hansard home page: e-mail: phone: (07) 3406 7314 fax: (07 ......the clerk, acting under my...

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Hansard Home Page: http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-assembly/hansardE-mail: [email protected]

Phone: (07) 3406 7314 Fax: (07) 3210 0182

FIRST SESSION OF THE FIFTY-FOURTH PARLIAMENT Page

PROOF ISSN 1322-0330

Subject

Tuesday, 19 June 2012

ASSENT TO BILL ............................................................................................................................................................................. 705Tabled paper: Letter, dated 12 June 2012, from Her Excellency the Governor advising of assent to a bill. ............ 705

REPORT ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 705Auditor-General .................................................................................................................................................................... 705

Tabled paper: Report to Parliament No. 4 for 2012—Managing employee unplanned absence. ........................... 705SPEAKER’S STATEMENTS ............................................................................................................................................................ 705

E-petition Fraud .................................................................................................................................................................... 705Deeral, Mr E ......................................................................................................................................................................... 706

Tabled paper: Bound folio of record of service of Mr Eric Deeral. ............................................................................ 706PRIVILEGE ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 706

Error in Answer to Question; Newman Government, Achievements .................................................................................... 706PETITIONS ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 706TABLED PAPERS ............................................................................................................................................................................ 706MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS .......................................................................................................................................................... 709

Commission of Audit ............................................................................................................................................................ 709Commission of Audit ............................................................................................................................................................ 710Commission of Audit ............................................................................................................................................................ 711Skills and Training Task Force ............................................................................................................................................. 711Mining Industry, Land Access Framework ........................................................................................................................... 712

Tabled paper: Land Access Framework—12-month review, Report of the Land Access Review Panel, February 2012. ......................................................................................................................................................... 712

Orica Australia, Prosecution ................................................................................................................................................. 712Deeral, Mr E ......................................................................................................................................................................... 713

ABSENCE OF MINISTER ................................................................................................................................................................ 714ETHICS COMMITTEE ...................................................................................................................................................................... 714

Report ................................................................................................................................................................................... 714Tabled paper: Ethics Committee: Report No. 122—Report on a Right of Reply No. 22. ........................................ 714

NOTICE OF MOTION ....................................................................................................................................................................... 714Budget Strategies ................................................................................................................................................................. 714

FS SIMPSON N J LAURIE L J OSMONDSPEAKER CLERK OF THE PARLIAMENT CHIEF HANSARD REPORTER

http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/hansard/

Table of Contents — Tuesday, 19 June 2012

QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE .....................................................................................................................................................714Public Service, Jobs .............................................................................................................................................................714Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, Jobs .............................................................................715Commission of Audit .............................................................................................................................................................715Local Government, Water Charges ......................................................................................................................................716State Finances ......................................................................................................................................................................716State Finances ......................................................................................................................................................................717Royalties for the Regions ......................................................................................................................................................718Infrastructure Projects ...........................................................................................................................................................718Public Service, Enterprise Bargaining ...................................................................................................................................719Queensland Health, Jobs .....................................................................................................................................................720Public Transport, Buses ........................................................................................................................................................720

Tabled paper: Extract from the Integrated Regional Transport Plan for South East Queensland. ...........................721Gladstone Harbour, Dredging ...............................................................................................................................................721Sports Infrastructure .............................................................................................................................................................721

Tabled paper: Media statement by Lindsay Tanner entitled ‘Labor’s $3 Billion Savings Plan’. ................................722Tabled paper: Artist’s impressions of proposed ski jump..........................................................................................722

Office of the Adult Guardian, Jobs ........................................................................................................................................722Nambour, Wild Dog Destruction Officer ................................................................................................................................722Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, Jobs .............................................................................723Crime and Misconduct Commission .....................................................................................................................................723

SPEAKER’S STATEMENT ...............................................................................................................................................................724School Group Tours ..............................................................................................................................................................724

MATTERS OF PUBLIC INTEREST ..................................................................................................................................................724Newman Government; Commission of Audit ........................................................................................................................724Ellis, Ms A; YHES House ......................................................................................................................................................725Gold Coast, Drug Abuse .......................................................................................................................................................726Commission of Audit .............................................................................................................................................................727Ginger, Imports .....................................................................................................................................................................727Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, Jobs .............................................................................728Glendyne Education and Training Centre .............................................................................................................................729Prime Minister’s Economic Forum, Brisbane ........................................................................................................................730Redcliffe Electorate, Council Deamalgamation .....................................................................................................................730Royalties for the Regions; Uranium Mining ...........................................................................................................................731

Tabled paper: Extract from The Australian, dated 9 March 2009, titled ‘Lawrence Springborg puts uranium on the table in Queensland campaign’......................................................................................................................732

Scenic Rim, Tourism .............................................................................................................................................................732Agricultural Industry ..............................................................................................................................................................733

TREASURY (COST OF LIVING) AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL ......................................................................734Second Reading ...................................................................................................................................................................734

CRIMINAL LAW (FALSE EVIDENCE BEFORE PARLIAMENT) AMENDMENT BILL ...................................................................742Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................................................742

Tabled paper: Criminal Law (False Evidence Before Parliament) Amendment Bill. .................................................742Tabled paper: Criminal Law (False Evidence Before Parliament) Amendment Bill, explanatory notes....................742

First Reading ........................................................................................................................................................................743Referral to the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee ..........................................................................................743

ANIMAL CARE AND PROTECTION AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL ...............................................................744Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................................................744

Tabled paper: Animal Care and Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Bill..................................................744Tabled paper: Animal Care and Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Bill, explanatory notes. ..................744

First Reading ........................................................................................................................................................................745Referral to the Agriculture, Resources and Environment Committee ...................................................................................745

SOUTH-EAST QUEENSLAND WATER (DISTRIBUTION AND RETAIL RESTRUCTURING) AMENDMENT BILL ......................745Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................................................745

Tabled paper: South-East Queensland Water (Distribution and Retail Restructuring) Amendment Bill. ..................745Tabled paper: South-East Queensland Water (Distribution and Retail Restructuring) Amendment Bill, explanatory notes......................................................................................................................................................745

First Reading ........................................................................................................................................................................747Referral to the State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee .........................................................................747Portfolio Committee, Reporting Date ....................................................................................................................................747

TREASURY (COST OF LIVING) AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL ......................................................................747Second Reading ...................................................................................................................................................................747

MOTION ............................................................................................................................................................................................771Budget Strategies .................................................................................................................................................................771

Tabled paper: Queensland Commission of Audit: Interim Report, dated June 2012. ...............................................773Tabled paper: Extract from The Courier-Mail, dated 3 December 2010, titled ‘Sleeman facilities ramped up for skiers’...................................................................................................................................................................778Division: Question put—That the amendment be agreed to. ....................................................................................780Resolved in the affirmative........................................................................................................................................780Division: Question put—That the motion, as amended, be agreed to.......................................................................780Resolved in the affirmative........................................................................................................................................780

Table of Contents — Tuesday, 19 June 2012

COMMITTEE OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY ......................................................................................................................... 781Portfolio Committees, Reporting Dates ................................................................................................................................ 781

TREASURY (COST OF LIVING) AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL ..................................................................... 781Second Reading ................................................................................................................................................................... 781Consideration in Detail ......................................................................................................................................................... 795

Clauses 1 to 57, as read, agreed to. ........................................................................................................................ 795Third Reading ....................................................................................................................................................................... 795Long Title .............................................................................................................................................................................. 795

MOTION ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 795Yeerongpilly Transit Oriented Development ......................................................................................................................... 795

ADJOURNMENT .............................................................................................................................................................................. 795Fitzroy River, Water Sports .................................................................................................................................................. 795Gold Coast, Light Rail .......................................................................................................................................................... 796Out of the Box Festival; Pine Rivers, Performing Arts .......................................................................................................... 796Gladstone Harbour, Water Quality ....................................................................................................................................... 797St Paul’s Anglican Men’s Society ......................................................................................................................................... 797Fort Lytton National Park ...................................................................................................................................................... 798Port of Bundaberg ................................................................................................................................................................ 798Great Barrier Reef ................................................................................................................................................................ 799Nambour RSL Community Grants; Sunshine Coast Show .................................................................................................. 799Kingaroy State High School, Business Lunch ...................................................................................................................... 800

ATTENDANCE ................................................................................................................................................................................. 800

19 Jun 2012 Legislative Assembly 705

TUESDAY, 19 JUNE 2012

Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly met at 9.30 am.

