14/02/2018

Speech – Gallipoli to Armistice Memorial – Federation Chamber

A landmark of international significance is now emerging in Queen’s Park, Maryborough in the electorate of Wide Bay, a $3.2 million Gallipoli to Armistice memorial funded by the federal and Queensland governments and the Fraser Coast Regional Council. It will tell the story of Maryborough’s Duncan Chapman, the first man ashore at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, as well as other soldiers from the Maryborough district.

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14/02/2018

Speech – Stronger Communities Funding – Federation Chamber

It takes something special to make me dance in public, yet that’s what I found myself doing recently when I visited Sunshine Butterflies disability support service at Cooroibah to announce more than $16,000 through the Stronger Communities Program. Organisations like Sunshine Butterflies are so important and valuable to their clients, families, volunteers, staff and the broader community.

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14/02/2018

Speech – Bruce Highway Cooroy to Curra upgrade Section D – Federation Chamber

Members in this place will not be surprised that I rise to call for federal funding to be allocated in the 2018 budget to complete the final project of the Bruce Highway Cooroy to Curra upgrade section D.

Road safety is everyone’s responsibility, but in Wide Bay it’s of the highest priority.

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13/02/2018

Speech – Tribute to Mr Bill Roberts – Federation Chamber

I rise to pay tribute to and say farewell to Mr Bill Roberts who passed away aged 92 on Sunday night. Bill Roberts was chairman and mayor of the Murgon shire for 28 years and earned an OBE for his service to local government. He’s better known as ‘Mr Murgon’, renowned for his dedicated service to the community. Bill was a member of Apex and Rotary, a member and chairman of the Murgon ambulance and fire brigade boards, Fraser Coast Tourism Board and Wide Bay Burnett Area Consultative Committee and many other groups.

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12/02/2018

Speech – Aged Care – Federation Chamber

 Last Friday, I was very pleased to welcome the Minister for Aged Care to Wide Bay to meet with the aged care providers and listen to their concerns. Minister Wyatt and I met with representatives from Carramar and Noosa residential care from Tewantin, Cooinda in Gympie, Gympie Residential Care, Castra at Murgon, Torbay Lifestyles at Torquay, Zion Lutheran Retirement Village Gympie and the Sunshine Coast Wide Bay PHN.

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18/10/2017

Speech – National Police Remembrance Day – House of Representatives

Police Remembrance Day is a solemn occasion when we commemorate and pay tribute to those officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty and convey our respects to their families and colleagues. On 29 September we recall the names of every officer who has made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting our communities.

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16/10/2017

Speech – Heritage Wonders of the Gympie Region – Federation Chamber

The National Trust and my local daily newspaper, The Gympie Times, have put together a great commemorative book—Heritage Wonders of the Gympie Region—celebrating 150 years since James Nash made his famous discovery of gold near the Mary River.

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16/10/2017

Speech – Mental health – Federation Chamber

I rise to support the motion moved by the member for Fisher and acknowledge his strong promotion of good mental health. It’s often said that mental health is a collective responsibility—for individuals, for our community and for society in general. We need to look after ourselves and each other, and the government needs to ensure there’s adequate funding for programs that support and improve mental health and care for those who need support.

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21/06/2017

Speech – Making the case for Section D Cooroy to Curra – Federation Chamber

Earlier today I led a delegation of Wide Bay mayors, Mick Curran from Gympie, Chris Loft from Fraser Coast, Jack Dempsey from Bundaberg, Rachel Chambers from North Burnett, and Keith Campbell from South Burnett, as well as Bill Trevor and Scott Rowe from Regional Development Australia Wide Bay Burnett, to meet with Infrastructure and Transport Minister Darren Chester. Together we impressed upon him how important the Section D Cooroy to Curra Bruce Highway project is for the Wide Bay-Burnett region, our state, and our nation.

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13/06/2017

Statement calling for upgrades to the Bruce Highway through Wide Bay – House of Representatives

After the spate of horror fatalities on the Bruce Highway between Gympie and Maryborough, headlines from my local newspapers The Gympie Times and Fraser Coast Chronicle have called out: ‘Queensland’s highway of hell,’ ‘Road deaths must stop,’ ‘Stop ignoring dozens of road deaths,’ and ‘We need more lanes’.

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