up ageing and failing coal stations and not thinking about nuclear, the most expensive form of electricity. What was it? An $18 to $100 increase that every single Australian would pay for a nuclear ambition that was 20 years in the future? I'll be 65. My children will have bought their own houses—well, they'll build their own houses because of the five per cent deposit. They wouldn't have built their own houses if those opposite had had their way—but they would have had less super; they would have been on their knees. But we are preparing them for a great future.”
“We are building more roads, and that includes $7.2 billion for the main artery in Queensland, the Bruce Highway, which will improve transportation, reduce costs and make sure we don't have so many problems during the wet season. That, by any definition, is good economic management. As to surpluses—a lot is made of surpluses—we've had two. The opposition had the merchandise. They had some cups. You could get a T-shirt. I could wear an NBA T-shirt; that doesn't mean I played in it. It's always good to wear the shirts that you actually earn. The clean energy policy is an investment in our future—Australia's future, our children's future. It will create real jobs, real opportunity and manufacturing jobs in places that need them the most, because where are the most renewables? The regions.”
“We're building them for people to live in, for people to build their lives and for people to participate in the economy and make their time here on this planet better. That's what Labor does. We think about the people, and the people impact the economy. You want to talk about the economy? I'm the basketball player, but I understand supply and demand, so we're addressing supply. You look at our cheaper renewables—the batteries, including home batteries. Guess what that produces? Demand. There we go. It's economic management. But, if you're looking at it more closely, interest rates are lower. Unemployment remains low and steady. There are tax cuts for everybody. Wages are going up. Child care is getting cheaper. Health care is getting cheaper.”
“Wages are rising, unlike under those opposite, who kept wages deliberately low for almost 10 years, hurting working families and hurting the households that they proclaim to get over the line. Why? Where does that money go? Our children have been locked out of the housing market. The best part of economic development is owning your own home. For almost 10 years, they didn't even bother to have a housing minister. We have built more homes in the last three years than the coalition did in almost 10. There are 490 social and affordable housing homes being built in Cairns right now. By the end of 2026, that number will top 500. You want to talk about households? We're building them.”
“Memories will be made, love will be shared and a community will be developed on what was once an empty drive-in site where the last film shown was Pretty Woman . This is a much better use of that space. It is close to schools and close to amenities. It is a well-thought-out and well-delivered actionable part of these policies. It is going to make the lives of the people in my electorate better. I commend this bill to the House.”
“There was no-one to champion homeownership, no-one to help those who were doing it tough and who wanted to buy in the way their parents did, the way they saw their grandparents do, where they grew up in backyard that was theirs, with a pet or the ability to put up a swing set or put holes in the wall, as happens when you've got rambunctious children. This bill gives people that ambition. It gives them that dream. As Darryl Kerrigan told us in The Castle , 'It's not a house; it's a home.' We're giving people homes. People love their homes. It's where all of the memories are made. The 490 homes being built in Cairns right now for social and public housing will create a community. Grandparents will meet their grandchildren there for the first time. Christmases will be held there.”
“They'll be able to purchase it in their 20s like my folks did, pay it off in their 40s like my folks did, and live the rest of their lives mortgage free. That is the ambition for our children. That is the ambition of this government: to recreate the opportunity for homeownership and open it back up to everybody, not just the privileged few who can get a bit of help from the bank of mum or dad or get those great big jobs. Everybody has the right to own a home, and this bill is about precisely that. But what did we see from those opposite for the previous 10 years? Not even a housing minister.”
“It's taking the responsibility for a problem that was not ours in the making but is certainly ours to solve. The Anthony Albanese Labor government understood, listened and responded, and it was a big part of what we took to the election. It was about increasing supply, making sure that there are more houses for people all over the country. We have banned foreign residents from buying homes for two years to increase that supply. We've invested billions in trunk infrastructure and modular housing to get these homes built faster. Modular housing can make construction time up to 50 per cent faster, getting people into their homes at a much quicker rate. My parents owned their own home. They paid it off when I was 16 years old. It was one of their proudest moments. My children, through initiatives such as this, will also own their own home.”
“Combined with the 20 per cent HECS debt reduction, people are getting excited about the prospect of owning their own little piece of Australia, about getting into the housing market and raising a family in a backyard the way their parents did, the way they grew up, the way that the Australian dream has always been positioned. We're also making it easier to rent. There's the new rent-to-buy scheme, which will help other people get into their homes. The government can put in 40 per cent of the total value of a home, and you pay it off over time. When it's done, it is yours—your piece of the Australian dream. This is a great example of what happens when government finds solutions to problems and doesn't just sit there on its hands and blame other forces.”