Madam Speaker (Hon. Fiona Simpson, Maroochydore) read prayers and took the chair.

For the sitting week, Madam Speaker acknowledged the traditional custodians of the land uponwhich this parliament is assembled.

ASSENT TO BILL

Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have to report that I have received from HerExcellency the Governor a letter in respect of assent to a certain bill, the contents of which will beincorporated in the Record of Proceedings. I table the letter for the information of members.

The Honourable F. Simpson, MPSpeaker of the Legislative AssemblyParliament HouseGeorge StreetBRISBANE QLD 4000

I hereby acquaint the Legislative Assembly that the following Bill, having been passed by the Legislative Assembly and havingbeen presented for the Royal Assent, was assented to in the name of Her Majesty The Queen on the date shown:

Date of assent: 12 June 2012

“A Bill for An Act to amend the Industrial Relations Act 1999, the Industrial Relations Regulation 2011 and the PublicService Act 2008 for particular purposes”

This Bill is hereby transmitted to the Legislative Assembly, to be numbered and forwarded to the proper Officer for enrolment, inthe manner required by law.

Yours sincerely

Governor

12 June 2012

Tabled paper: Letter, dated 12 June 2012, from Her Excellency the Governor advising of assent to a bill [312].

REPORT

Auditor-General

Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have to report that I have received from the Auditor-General a report titled Report to parliament No. 4 for 2012—managing employee unplanned absence. Itable the report for the information of members.

Tabled paper: Report to Parliament No. 4 for 2012—Managing employee unplanned absence [313].

SPEAKER’S STATEMENTS

E-petition Fraud

Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, it has come to my attention that two persons have, incontravention of the conditions of use of an e-petition and possibly with an intention to mislead theAssembly, entered their names on a single e-petition multiple times. One name was entered four timesand the other name 17 times on the same e-petition. The persons bearing these names then braggedabout their actions on a social media site.

The Clerk, acting under my authority, has caused the multiple entries to be deleted from thedatabase and the e-petition will be checked before presentation. The Clerk has also contacted thepersons responsible and warned them that their actions may constitute a contempt.

I am satisfied at this time with the action taken. However, should these persons attempt toundertake such an action again, I will refer the matter to the Ethics Committee as a breach of privilegeand contempt.

http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/docs/find.aspx?id=5412T312


http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/docs/find.aspx?id=0Mba20120619_093015








706 Tabled Papers 19 Jun 2012

Deeral, Mr E

Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, yesterday morning on behalf of the parliament Ivisited the community of Hope Vale to acknowledge and honour Mr Eric Deeral, who was the firstIndigenous person to be elected to an Australian state parliament, representing the seat of Cook in theQueensland parliament from 1974 to 1977.

Nearing 80 years of age, it was appropriate that Mr Deeral be recognised for his significantcontribution to the advancement of Queensland’s Indigenous community in the company of his family,local community and elders and for this recognition to occur on his country. Mr Deeral was presentedwith a gift of recognition, which was a bound folio of his record of service to the Queensland parliament.I table a copy of this folio for the public record. Tabled paper: Bound folio of record of service of Mr Eric Deeral [314].

The visit to Hope Vale was facilitated by the parliament’s Indigenous liaison officer andCommunity Engagement services and was an historic opportunity to recognise our first Indigenous MP.In attendance was the member for Cook; the mayor, deputy mayor and local councillors of Hope Vale;the mayor, deputy mayor and local councillors of the Cook shire; and the Hope Vale chief executiveofficer. In addition, on behalf of the parliament I sought permission from Mr Deeral to rename theIndigenous Youth Parliament, which is held in the Queensland parliament, in his honour, which wasgranted.

Eric Deeral’s greatest legacy was not limited to his parliamentary service but in the leadership hehas demonstrated and inspired in others. Great leaders unlock the potential of people whom theyserve—helping them achieve their dreams, to be their best and to claim their destiny for good.Yesterday we recognised such a leader in Mr Deeral.

PRIVILEGE

Error in Answer to Question; Newman Government, Achievements

Hon. CKT NEWMAN (Ashgrove—LNP) (Premier) (9.35 am): I wish to advise the House that on 7June in response to a question without notice from the member for Mount Ommaney about mygovernment’s achievements I stated that we had ‘repealed sustainability declarations’. Theseamendments I acknowledge have not yet been passed, so I would like to correct the record to state thatwe have started a process to repeal sustainability declarations and the House is yet to determine thematter. I would like to apologise to the House for any confusion that this may have caused.

PETITIONS

The Clerk presented the following paper petitions, lodged by the honourable members indicated—

Joice, Dr P

Mr Costigan, from 519 petitioners, requesting the House to fully restore Dr Paul Joice’s credentials so that he can resumeworking at Proserpine Hospital [315].

CSG Industry

Mr Wellington, from 67 petitioners, requesting the House to place a 12 month moratorium on coal seam gas projects while furtherscientific tests are carried out to ensure that the coal seam gas industry techniques pose no threat to prime agricultural land,drinking water and human health [316].

The Clerk presented the following e-petition, sponsored by the honourable member indicated—

Dutton Park, Telecommunications Tower

Ms Trad, from 423 petitioners, requesting the House to urgently suspend all activity to construct a telecommunications tower at228 Gladstone Road, Dutton Park until a full and proper consultation can take place with the local community and extensivereviews, particularly regarding health impacts, can be conducted by all levels of Government [317].

Petitions received.

TABLED PAPERS

PAPERS TABLED DURING THE RECESS

The Clerk informed the House that the following papers, received during the recess, were tabled on the dates indicated—

8 June 2012—

267 Response from the Minister for Local Government (Mr Crisafulli) to a paper petition (1862-12) presented by the formermember for Ferny Grove, Mr Wilson, from 11 petitioners, requesting the House to refer to the Local Government ChangeCommission the transfer of the Hills District (Arana Hills, Everton Hills, Ferny Hills and Bunya) from the jurisdiction ofMoreton Bay Regional Council to the Brisbane City Council











19 Jun 2012 Tabled Papers 707

268 Response from the Minister for Transport and Main Roads (Mr Emerson) to an ePetition (1802-11) sponsored by theformer member for Kallangur, Ms O’Neill, from 40 petitioners, requesting the House to consider registering the outboardmotor and not the boat

269 Education and Innovation Committee: Report No. 2—Queensland Art Gallery Amendment Bill 2012

270 Education and Innovation Committee: Report No. 3—Vocational Education and Training (Commonwealth Powers) Bill2012

271 Response from the Minister for Police and Community Safety (Mr Dempsey) to an ePetition (1850-12) sponsored by theClerk of the Parliament in accordance with Standing Order 119(4), from 93 petitioners, requesting the House to assist inthe funding of security cameras in the Port Douglas central business district to deter violence and assist police in theprosecution of offenders

12 June 2012—

272 Response from the Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (Mr Seeney) to twopaper petitions (1859-12 and 1871-12) presented by Mr Knuth, from 154 and 204 petitioners respectively, requesting theHouse to call in the development approved by the Tablelands Regional Council to subdivide property located at 50Tinaroo Falls Dam Road, Kairi

273 Agriculture, Resources and Environment Committee: Report No. 3—Environmental Protection (Greentape Reduction) andOther Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

274 Agriculture, Resources and Environment Committee: Report No. 3—Environmental Protection (Greentape Reduction) andOther Legislation Amendment Bill 2012: Submissions received in relation to the inquiry

275 Agriculture, Resources and Environment Committee: Report No. 3—Environmental Protection (Greentape Reduction) andOther Legislation Amendment Bill 2012: Transcript of proceedings, public briefing, No. 1

276 Agriculture, Resources and Environment Committee: Report No. 3—Environmental Protection (Greentape Reduction) andOther Legislation Amendment Bill 2012: Transcript of proceedings, public briefing, No. 2

277 Agriculture, Resources and Environment Committee: Report No. 3—Environmental Protection (Greentape Reduction) andOther Legislation Amendment Bill 2012: Transcript of proceedings, public hearing

278 Agriculture, Resources and Environment Committee: Report No. 3—Environmental Protection (Greentape Reduction) andOther Legislation Amendment Bill 2012: Advice dated 8 February 2012 provided by the former Department ofEnvironment and Resource Management to the Chair of the former Environment, Agriculture, Resources and EnergyCommittee

13 June 2012—

279 Response from the Treasurer and Minister for Trade (Mr Nicholls) to an ePetition (1792-11) sponsored by the formermember for Mt Ommaney, Ms Attwood, from 150 petitioners, requesting the House to take immediate action to improvethe performance of insurers and the settlement of insurance claims following a natural disaster event

280 Response from the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines (Mr Cripps) to an ePetition and a paper petition (1766-11and 1880-12) sponsored by the former member for Maryborough, Mr Foley and the Clerk of the Parliament in accordancewith Standing Order 119(3), from 355 and 245 petitioners respectively, requesting the House to increase the buffer zonebetween urban areas and coal mines or exploration from two kilometres to a minimum of five kilometres

281 Response from the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines (Mr Cripps) to a paper petition (1865-12) presented by theformer member for Ipswich West, Mr Wendt, from 236 petitioners, requesting the House to conduct a review of the way inwhich permits for mining exploration are executed

282 Response from the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines (Mr Cripps) to an ePetition (1805-11) sponsored by HonLangbroek, from 220 petitioners, requesting the House to consider the permanent closure of the Public Road Reservefrom Clifford Street, Surfers Paradise to Fern Street and First Avenue, Broadbeach to ensure the protection of the dunesand beach vegetation and the safety of concerned residents; and to consider alternative measures to improve transit forpedestrians and cyclists

283 Response from the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines (Mr Cripps) to an ePetition (1818-11) sponsored by theformer member for Pine Rivers, Ms Male, from 520 petitioners, requesting the House to ask the Minister for Mines andEnergy to ensure that no mining applications are granted on any part of the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve

14 June 2012—

284 Response from the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice (Mr Bleijie) to an ePetition (1778-11) sponsored by the Clerkof the Parliament in accordance with Standing Order 119(4), from 1,711 petitioners, requesting the House to amend theStandard Time Act 1894, or supplement the Act with daylight saving legislation, to ensure Queensland’s time zone isaligned to all Australian eastern states for the full 12 months of the year

285 Response from the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice (Mr Bleijie) to an ePetition (1776-11) sponsored by MrWellington, from 298 petitioners, requesting the House to restore the Office of the Public Advocate to its original statusand identify what additional powers the office needs to enhance its effectiveness

15 June 2012—

286 Response from the Deputy Premier, Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (Mr Seeney) to two paperpetitions (1894-12 and 1895-12) presented by the Clerk of the Parliament in accordance with Standing Order 119(3), from146 and 227 petitioners respectively, requesting the House to prevent the development of extractive industry at 96McCauleys Land, Sandy Creek

287 Response from the Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (Mr Seeney) to anePetition (1819-11) sponsored by Mrs Miller, from 260 petitioners, requesting the House to reject any applications toaddress the expansion of waste industries in the New Chum/Dinmore landfill sites from 50,000 tonnes per year to1,900,000 tonnes per year

288 Response from the Minister for Health (Mr Springborg) to two paper petitions (1872-12 and 1782-11) presented by theformer member for Burnett, Mr Messenger and the Clerk of the Parliament in accordance with Standing Order 119(4), from682 and 86 petitioners respectively, requesting the House to take all necessary steps to ensure that the Childers Hospitalis resourced sufficiently






















708 Tabled Papers 19 Jun 2012

289 Response from the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice (Mr Bleijie) to an ePetition (1844-12) sponsored by theformer member for Burnett, Mr Messenger, from 1,940 petitioners, requesting the House to commit to legislate to ensurethe State has the toughest laws to enable the banning and punishment of Neo-Nazis and other race hate proponents’activities

290 Response from the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice to two ePetitions (1806-11 and 1861-12) sponsored by theformer member for Redcliffe, Ms van Litsenburg, from 144 and 52 petitioners respectively, requesting the House tolegislate under the Body Corporate Act to protect non-smoking residents in unit blocks from smoke from adjoining units

291 Response from the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice (Mr Bleijie) to a paper petition (1866-12) presented by theformer member for South Brisbane, Ms Bligh, from 585 petitioners, requesting the House to prevent the sale of thecommunity centre known as AHIMSA House at 26 Horan Street, West End

292 Response from the Minister for Education Training and Employment (Mr Langbroek) to a paper petition (1858-12)presented by the Hon Springborg, from 583 petitioners, requesting the House to establish Years 11 and 12 at MillmerranState School

293 Response from the Minister for Education, Training and Employment (Mr Langbroek) to a paper petition (1874-12)presented by Mr Johnson, from 288 petitioners, requesting the House to provide funding and facilities for a co-locatedkindergarten at the Anakie State School and to re-open the children’s day care facility at Sapphire

294 Response from the Minister for Energy and Water Supply (Mr McArdle) to a paper petition (1860-12) presented by MrJohnson, from 2,190 petitioners, requesting the House to rescind the decision by Sunwater to restrict access and use ofthe Fairbairn Dam and its facilities, to ensure everyone has the opportunity to enjoy this public asset at their leisure

18 June 2012—

295 Response from the Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection (Mr Powell) to an ePetition (1771-11) sponsored bythe former member for Stafford, Mr Hinchliffe, from 49 petitioners, requesting the House to introduce legislation to stopdevelopment applications for operating Waste Transfer Stations within a safe distance from hospitals, businesses andresidences and areas sensitive to the environment such as waterways

296 Response from the Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection (Mr Powell) to an ePetition (1812-11) sponsored byMrs Menkens, from 122 petitioners, requesting the House to reject the application in its current form for the LegendInternational Holdings proposed fertiliser plants and reposition the plants in a more sustainable area away from thewaterways that feed Mt Isa and the Gulf Region

297 Response from the Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection (Mr Powell) to a paper petition (1876-12) sponsoredby the Clerk of the Parliament in accordance with Standing Order 119(4), from 58 petitioners, requesting the House topurchase the land at Lot 8-48 Alma Road (Alma Park Zoo) for future koala preservation

298 Response from the Minister for National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing (Mr Dickson) to an ePetition (1722-11) anda paper petition (1869-12) sponsored by Mr Wellington, from 38 and 93 petitioners respectively, requesting the House tochange the way the government manages Fraser Island and require all future decisions in relation to management of theIsland to have the supporting agreement of the Butchulla People

299 Response from the Minister for Health (Mr Springborg) to a paper petition (1863-12) presented by Ms Palaszczuk, from111 petitioners, requesting the House to support Bibles being made available to patients in Queensland public hospitals

300 Response from the Minister for Health (Mr Springborg) to three paper petitions (1873-12, 1892-12 and 1899-12)presented by Mr Wellington, from 178, 420 and 90 petitioners respectively, requesting the House to build a multi-storeycar parking facility at the Nambour Hospital

301 Response from the Minister for Transport and Main Roads (Mr Emerson) to an ePetition (1800-12) sponsored by the Clerkof the Parliament in accordance with Standing Order 119(4), from 59 petitioners, requesting the House to speed upconstruction work at the Ferny Grove Railway Station; provide extra temporary parking and commuter bus services duringconstruction; and to finalise arrangements to build the new Ferny Grove Tavern

302 Response from the Minister for Transport and Main Roads (Mr Emerson) to an ePetition (1713-11) sponsored by the Clerkof the Parliament in accordance with Standing Order 119(4), from 79 petitioners, requesting the House to guarantee thatthe 56 official Queensland sleeper cutters are not financially disadvantaged because of changes to Queensland Rail’sprocurement system and if they are found to be disadvantaged, the present or future Queensland government fairlycompensates those sleeper cutters