“Right now in Cairns there are 490 modular homes being built for social and community housing. This is to help relieve the pressures in Cairns. Those 490 homes address 0.5 per cent of the entire housing population. Over the next 18 months, over 500 homes will be built in Leichhardt and the Far North. This will include infrastructure being placed in rural and remote communities to ease the overcrowding pressures we find in some of those communities. This is a forward-thinking bill. It creates solutions to problems that have been decades in the making. With a five per cent deposit people don't have to wait 10 years to save up for a deposit for their first home. They can do it much, much sooner.”
“I rise to take note of the ministerial statement made in the House on the Albanese Labor government's policy of a five per cent deposit for all first home buyers. As the minister said in her statement, Australia is in the middle of a housing crisis 40 years in the making. Over 40 years, governments of all stripes have not invested enough in housing. That is not political posturing; that is fact. If past governments had been investing enough in housing we wouldn't be in the position that we are in right now. We should not be in this situation. People are being left without the opportunity to get into their homes, and this five per cent guarantee allows people to get into their own homes sooner. This has been the result of the Anthony Albanese government paying attention, listening and responding to what the community needs and deserves.”
“This bill is an important step towards creating safer Commonwealth workplaces and sends a strong message that the Albanese government values workers who provide critical government services and that violence and aggression towards those workers is always unacceptable. I commend this bill to the House.”
“Contravention of a workplace protection order may constitute an offence that carries a penalty of 120 penalty unit or two years imprisonment or both. There are consequences to threatening, harassing or injuring Public Service workers. To ensure the scheme is working, the bill also includes a statutory review of the operation of the scheme three years after commencement. It gives us the opportunity to go back to make sure it's working as intended and there are no unintended consequences. I commend the ministers and the departments involved in the drafting of this bill. I also commend the many advocates for workplace safety in our Commonwealth workplaces, especially the Community and Public Sector Union.”
“If proposing conditions that would limit the respondent's ability to access or obtain Commonwealth benefits or services or engage in political communication, the applicant is required to provide the court with information about alternative procedures or arrangements for how a respondent may access or obtain these benefits or engage in political communication while subject to a workplace protection order. There's always going to be a workaround. We're going to make sure that people get the help and services they need. Either party can apply to the court to vary or revoke a workplace protection order. Additionally, either party may appeal a decision of the court relating to the final order. The ability to appeal still exists. It's not necessarily final.”
“This includes workplaces such as mobile services and pop-up shops in shopping centres, Commonwealth vehicles or Commonwealth workers' residences when working from home. It extends further than just the office. It allows people to be safe wherever they happen to be working on that day. To balance out the rights of everyone involved, fundamentally the imposition of a workplace protection order will not prevent a person from accessing necessary Commonwealth services as required or exercising their right to political communication. Your right to free speech exists. Your right to protest exists. The services will still be available to you.”
“When considering whether to make a consent order, if the court considers a party to have impaired decision-making ability, it must not make a consent order unless it is satisfied that the person has appropriate representation. The court may adjourn proceedings until the respondent is represented. The principles of natural justice still apply. Workplace protection orders can also be made against anyone under the age of 14. People under the age of 14 do not have criminal responsibility is what they're saying there. The proposed workplace protection order scheme will be available to most Commonwealth workplaces, extending to anywhere a Commonwealth worker is conducting official Commonwealth work.”
“In making the workplace protection order the court could be empowered to impose a range of conditions on a respondent they consider necessary or desirable to protect the safety of the Commonwealth worker or workplace. It gives the people involved and the court direct responsibility and the ability to keep that individual person or workforce safe. Keeping in mind that services like Centrelink can deal with many of the most vulnerable in the community, this bill considers how best to approach circumstances where a respondent might have impaired decision-making for one reason or another. It takes into account people's personal circumstances. It is not a catch-all brush.”
“It gives people a chance to respond. It is a fair and just position to ensure the safety of our workforce. The bill's definition of 'personal violence' is designed to include acts of violence, harassment, intimidation, threats of harm and other harmful non-physical violence, such as verbal abuse or abuse by phone or email. We know that you can harm somebody with more than just violence. Email abuse can really have a long and psychological harming effect on people. On application, a Commonwealth, state or territory court could be able to make an interim consent or final order. In time-critical circumstances, an urgent order can be applied for by telephone or electronic means. It works fast. It gets it done.”