303 Response from the Minister Transport and Main Roads (Mr Emerson) to an ePetition (1842-12) sponsored by the formermember for Springwood, Ms Stone, from 180 petitioners, requesting the House to bring forward the upgrade of the PacificMotorway between Eight Mile Plains and the Logan Motorway in time for the Commonwealth Games to be hosted by theGold Coast in 2018

304 Response from the Minister for Transport and Main Roads (Mr Emerson) to an ePetition (1851-12) sponsored by theformer member for Everton, Mr Watt, from 342 petitioners, requesting the House to provide funding for more bus servicesin Albany Creek and Eatons Hill to improve access to the Brisbane CBD and surrounding suburbs

305 Response from the Minister for Transport and Main Roads (Mr Emerson) to a paper petition (1870-12) presented by theformer member for Beaudesert, Mr McLindon, from 629 petitioners, requesting the House to immediately remove theproposed Park Ridge Connector Road from the South East Queensland Regional Plan and the Draft Connecting SEQ2031

306 Response from the Minister for Transport and Main Roads (Mr Emerson) to a paper petition (1864-12) presented by MrDowling, from 207 petitioners, requesting the House to allow the Victoria Point Shopping Centre newsagency to providefacilities to top up, register, refund, change expiry dates and cancel Go Cards

307 Response from the Minister for Transport and Main Roads (Mr Emerson) to a paper petition (1857-12) presented by MrEmerson, from 189 petitioners, requesting the House to allow a retailer at Strathpine Westfield to top up, register, refundand change expiry dates on Go Cards

308 Response from the Minister for Transport and Main Roads (Mr Emerson) to a paper petition (1877-12) sponsored by theClerk of the Parliament in accordance with Standing Order 119(4), from 183 petitioners, requesting the House to urgentlyprovide funding to upgrade the Telegraph Road Rail Crossing to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety for localresidents

309 Response from the Minister for Transport and Main Roads (Mr Emerson) to a paper petition (1878-12) sponsored by theClerk of the Parliament in accordance with Standing Order 119(4), from 1,994 petitioners, requesting the House to build anew bridge at the John Muntz Causeway to increase safety and alleviate the bridge becoming inoperable during weatherevents






















19 Jun 2012 Ministerial Statements 709

310 Response from the Minister for Transport and Main Roads (Mr Emerson) to an ePetition (1849-12) and a paper petition(1879-12) sponsored by Hon McArdle and the Clerk of the Parliament in accordance with Standing Order 119(4), from1,427 and 76 petitioners respectively, requesting the House to overhaul current motorbike licensing laws and implementtougher regulations to obtain a motorbike licence through QRIDE

311 Response from the Minister for Transport and Main Roads (Mr Emerson) to a paper petition (1868-12) presented by HonEmerson, from 206 petitioners, requesting the House to amend the proposed new route for the 673 bus service in PineRivers by reinstating services along Sparkes Road and the links to Bray Park Railway Station and Westfield Strathpine

STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

The following statutory instruments were tabled by the Clerk—

Land Sales Act 1984—

318 Land Sales Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2012, No. 64

319 Land Sales Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2012, No. 64, Explanatory Notes

Nature Conservation Act 1992—

320 Nature Conservation (Protected Areas) Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2012, No. 65

321 Nature Conservation (Protected Areas) Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2012, No. 65, Explanatory Notes

Aboriginal Land Act 1991—

322 Aboriginal Land Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2012, No. 66

323 Aboriginal Land Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2012, No. 66, Explanatory Notes

Aboriginal Land Act 1991—

324 Aboriginal Land Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2012, No. 67

325 Aboriginal Land Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2012, No. 67, Explanatory Notes

City of Brisbane Act 2010, Local Government Act 2009—

326 Local Government Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2012, No. 68

327 Local Government Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2012, No. 68, Explanatory Notes

Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994—

328 Motor Accident Insurance Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2012, No. 69

Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994—

329 Motor Accident Insurance Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2012, No. 69, Explanatory Notes

Education and Training Legislation Amendment Act 2011—

330 Proclamation commencing certain provisions, No. 70

331 Proclamation commencing certain provisions, No. 70, Explanatory Notes

Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2001, Education (General Provisions) Act 2006—

332 Education Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2012, No. 71

333 Education Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2012, No. 71, Explanatory Notes

Civil Liability Act 2003, Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002, Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003—

334 Civil Liability and Other Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2012, No. 72

335 Civil Liability and Other Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2012, No. 72, Explanatory Notes

Water Act 2000—

336 Water Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2012, No. 73

337 Water Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2012, No. 73, Explanatory Notes

338 Water Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2012, No. 73, Regulatory Impact Statement

Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000—

339 Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Amendment Regulation, (No. 1) 2012, No. 74

340 Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Amendment Regulation, (No. 1) 2012, No. 74,Explanatory Notes

MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS

Commission of Audit

Hon. CKT NEWMAN (Ashgrove—LNP) (Premier) (9.37 am): One of the first actions that mygovernment undertook was to establish an independent Commission of Audit to tell us the real state ofQueensland’s finances. We commissioned this audit not only to examine the state’s books but also tohelp chart our way back to a AAA credit rating. The commission has now released its interim report andit paints a sad picture of government debt and spending that was allowed to get out of control. It showsQueensland has moved from a position of strength just six years ago to a position of weakness today.

The bottom line is that Queensland has been living beyond its means and we have ended up witha massive debt. The commission’s report shows that Queensland’s debt could hit $100 billion by 2018-19. We are facing an interest bill on Labor’s debt of $5.3 billion a year, $115 million a week or $685,000




























710 Ministerial Statements 19 Jun 2012

every hour. This interest bill is now the single fastest growing element of government expenses inQueensland. It is billions of dollars that we need to fix our hospitals and our schools, to put more policeon our streets and to help lower the cost of living for Queensland families. The commission hasrecommended some very strong medicine, which we must all take to get Queensland’s finances backon track. In just three months since we have been elected, we have started making these toughdecisions and have already identified $186.5 million in savings. But there is a long way to go and a lotmore that has to be done. We have to stop living beyond our means and we have to get Labor’s debt—it could be $100 billion—under control.

I want to be very clear today, though: it is not all doom and gloom. While the Queenslandgovernment’s budget has been left in a diabolical mess thanks to Labor’s mismanagement, there is a lotof upside in the overall economy. There is a distinction that those opposite just do not seem to get. Thisis a great state full of natural wealth and potential and there are enormous opportunities for a return toprosperity in the future. In agriculture, ABARE is reporting growth in farm gate production. In mining,there is huge expansion potential in the Galilee Basin and for coalmines in the Bowen Basin. We areworking to grow tourism’s industry with DestinationQ in Cairns next week to help get the ball rolling. Inconstruction, we are doing everything possible to remove Labor’s roadblocks to major projects so thatwe provide jobs and activity in this sector.

With strong support for these four pillars of our economy, we will also be able to grow other areassuch as retail. I know that these are difficult, unsettled times and that there is a long road ahead to fix thestate’s finances, but I believe that this state’s prospects are bright and better years are ahead. Over thenext few months we will be setting a course for recovery to do everything we can do to clean up themess we inherited from Labor and get the state’s finances back on track. It will be a tough job but it is ajob that my team and I will not shirk away from, and I say to Queenslanders, ‘We will sort out this mess.’

Commission of Audit

Hon. TJ NICHOLLS (Clayfield—LNP) (Treasurer and Minister for Trade) (9.41 am): Theindependent Commission of Audit handed down its interim report last Friday, 15 June. As the Premierhas indicated, it makes for some very sober reading. We always knew that the state’s finances had beenmismanaged by successive Labor governments that embarked on a careless debt and deficit binge.Unfortunately, what we knew then was just the tip of the iceberg. Indeed, it is disturbing to report—andthe report documents this—that in the last six years the former Labor government embarked on anunsustainable level of spending which has jeopardised the financial position of the state. Labor’srecklessness caused Queensland to go from a position of considerable financial strength to a position ofweakness today. The state was living beyond its means prior to the GFC, prior to the cyclones and thesummer of floods, and Queenslanders are paying the price.

The Newman government was elected with a mandate to fix this state’s finances—for puttingQueensland back on track. The problem we now face is that the magnitude of the task is substantiallylarger than anyone could have imagined. The report details how Labor relied on heroic budgetassumptions to mask the size of the underlying structural problems. Between 2005 and 2006, growth ingeneral government expenses outstripped the growth in revenue. The state started spending muchmore than it was earning. The result was a blow-out in government debt. Public debt interest has beenthe fastest growing expense of the Queensland government over the last decade, as the Premierannounced. So the increase in spending on interest is faster than the increase in spending on health,faster than the increase in spending on education, faster than the increase in spending on law andorder. The fastest growing area of expense for the Queensland budget is interest on Labor’s debt.Public debt would continue to grow.

The report shows how Queensland’s debt to revenue ratio has risen from just 20 per cent in2005-06 to more than 100 per cent in 2011-12. In six short years under Labor, our debt to revenue hasgone from 20 per cent to over 100 per cent. Under Labor, expenditure grew at unsustainable levels.Public sector expenses grew by an average of 8.7 per cent per annum over a 10-year period. Capitalexpenditure also expanded rapidly at the same time, as the former government began to borrow to fundits capital projects at a far greater rate leading to the present-day position so that in 2010-11, 96 percent—you are responsible for it—is now funded by borrowings, by debt.

Unfortunately Labor’s legacy of debt and deficit will leave a lasting impact on Queensland’s statefinances. Total government interest expenses are estimated to be over $3½ billion in 2011-12 and areexpected to rise to $5.3 billion in 2015-16. The report says it quite clearly—The State is currently locked into a debilitating cycle of over-expenditure, ever-increasing levels of debt, and crippling increases indebt servicing costs.

I did some quick numbers. For a child born in 2000, the state debt per person was $3,814 each.By the time that child can buy his or her first beer in 2018, the debt for that child will be $18,000 perperson. That is some indication of the magnitude of the debt that Labor has incurred. Do not forget thatour population has gone from about 3½ million to 5.3 million in that same period. That is the debt burdenthat has been left for every Queenslander as a result.




We realise the enormity of the task in front of us, but our resolve is to fix Labor’s mess and thatresolve will not waver. The report makes a number of recommendations to fix the previous Laborgovernment’s mess. We have already ruled out the idea of imposing a levy on homeowners as it wouldnot be in keeping with our commitment to lower the cost of living. However, all the otherrecommendations put forward by the commission should responsibly be considered and will beconsidered by the Newman government. The only way that Queensland will get out of this mess is if theNewman government takes the action that is necessary and has the will to do so. We will, and we do.

Commission of Audit

Hon. JW SEENEY (Callide—LNP) (Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development,Infrastructure and Planning) (9.46 am): Last week and again this morning we heard about the truelegacy of the previous Labor government’s failures revealed for all to see in the report of theCommission of Audit. While the report last week revealed the numerous financial failings of Labor thatwill require severe cutbacks in government spending, these cutbacks will only be one side of thisgovernment’s response. Our government will redouble our efforts to boost the income of the state bygrowing the four economic pillars which underpin our state’s economy. The department of statedevelopment will lead that effort to reverse the decline in state income at the same time as acrossgovernment we move to put an end to the waste and the excessive spending of our predecessors.

Unlike the Labor government that got Queensland into this financial mess, we understand that weneed to earn money to pay for the services that Queenslanders need rather than just continuing toborrow it in ever-increasing amounts. We on this side of the House understand that to spend money weneed to earn it first. The best way to increase what our state earns is to do more of what earns us moneyand to do it better. In dealing with Labor’s terrible legacy, we will focus on growing the business ofQueensland. We will focus on growing and strengthening the four pillars of our economy just as wepromised the people of Queensland we would.

In the resources industry, in agriculture, in tourism and in construction we will remove theconstraints built up over the decades of Labor rule and we will encourage investment and encouragegrowth. We will maximise the comparative advantage that our industries have in the world marketsrather than continuing to strangle our industries with an ever-growing burden of regulation andrestriction. We will protect our precious environment and we will protect our economic future at the sametime. We will ensure that our legislative processes and our regulation are outcome focused and thatthey are aimed at achieving the balanced business environment Queensland needs to attractinvestment to our state. Already my department and the office of the Coordinator-General have begunthat work. We have overhauled the approvals process for major projects and we freed up the logjam ofapplication that was Labor’s legacy. We have rejected unrealistic and undeliverable projects like theoveroptimistic Abbot Point port expansion and the six railway proposals across the Galilee Basin thatwere associated with it. We rejected them because they were undeliverable and unrealistic.

We will now focus instead on deliverable projects that are responsible and that representbalanced, incremental growth for our export industries that we need to grow and prosper. Similarly, weare reforming the planning process to encourage investment in our tourism, housing and constructionindustries. We are reforming the state planning legislation and the state planning policies to focus ongrowing the four pillars of our economy. We are advancing statutory regional planning and reviewing arange of land and water use issues to give our agricultural industries the confidence that they need toinvest and to grow. My department will be focusing on creating a business environment in Queenslandwhere existing businesses can grow and invest and where new businesses can invest with confidence.We will seek to identify the constraints on that investment and work with other departments and otherministers to ensure that those constraints are removed so that our economy can grow. It is that growthand the new investment that it brings to Queensland’s economy that will be the long-term solution to thehorrific financial mess that was Labor’s legacy to Queensland—a legacy that will be remembered forgenerations to come.

Skills and Training Task Force

Hon. JH LANGBROEK (Surfers Paradise—LNP) (Minister for Education, Training andEmployment) (9.50 am): As the Minister for Education, Training and Employment, I am pleased toannounce the establishment of the Skills and Training Task Force. As many on this side will be aware,one of our key election commitments was to establish a Queensland Skills and Training Task Force toassist in revitalising the Queensland TAFE system. Unlike the previous government, the Newmangovernment is committed to honouring its election commitments. I am pleased to inform the House thatwe have established the Queensland Skills and Training Task Force and fulfilled this commitment. Thisgovernment is committed to the two fours—growing a four-pillar economy through focusing onresources, construction, agriculture and tourism and reducing unemployment in Queensland to four percent over the next six years. Strengthening our vocational education and training—or VET—sector is akey part of delivering on these commitments.





712 Ministerial Statements 19 Jun 2012

In partnership with industry and with full consultation with the necessary stakeholders, this taskforce will provide advice and make recommendations to both myself and the Assistant Minister forTechnical and Further Education on the actions needed to improve the operations and outcomes ofQueensland’s VET sector. The task force will review the role and function of all statutory bodies thatcontribute to the VET sector in Queensland to ensure they are aligned and fulfil their role in meetingQueensland’s economic and employment objectives. The task force will consider the future strategicdirection of TAFE, including the appropriate role for TAFE in supporting the four-pillar economy, withconsideration given to the roles played by registered training organisations and schools; the currentofferings and outputs of TAFE and the quality of those offerings and outputs; the level and nature ofindustry involvement in setting the direction of TAFE; and the operational efficiency of TAFE, includingasset management, workforce management, organisational structures and operating systems.

This government will reform and revamp skills and training in Queensland by addressing skillshortages by focusing training on jobs outcomes; reforming the current training pathways with the aim ofincreasing completion rates; improving the match between training and job outcomes for individuals,employers and industry; transforming VET investment to support demand-driven training; andestablishing the right governance structure of the VET system to ensure accountability, value for moneyand long-term cooperation between industry and government. This task force will deliver the changesthat the VET sector has been crying out for and I look forward to updating the House on the progress ofthis commitment.