“The bill will enable an authorised person from the Commonwealth entity to apply to select courts for a workplace protection order on behalf of the Commonwealth worker or a workplace where personal violence against a worker or a workplace has arisen out of or in direct connection with their official functions or duties and there is a real risk it will occur again if an order is not made. It gives them protection. It gives them an avenue to find safety and legal recourse should things go wrong. The bill would only allow the court to make a workplace protection order where they are satisfied that the respondent has engaged in personal violence in relation to a Commonwealth worker or Commonwealth workplace and there is a real risk the respondent will further engage in personal violence if the order is not made.”
“It came about as a response to the 44 recommendations of the 2023 Services Australia Security Risk Management Review, the Ashton review, conducted by Mr Graham Ashton. This review itself was sparked after a serious assault with a bladed weapon on a Services Australia member. This bill implements recommendation 17 of the review, which called for current ACT workplace protection order provisions to be adapted for use by the entire Commonwealth as a staff protection mechanism nationwide.”
“As someone whose electorate is home to many Commonwealth employees, I want them to know I value their work and their safety because, ultimately, they really want to help. Every public servant I know gets up and works with great pride delivering services. They love the communities they work in, and the key is in the title—'public servant'. They wear that tag with pride. They know that every day they can make someone's life that little bit better and easier. I promise you that that is what they are trying to do. That's why this bill is so important. This bill will provide legal protection for Commonwealth workplaces and workers and will deter acts of violence and other harmful behaviours from some members of the public—a very small minority, as the member for Riverina pointed out.”
“Come and talk to us calmly, respectfully and with an open mind, because, at the end of the day, we are here to represent you. My point is that yelling at poor Sue or Robbo at Centrelink won't change the rules they have to follow. Sue and Robbo, and other Commonwealth employees like them, do not deserve danger or anger. And, quite frankly, they don't have the time; they're busy. They're in Centrelink helping people access social security payments. They're in Medicare helping people get affordable health care. They're in Border Force keeping our country safe. They're in the department of agriculture keeping biosecurity threats out of our country, and they're in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade keeping our country connected with our global partners and allies.”
“Those on the other side of the desk at places like Services Australia are people. They have families and friends, and they're just trying to make their way in the world. They are people from our communities. They run the local footy club and volunteer at the P&C. They are people who are trying to help. Importantly, these people are just following the rules of the laws passed here, in this place. They're not the ones who make the rules around access to the age pension or disability support or JobSeeker. That is done here, by the members of this place and the other place. If you want someone to change the rules about how the government operates, come and talk to one of the 150 members from here or one of the 76 from the other place.”
“Any violence against Public Service workers is unacceptable. Violence against anybody, especially if they just happen to be at work, should be completely eradicated from our society. Clearly, many people who deal with frontline government workers are in very stressful or distressing situations. You're not in there because things have gone well. Those dealing with Centrelink might be facing severe financial hardship. Those dealing with Medicare, or their loved ones, might be in the middle of exhausting medical treatment. Those dealing with Home Affairs are wanting to bring loved ones to this country. I empathise with the stress and frustration that can occur during these times, but the person on the other side of the desk does not deserve to be treated poorly or in an abusive or violent manner.”
“I rise to speak in support of the Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders Bill 2025. This bill will establish a new act, the Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders Act, which will introduce the Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders scheme. You might wonder why this bill is necessary. It's needed because everyone has the right to feel safe at work, and that right must extend to federal government workers. Sadly, this has not always been the case. Between July 2023 and June 2024, as we've heard multiple times, there were 1,694 serious incidents across Services Australia's face-to-face service channel. Recently, in May this year, two Australian Border Force contractors were assaulted with a bladed weapon whilst on the job. Any violence towards a Commonwealth worker, or anybody, is completely unacceptable.”
“This was about good people doing good things for their community and providing Ben with these opportunities. Ben is to be congratulated for the hard work, the sacrifice and the dedication that has placed him into a spot where he breathes rare air that most of us never even get to. But Jen needs to be congratulated too. She took an opportunity, she found a way and she delivered for that young man so he can live out his dreams and we can cheer him on as proud Australians. Fred deserves congratulations for taking the time and expanding his knowledge so that he could give this young man an opportunity—and he's grabbed it with both hands. We wish Ben all the best from all of Leichhardt. We will be watching him very closely. Congratulations to Ben, and congratulations to his family.”
“As the program went along, Fred Lay, a coach from the Northern Beaches of Cairns, took the opportunity to expand his coaching knowledge and became an accredited wheelchair coach. This provided 11-year-old Ben with the ability to train, improve his game and be more competitive with his friends. Had that been the end of the story, it would have been a truly exceptional program. But Ben had found his thing. Ben has made numerous Australian teams and travelled the world, and last year he became one of the US Open junior doubles champions, the first junior open champion in Australian history. He has gone from strength to strength. This year, he will be participating in the US Open in the open draw for wheelchair tennis, a fantastic achievement for young Ben. But none of this happens in a vacuum.”
“Seven years ago, Jen Rees walked into my office while I was still working at Sport and Rec in Cairns. She pitched an idea that she was going to bring wheelchair tennis to Cairns, creating a program known as Run and Roll. Run and Roll pairs able-bodied athletes with chair athletes in a modified game of tennis. The goal was simple: create an opportunity for kids to play with their friends—nothing more, nothing less. Working with Tennis Queensland and local tennis clubs, Jen set about creating the program and finding chairs, space and coaches. To launch the program, Olympic gold medallist and four-time Australian Open champion Heath Davidson came to Cairns to show the participants what was possible. One of the attendees was a youngster named Ben Wenzel. Ben was able to spend some time with Heath, and the program took off.”
“The PBS has always sought to ensure the medicine you need is available at the price you can afford, and now this bill ensures that ideal moving forward, that that quintessentially Australian ideal of the fair go continues. This bill is critical to helping deliver cheaper medicines and more cost-of-living support for Australians. This bill will ensure that people are able to maintain dignity and that they never have to choose between meds and a meal. I commend this bill to the House.”
“Like I said before, there are a lot of ways we are doing this and will continue to do this, be it the urgent care clinics, which have been a roaring success, or more funding for bulk-billing, more support for the LGBTIQA+ community to allow them access to health care or making sure culturally appropriate care is available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. All of these things and so much more will build up a better healthcare system and a stronger Medicare. This bill is to deliver more cheaper medicines and, really, it's just the important next step. Cheaper medicines are good for your hip pocket and good for your health, and your health is the most valuable thing you will ever have.”
“The Liberal and National parties have shown time and time again that Medicare and our health services are not something that they are willing to support or value. As Maya Angelou told us, 'When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.' Australians aren't fools. They know the Liberal and National parties are not focused on their health. I couldn't believe during the campaign how many people came up to me worried about what might happen if the Liberal and National parties won and what they might do to Medicare. If you are in an emergency, you want a well-funded and high-quality health system. If you have a chronic condition, you want primary health care when you need it. If you are comparing the pair, there really is no choice. Only a Labor government will make Medicare stronger and health care more affordable.”
“There is a reason the public don't believe the Liberal and National parties when they say they support Medicare. It might be that there have been massive funding cuts to hospitals under previous Liberal-National governments. It might be that previous LNP governments in Queensland decimated the public service, including front-line health workers. It might be that every time we have a Liberal-National government they always have the same fever dream and seek to privatise Medicare. Leaving the Liberal and National parties in charge of Medicare is akin to leaving Jason Voorhees in charge of summer camp. Just like Jason, the Liberal and National parties are quiet, but give them a chance and they will cut and slash everything they can. In both cases I very much doubt that the Australian public wants to clean up the mess left behind.”
“It's work like this that shows why Australians trust Labor to make Medicare stronger. Labor built Medicare, Labor protects Medicare and, now, Labor is expanding Medicare, with $8.5 billion committed to ensure more bulk-billing, cheaper medicines, hospitals funding and urgent care clinics right across the country, including a new one for my area in the northern part of Cairns. There's better access to health care for women, those from the LGBTIQA+ community, people living in regional, rural and remote communities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It's better health care. This is what Labor governments mean. This is what they've always meant. It's who we are. It's also what we continue to fight for. Let us not forget the alternative, though.”
“This will provide peace of mind that the bills won't keep piling up in what can be a very, very trying time. We have made investments in primary health care, including community controlled entities, which deliver culturally appropriate care—because we know that primary health care is the guardrail at the top of the cliff, not the ambulance waiting for you at the bottom. This now includes a commitment to mobile cancer screening on the cape and a focus on work preventing FASD. People's dignity is at the forefront of every decision made. People don't want to feel punished for having a health condition, because you should never have to choose between your meds and a meal. These are the real-world outcomes that are benefiting people right now—benefiting them physically, emotionally and financially.”