Mining Industry, Land Access Framework

Hon. AP CRIPPS (Hinchinbrook—LNP) (Minister for Natural Resources and Mines) (9.53 am):Today I want to update the House on the Newman LNP government’s ongoing efforts to createtransparent and respectful relationships between resource companies and landholders acrossQueensland. The resources sector will play a critical role in Queensland’s much needed economicrecovery, but its strong growth must be balanced with the need to protect the interests of landholders,local communities and the environment. The former state Labor government failed to ensure the orderlydevelopment of the coal seam gas sector within a modern regulatory framework which is set to growover the next decade. As a result, many stakeholders have a low level of confidence in existinggovernment processes to protect their interests and there is much work to be done across the resourcessector to achieve its social licence to operate. The LNP government recognises the need to act on thisissue given the concerns surrounding rapid resources development, particularly in areas such as theDarling Downs and in Central Queensland. Already the Newman LNP government has fulfilled 100-daycommitments to establish the GasFields Commission to oversee the relationship between landownersand CSG companies and to boost transparency in the industry by making agreements between gascompanies and landholders publicly available. The Newman government is also moving forward withthe development of statutory regional plans for the Darling Downs and in Central Queensland.

Today I am pleased to take another important step in building a transparent and respectfulrelationship between all resource sector participants and landholders by tabling the recommendations ofthe independent review into land access arrangements, and I table that report.Tabled paper: Land Access Framework—12-month review, Report of the Land Access Review Panel, February 2012 [341].

The review panel, chaired by Dr David Watson, made 12 recommendations to strengthen andimprove the land access framework introduced in late 2010. The panel recommended theimplementation of a new dispute resolution process, the development of a standard conduct andcompensation agreement and a review of the scope of compensatable effects of resourcedevelopments to clearly articulate what a landholder should be compensated for. The full land accessreview panel report will be available on the Department of Natural Resources and Mines website fromtoday and stakeholders are encouraged to provide direct comment to the Department of NaturalResources and Mines within 30 days. As Minister for Natural Resources and Mines, I am committed toworkable land access laws that protect the rights of both landholders and resource companies and I lookforward to making further announcements to the House in this critical area after the public consultationperiod has closed.

Orica Australia, Prosecution

Hon. AC POWELL (Glass House—LNP) (Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection)(9.55 am): The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection has commenced a prosecutionagainst Orica Australia. Orica Australia operates a chemical manufacturing facility at Yarwun, fivekilometres outside Gladstone, producing ammonium nitrate and sodium cyanide for the mining industry.In March 2012 the department became aware of allegations that on multiple occasions Orica haddischarged effluent water containing cyanide in excess of permitted levels. The department immediatelycommenced an investigation into this concerning allegation. I wish to be clear on one matter: there areno indications at this point of actual environmental harm and certainly no threat to human health. Thecharges relate to breaching environmental conditions—conditions that are safeguards to protect the







environment and protect water quality. However, my department takes particular interest in anybehaviour that may affect the Gladstone Harbour environment or may pose a risk to the Great BarrierReef.

I was deeply concerned by the allegations and of Orica’s previous history of noncompliance. Assuch, I requested a meeting with Orica’s managing director and CEO on 26 April this year and outlinedto them my views on the seriousness of this alleged offending. Since I commenced as minister I haveensured that the department has been proactive in its dealings with Orica and ensuring that Orica’s siteis compliant. On 3 May 2012 the department obtained a court order from the Planning and EnvironmentCourt requiring Orica to undertake an audit of the plant and its procedures. On 8 June 2012 thedepartment commenced a prosecution in the Gladstone Magistrates Court against Orica. Orica hasbeen charged with 279 offences of wilfully contravening a development condition of a developmentapproval in contravention of section 435(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1994. The allegedoffending conduct includes releasing contaminants in excess of licence limits, failing to notify thedepartment upon becoming aware of contraventions and failing to test for contaminants prior toreleasing effluent.

I advise the House that unfortunately Orica had previously been the subject of multiple statutoryenforcement tools and a previous conviction. There is also another prosecution currently before thecourt for releasing contaminants to water. This behaviour will not be tolerated. In the latest instance, it isalleged that Orica was aware of the licence conditions but elected to ignore some of the requirementsfor an extended period. My charter from the Premier is clear: as Minister for Environment and HeritageProtection I will do everything I can to facilitate growth, restore business confidence throughstreamlining environmental approval processes and remove green tape. However, equally, theDepartment of Environment and Heritage Protection and this government will take action againstcompanies that abuse the privilege to operate within our state and we will continue to protect our iconicenvironmental assets such as the Great Barrier Reef.

Deeral, Mr E

Madam SPEAKER: I call the Minister for Communities for one minute.

Hon. TE DAVIS (Aspley—LNP) (Minister for Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services)(9.59 am): It gives me great pleasure to echo the Speaker’s announcement that the QueenslandIndigenous youth parliament will officially be renamed the Eric Deeral Indigenous youth parliament. I amalso pleased to inform the House that on 28 June Mr Deeral will be travelling from Hope Vale, where hewas visited by the Speaker yesterday, to speak to the participants at this year’s youth parliament.

Many members would be aware that the vibrant and exciting Indigenous youth parliament and theopportunities it offers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth across the state are important. It is aforum not only to explore the workings of our great democracy but also to celebrate cultural identity andto have robust debates surrounding issues faced by young people in our communities. This year ismade even more special by the fact that Mr Deeral, an extraordinary and aspiring role model to youngIndigenous people, will be present to see the program in action.

Eric Deeral was the first Indigenous person to be elected to an Australian state parliament,representing the seat of Cook in the Queensland parliament from 1974 to 1977. Born at Hope ValeLutheran mission in 1932, Eric Deeral was evacuated to Woorabinda during World War II and waseducated at the Woorabinda central school. He left school at the age of 13 and held down various jobsas a labourer, bush worker and stockman.

In 1957 Eric became the chairman of the Hope Vale mission community council and then a liaisonofficer with the Queensland Aboriginal affairs department. He was appointed as a consultant to theQueensland minister for Aboriginal affairs in 1973. In the 1974 election, 10 years after his elders and theelders of the surrounding Cape York and Torres Strait communities had met at Palm Island and selectedhim to stand as a candidate for parliament, he defeated six other candidates to win the state electorateof Cook representing the National Party. This was a significant achievement in itself given that this wasconsidered to be a very safe Labor seat.

In closing, can I say that Eric Deeral was a strong advocate for marginalised AboriginalAustralians but made it clear he represented all members of his electorate. He sought to improve roadsfor the far north, to facilitate growth in tourism and other industries and also ensured improvements weremade to schools and access to medical treatment. He identified first and foremost as a Queenslander,given his ancestors had lived in the Cook electorate for over 20,000 years.

I look forward to sharing this very special occasion with Mr Deeral and the enthusiastic andpassionate representatives of the first Eric Deeral youth parliament.



714 Questions Without Notice 19 Jun 2012

ABSENCE OF MINISTER

Mr STEVENS (Mermaid Beach—LNP) (Manager of Government Business) (10.02 am): I wish toadvise the House that the Minister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts isabsent from the House this week. Minister Bates is leading a delegation of life sciences stakeholders torepresent Queensland at the BIO 2012 conference in Boston. Minister Emerson has been appointedActing Minister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts during her absence.

ETHICS COMMITTEE

Report

Dr DOUGLAS (Gaven—LNP) (10.02 am): I table report No. 122 of the Ethics Committee titledReport on a right of reply No. 22. I commend the report and the committee’s recommendations to theHouse. Tabled paper: Ethics Committee: Report No. 122—Report on a Right of Reply No. 22 [342].

NOTICE OF MOTION

Budget Strategies

Mr PITT (Mulgrave—ALP) (10.03 am): I give notice that I will move—

That this House acknowledges the budget strategies of Queensland state governments from 1998 to February 2012 that:

• invested in necessary infrastructure

• expanded essential services

• cushioned the impact of the global financial crisis

• supported the rural sector through historic drought, and

• rebuilt communities and jobs following an unprecedented and costly sequence of natural disasters

all without the need for forced redundancies or cutbacks to front-line jobs and services.

QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Madam SPEAKER: Question time will now begin but will finish at 11.03 am.

Public Service, Jobs

Ms PALASZCZUK (Inala—ALP) (Leader of the Opposition) (10.03 am): My question is to thePremier. Last year the Premier pledged no cutbacks to the Public Service if the LNP won government.Before the election the Treasurer claimed that he had discovered $5.7 billion in savings. Now that theCostello audit has revealed that the only way the LNP can achieve its savings is to sack public servants,has the Premier misled the people of Queensland?