“It's assisting people living in remote places like my electorate only having to travel once every 60 days into town, rather than a monthly pick-up, for their prescriptions—saving time and money and keeping people at home longer. Spend any time in any remote community and people will tell you they live in the best place on earth. This gives people more time where they want to be. It's new medicines on the PBS and a focus on women's health, an area that has been ignored for far too long. It is giving women the care they need and deserve. New contraceptive pills have hit the PBS. So have treatments for perimenopause, giving women an ongoing conversation regarding menopause and HRT and allowing further understanding of issues such as endo. People with complex and chronic conditions will be supported by the PBS safety net kicking in sooner.”
“That is the nitty-gritty of the numbers. They make the policy. I don't live in a policy; I live in Leichhardt, and there are real-world applications to this. Think about that for a moment—$8.8 million. That is money back in people's pockets, money that people can spend to take their family to the movies or to make sure that their kids' Christmas is a little better, not dealing with that stress. They don't have to be afraid if something happens to the car or the hot water system blows up or, in the case of Cairns, the air conditioner goes on the fritz, which is much more serious! It's reducing stress in life. As we know, if your health is poor and money is tight, it can make recovery harder. This bill helps address that.”
“In July 2022, we announced more free and cheaper medicines sooner, with a 25 per cent reduction in the number of scripts a concessional patient must fill before the PBS safety net kicks in. In January 2023, we announced the largest cut to the cost of medicines in the history of the PBS, with the maximum cost of general scripts falling from $42.50 to $30. From September 2023, we started delivering 60-day prescriptions, saving both time and money for millions of Australians with ongoing health conditions. Most recently we announced the freezing of the cost of PBS medicines, with co-payments not rising with inflation for all Australians for the first time in 25 years. In my electorate of Leichhardt alone, this has meant that people, as of 31 July 2025, have saved over $8.8 million under our cheaper medicine policies.”
“This is what the bill will mean. There will be a 20 per cent cut in the maximum cost of PBS medicines, which will save Australians over $200 million per year. Four out of five PBS medicines will become cheaper because of our government's $689 million investment. Pensioners and concession card holders will continue to benefit from the freeze to the cost of their PBS medicines, with the cost frozen at its current level of $7.70 until 2030. That's the cost-of-living support Australians expect and deserve. It's the Australian idea of the fair go, allowing people to live with dignity and not be afraid of the fixed cost in their lives that medication can represent. This bill builds on the important work the Anthony Albanese Labor government has already done to make medicines cheaper—that's right; we have form.”
“We've brought in more funding for GP bulk-billing. We've provided help to people to pay their energy bills, and work is well underway to help more Australians buy or rent their own home. We've overseen raises to the minimum wage for workers across the country. We're protecting flexible working arrangements and penalty rates. In the last sitting, we passed a 20 per cent cut to HECS, a change that, I will remind everyone, the Liberals didn't feel the need to vote for. There's also work underway to support more cheap and clean energy. There's a commitment to punish supermarkets who are price gouging. Delivering cheaper medicines is one part of this larger push from our Labor government to help make the cost of living manageable. It is also a change that will make a lot of difference to the lives of people who are reliant on medicines.”
“When these changes come into effect on 1 July 2026, we will be delivering on a key commitment made at the last election. I can tell you this will be welcomed by many locals in my electorate and right across the country. When I was on the doors, at the markets or just talking to people in the streets, there were always people coming up to me to talk about how hard the cost of living was and how that impacted their health. To the many locals in my electorate concerned about the cost of living, let me say this: we hear you. I hear you. The Anthony Albanese Labor government hears you and responds. This is why the government has been working hard to address some of the key challenges facing Australian households. We've already legislated tax cuts for all Australian taxpayers. We've delivered cheaper child care.”
“I rise to speak in support of the National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025, also known as the cheaper medicines bill. Let me take you back to 2004. Unlike the member for Hunter, my beard was there, though less grey and still remarkably patchy. I had more bounce, my favourite song was 'From the Sea' by Eskimo Joe and, at the time, I was still playing basketball in the NBL. I would ask the people of Australia not to hold this against me, but I was playing for the New Zealand Breakers. If it makes you feel any better, we won significantly less than we lost. The other important thing about 2004, though, was that it was the last time PBS medicines cost no more than $25. Under this bill, the maximum cost of medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme goes down from $31.60 to $25.”