Mr NEWMAN: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for her question. Firstly, to deal with theassertion in the question regarding $5.7 billion of promises, it is in fact around $3 billion and it iscontained in our comprehensive document. I urge the opposition to read it sometime because it is agreat blueprint to take Queensland forward. Due to the dire financial mess in which Labor left this statewe have to make some very, very difficult decisions. Thanks to Labor’s mismanagement, we haveactually run out of options, and the Commission of Audit has really exposed the stark truths—the thingsthat they carpeted over and the way they tried to put spac filler over the cracks that they had created.

The simple fact is that between the 2005-06 financial year and 2007-08, employee expensesjumped by 40 per cent and on a full-time equivalent basis Public Service numbers increased by 40 percent since June 2000—40 per cent! I want to protect as many public sector jobs as I can, but Labor haveemployed—if you do the math—20,000 more public servants than the people of Queensland cancurrently afford. Labor was paying those 20,000 public servants by borrowing, by incurring debt andthey also borrowed to keep the lights on. Those 20,000 public servants all have families to look after—they have mouths to feed—and we are going to fight as hard as we can to save those jobs. We have aterrible job in front of us to get this state’s finances back on track.

The only thing that was growing more quickly than employee expenses under the Labor Partywas of course debt—that is D-E-B-T, debt. They might want to know that they are the ones responsiblefor that outcome.










19 Jun 2012 Questions Without Notice 715

One of the things I need to say today is regarding the issue of current pay negotiations. I say thisbecause I hear some unions obviously standing up for their members, and it is their right to do that. Themore people ultimately ask us in terms of a pay rise, the more difficult it is for us to protect those jobs. Atthe extreme end of the spectrum, if they want a great big pay rise—something that is basicallyunrealistic—that will cost jobs. So I urge the unions to work with us. We are fair dinkum people. We willwork with them. We want to protect jobs, but we have to get the budget back into balance. We have toactually sort those problems out. It would be unforgivable if we swept this under the carpet in the sameway that those opposite did for so many years.

Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, Jobs

Ms PALASZCZUK: My question is to the Minister for Communities, Child Safety and DisabilityServices. I refer to a Brisbane Times article detailing the jobs of 229 people in the minister’s departmentwhose positions may not be renewed, including 63 jobs directly relating to child safety, and I ask: will theminister explain how many of these jobs are considered front-line positions and what impact the loss ofany of these positions will have on the case loads and effectiveness of child safety officers?

Ms DAVIS: I thank the honourable member for the question. The staff list that the member isreferring to from the Brisbane Times article is one which all government departments would receive inorder to determine which temporary contracts would be up for renewal. Those lists would be availablewhether we were looking at an EMP or whether it was prior to the new government coming in. What Ican tell you is that I have had discussions with my department to ensure that those positions that arelisted as temporary contracts that are up for renewal that relate to direct front-line services will beretained, will be re-offered. I said that in the article; it is there in black and white.

I think that the real issue here that needs to be addressed is why we are having to look at thesetemporary contracts anyway. The fact of the matter is that we are looking at a massive debt here inQueensland, a massive debt that was granted to us courtesy of the previous Labor government and wasleft to the LNP to fix, and that is what we are attempting to do. We are looking at a range of differentthings in order to address this escalating debt up to $100 billion and my department has a role to play inthat.

I have spoken to my department and I have indicated that I wish to see any positions that wouldbe deemed important to front-line services to be identified and explained to me. They are simply a list oftemporary contracts that are looking to be renewed and in the context of the current financial positionthat we are in there will be some decisions made on those 200 positions, whether the contract will not berenewed.

Further to that, the Premier has just mentioned that we have 20,000 public servants more thanthe state can afford. That is 20,000 people that were left languishing on temporary contracts while theopposition was in government without having the certainty about whether their position would beongoing. What we are doing as a government is looking at those positions when the contract comes toits end to determine whether that position is necessary for us to continue to deliver the front-lineservices that we have committed to providing the people of Queensland.

The answer to your question is that front-line service positions will be offered and we will lookforward to delivering the front-line services that the people of Queensland believe we should.

Commission of Audit

Mr SHORTEN: My question without notice is to the Premier. What will the government’s responseto the interim report of the independent Commission of Audit mean to Queenslanders?

Mr NEWMAN: One of the first things that we did as a new government was to commission thisindependent report on our state’s finances as a baseline for the work that we will be doing over the nextfew years to get this state back on track. What we have seen in the interim report of the Commission ofAudit is the first sketch, if I can put it that way, of the true state of Queensland’s financial position. Itoutlines what we need to do to get our finances back on track, to reduce government debt and spendingand to chart a course back to a AAA credit rating.

The sketch we have seen is a very sad picture of the waste and ineptitude and the poor andreckless financial management of those opposite and their former colleagues.

Mr PITT: I rise to a point of order under standing order 231 in terms of anticipation of debate ofthe notice of motion before the House regarding the former government’s approach to budget strategiesin Queensland. I ask you for a ruling on that matter.

Madam SPEAKER: In regard to the rule of anticipation, the notice of motion refers to theprevious budget strategies of other state governments and there are issues around anticipation. I referyou to the notice of motion and ask for you to avoid breaching the anticipation rule.

Mr NEWMAN: Fair enough. It is clear, though, that what we have seen today is a political tacticfrom the Labor Party because they do not want to talk about the past. They do not want to talk about thepast when the galleries are full of members of the public and the media. They do not want to talk about


what they did, but let us talk about what we are going to do. We are going to focus on cutting the debt.We are going to do that by, firstly, getting the budget back into surplus. We are going to cut wasteful andfrivolous expenditure. We are going to make the tough decisions that those opposite never had theintestinal fortitude to make. We are not going to have all the mindless ongoing reports, inquiries andinvestigations. The cabinet will make decisions. The government will get on with the job of governingand not waste money on more consultancies. We are going to cut travel and consultancies.

Opposition members interjected.Mr NEWMAN: Look, Madam Speaker, they are interjecting because they hate it when they know

that we know what we are doing and, frankly, they never did. They had no clue. They had not an ideawhat they were doing. We have a great Treasurer here. Don’t they wish they had someone instead ofthat guy—what was his name? Andrew Fraser. What did Alan Jones say about Andrew Fraser? I betternot say it in here; it is probably unparliamentary.

We want to protect those jobs, but the sad fact is that there are 20,000 public servants more thanthis state can afford. I say to people wondering about their job security that we will do everything we canto protect their jobs. But if they are wondering who is the guilty party who has left them in limbo, I can tellthem that it is the Australian Labor Party, who have no idea whatsoever how to run a budget let alonebake a cake or do anything practical in this world.

Local Government, Water Charges

Mr MULHERIN: My question without notice is directed to the Minister for Local Government. Irefer the minister to the comments yesterday of the Minister for Energy and Water Supply that councilsshould forgo part of their income from water to help meet the LNP’s election commitments. Will theminister advise whether local councils have the capacity to shoulder the financial burden of deliveringthe LNP’s election commitment to cut household water bills by $80 a year?

Mr CRISAFULLI: Can I truly thank the member for the question. I have sat here waiting, and inthis my eighth question time I have finally been asked a question about local government. And is it aboutempowering local government? Is it about unwinding the mess that was created—aboutdeamalgamation? No, it was not about that. The closest those opposite can come to asking a questionabout local government is to ask a question which relates to water. I am delighted to begin the process.

Opposition members interjected. Mr CRISAFULLI: It is important. It is very important. Madam SPEAKER: There are too many interjections from my left. Mr CRISAFULLI: As I go across the state speaking to local councils I encounter a pretty common

theme. It does not matter where the council is—it does not matter if they are big or small, if they are cityor regional—they say one common thing, and that is, ‘Finally, someone who is turning up. Finally,someone who actually wants to work with us. Finally, someone who does not stand up and say, “Youcan do it my way or the highway”.’ We will empower local government.