“My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. How is the Albanese Labor government supporting access to housing in regional Australia and cleaning up the housing mess the government inherited?”
“These are the kinds of changes that people expect to see from their governments. We're getting more Australians into their home quicker, while saving them money along the way—a huge win for first home buyers around the country and just another way the Albanese Labor government is delivering on our commitments.”
“Combined with other cost-of-living initiatives, such as the 20 per cent reduction in HECS debts, disallowing HECS being taken into account when applying for loans, more affordable health care and child care and better access to education, this delivers a holistic response to ensuring Australians can live their lives in a piece of Australia that they own. When I returned to the electorate after HECS debts were reduced, so many people came to me and they were excited because now they felt they could start saving for a home. Well, this is great news for them because that house just got a little bit closer. We were elected to help Australians. We were given a mandate to reduce the imposition of the deposit on first home buyers, to get them into the game sooner and allow them to live their best lives in their own home. And we are delivering.”
“Under the Albanese Labor government, first home buyers are now able to buy a house with just a five per cent deposit from 1 October this year. A five per cent deposit and no mortgage insurance saves money, reduces ongoing costs and now has been brought forward to help more Australians realise their dream of homeownership. Unlike the policy of those opposite, this five per cent deposit policy allows first home buyers to get into homeownership without having to mortgage their retirement by raiding their super.”
“Those in Kuranda are getting a new childcare centre so that local children have the right to get an early education, so they don't start school behind. Additional child care will also be provided in the community of Napranum. We've committed $450,000 to local festivals—the Cairns African Festival, the Chinese lantern festival, the Cairns Indian Festival and the Diwali celebrations—for the next three years to support community cohesion. I'm pleased to say that I and 10,000 of my closest friends attended the Cairns Indian Festival over the weekend, which was quite a feat given that the Cairns cup was on at the same time and it's tough to go up against the races. Congratulations to Subash Chetry for delivering such a fantastic event. I'm also proud that we're providing funding to deliver more CCTV coverage to help make Cairns a safer place.”
“We've also committed to major upgrades to Football Queensland's Endeavour Park, ensuring that the next Mary Fowler will have top-notch facilities to hone their craft. Many avid sports fans will also be happy to know that we have committed to partnering with the NQ Cowboys to create a brand-new community development and high-performance centre right in the heart of Cairns. On health, there's work underway to deliver a new urgent care clinic in Far North Queensland, with a funding boost also planned for the Cairns south urgent care clinic. We're also going to invest $2 million in preventive health up on the cape, with a focus on FASD and cancer—because we know the best way to treat illness is to catch it early.”
“Perhaps one of the funding announcements I know will have one of the biggest impacts for our region will be the support that the Albanese Labor government has delivered to set up an early childhood education service on Horn Island. On my frequent visits to the Torres Strait people would lament the lack of available child care and the impact that has on people trying to enter the workforce. We listened and we acted. All of these great projects have real-world implications to help make Far North Queensland a better place to live. At the risk of sounding like Tim Shaw from Demtel, but, wait, there's more! During the election, I was able to commit to a range of really important projects. They include a new bridge over the Barron River, something that locals have been crying out for, for decades.”
“There's been road funding in the northern peninsula area, right up at the top of Cape York, to upgrade the Injinoo Back Road, to allow for more trunk infrastructure for greater housing. There's been over $300,000 in art grants, through Creative Australia, delivered locally. We've also delivered grants to local defence contractor J3Seven to assist with their cybersecurity work and help keep our nation safe. Under the Stronger Communities Program, there is funding delivered to groups like Meals on Wheels, our local PCYCs, Edge Hill United Football Club, Port Douglas Crocs and the Laura district rodeo. If you're ever up Laura way, I thoroughly recommend the rodeo.”
“We on this side of the House want to help make sure that we are making lives better and helping Australians to get ahead. Locally, a lot has been happening as well. In the last term, Labor set up the Cairns south urgent care clinic, which is now one of the busiest in the country. Federal funding was also involved in the new housing project in Woree, which is set to deliver 490 new dwellings upon completion. We've helped fund local water security projects, a new campus for the local branch of CQU, and a range of local projects with local sporting clubs. I was recently at Redlands state college, where I got to see the progress on nature play, which has been supported by funding by the Anthony Albanese Labor government. There are so many really positive projects I could point to where we are delivering the funding.”