What I feel as I go around is a genuine willingness to work with us. Local governmentunderstands that, just like the state, they need to look at opportunities to find savings. They need to lookat opportunities to ease the squeeze on families. Why? Because as I look opposite I see a group ofpeople who caused financial mayhem in this state, who absolutely butchered local government, whobutchered working families and who had no interest in empowering this level of government. I say tolocal councils: we stand ready to work with you; we will deliver with you.

Mr Newman: It’s a partnership.Mr CRISAFULLI: A partnership, heaven forbid! I take the interjection from the member for

Ashgrove. It is a partnership—you know, the kind of relationship where you do not say, ‘Hey guys, this ishow you are going to do it; otherwise we’ll shoot you.’ We will have the sort of relationship whereby wework with them. Finally, the goodwill that exists between this government and local councils will deliverfor all Queenslanders.

State Finances

Mr BOOTHMAN: My question without notice is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer please informthe House of any new information that has come to light regarding the state of Queensland’s finances?Is he aware of any alternative policies?

Mr NICHOLLS: I thank the member for Albert for his question. I know he is vitally interested in thestate’s finances. I congratulate him on his first question in the House as well. There is some newinformation that has come to light in regard to the state of Queensland’s finances. As members whohave been paying attention will know, the independent Commission of Audit released its interim reporton Friday, 15 June. It is headed by the Hon. Peter Costello, who is joined by Professor Sandra Hardingand Dr Doug McTaggart. All three are respected for their understanding of finances—something that theformer government had no credibility on.


The report outlines a sad and sorry tale of Labor’s economic vandalism of this great state. Thefacts and figures contained in the report about the things that we will experience in the future are clearand unambiguous. Queensland’s fiscal deficit in 2011-12 will be $6.3 billion, projected to rise in 2012-13to $9.5 billion. Without urgent corrective action, if the policies of the past five years are continued, thefiscal deficit would have been $19.7 billion.

Mr PITT: I rise to a point of order under standing order 231 in terms of anticipation. I ask for aruling.

Madam SPEAKER: I have given some latitude also to non-government members in relation totheir questions, which have flown pretty close to the anticipation rule. I refer to previous rulings in thisregard. The anticipation rule is not meant to close down all debate. There is some discretion in regard tothe application of the anticipation rule. If the rule was unfettered, the simple expediency of giving anotice of motion a subject matter would preclude less or equal proceedings such as questions. I amgoing to allow the Treasurer to answer the question, but I remind members on both sides, in regard tothis debate, that we can argue about budget positions, policies or financial statements. However, I askthe Treasurer to answer the question without anticipating the debate tonight, but understanding thatthere has been latitude provided to both sides.

Mr NICHOLLS: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I was aware of the motion and was, in fact, trying totalk about the future rather than the policies of the failed Labor government. In that vein, I will continueby saying that the current projections show that, should those failed policies have continued, debt wouldreach $64 billion this year, $92 billion in 2015-16 and a shocking $100 billion by 2018-19. The loss of theAAA credit rating also means that we are paying, on average, $100 million a year more than any otherstate in Australia. In fact, as I have said in this place before, the cost to Queensland of our borrowings isactually higher than the cost of Tasmania’s. That gives an indication of just how good it is!

What does the shadow Treasurer, the member for Mulgrave, say? What is his alternative policy?What does he believe is the result of the previous government’s decisions? He calls it a sound economicposition. I ask members: does that sound like Monty Python’s dead parrot sketch? We have aneconomy that is going into debt and going into deficit, and he says, ‘Don’t worry, it’s in a soundeconomic position. Don’t worry, guv’nor, that’s your Norwegian Blue for you. That’s just what he does.It’s not dead, guv’nor; it’s just resting. It’s clapped out after a big night squawking and it’s just having arest. We didn’t waste $100 billion; we were making some prudent investments.’

The alternative is a joke. Under Labor, the past was a joke. Only the Newman government willdeliver a future of fiscal certainty for this state.

State Finances

Mr PITT: My question is to the Premier. I refer to the Treasurer’s statements about a fiscal deficitof $10 billion in 2012-13 to justify decisions to fund LNP commitments, as outlined on page 39 of theCostello audit. Will the Premier explain why the Treasurer has failed to acknowledge the impact ofnatural disasters on the fiscal deficit in that year?

Mr STEVENS: Madam Speaker, under the previous ruling on standing order 231 on anticipationthe Leader of Opposition Business is now referring to a matter that previously occurred in the effects ofthat global financial position.

Madam SPEAKER: The notice of motion that was moved this morning was very broad-ranging,covering many topics. Therefore, if we were to have a very strict and narrow application of the rule ofanticipation, there would not be much debate. I am going to allow discretion in the application of the ruleof anticipation. However, I remind both sides that they have both flown close to the wind in this regard. Iremind the House of the notice of motion that was moved this morning in regard to budget strategies ofQueensland state governments from 1998 to February 2012. I allow the minister to answer the question.

Mr NEWMAN: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Firstly, in relation to the impact of the naturaldisasters, they are clearly covered in this Commission of Audit report. I urge members opposite to readthe report, because the report covers the shame of their financial ineptitude. It covers their poor andreckless financial management. It very clearly shows that the debt that has mounted up because of theirpoor and reckless financial management occurred before the cyclone and before the floods. It makes itvery clear, because the bottom line is that the problem that Queensland faces is recurrent expenditure.This is not about dollops of dough to fix up the roads; it is about the fact that we have too many peopleworking in the Queensland Public Service. That is why today I had the guts—I might say—to come inhere and tell the truth. No Labor Premier would come in here and tell the truth. No Labor Premier wouldeven dare to say that the numbers were too high and that we had to make cuts. For the benefit of thegeniuses opposite, I tell them that that is what I have done today.

In relation to the timing of Commonwealth payments, it would be interesting to investigate whosigned off on this—and I must talk about the previous financial year if I am to answer the question. Ifthey do not want me to answer it, I will sit down. If they think I am anticipating debate, I will sit down. Arethey happy?


Mr Pitt: The question is about fiscal deficit.

Mr NEWMAN: From the interjections I am hearing, I think they want me to talk on. Here is whathas happened: there has been a fiddle, a Labor dodge. Wayne Swan needs to report a surplus nextfinancial year, so he is giving us a big dollop of dough this year so our deficit will be less by about$1 billion. However, next year, when we do the work and have to spend the money, our deficit will beworse. Who cooked up that deal? Was that Andrew Fraser, Anna Bligh, Wayne Swan, Julia Gillard?They said, ‘Look, we’ll do this and it’ll help you out because you’ll have a lower deficit in the lead-up toan election. You’ll be able say it’s only about $1.8 billion’—if my memory serves me correctly. They said,‘That’s okay, Wayne. We love it because you’ll be able to report a surplus the following year.’ It isanother Labor sham.

Why do these people come into this place and ask such silly questions when they are sotransparently obvious in the deceptions that they try to pull? Anybody with half a brain can see that.Anybody in this state who has finished year 12 can pick up this report—and I urge Queenslanders to dothat—and find out what has really gone on. The people opposite have taken us into a financial canyon.They did it. They have taken us into the abyss through their poor and reckless financial management.Nothing that they can do or say to try to muck around with the rules will prevent Queenslanders fromknowing the truth.

Royalties for the Regions

Mr MALONE: My question without notice is to the Deputy Premier and Minister for StateDevelopment, Infrastructure and Planning. Can the Deputy Premier update the House on the delivery ofpromises made during the recent state election by the Newman government with regard to royalties forregions?

Mr SEENEY: I thank the member for Mirani for the question. For many years now, the member forMirani and other members who represent regional Queensland have stood in this place and talkedrepeatedly about the need for the benefits of the royalties that are paid to the Queensland governmentto be returned to the regions where those royalties are generated. A whole range of members whounderstand country towns and country people and who represent country towns and country peoplehave made the case in this parliament that there needs to be a provision within the state budget toensure that those royalties are returned to the regions.

About the middle of last year we started to formalise that into a policy. We took to the people ofQueensland a clear election policy based around a three-pronged approach to return the royalties thatour state earns—some of the royalties that our state earns; I wish we could have them all—to theregions where those royalties are generated. We talked about a Roads to Resources program thatwould allocate $285 million over the first four years, growing to $100 million annually, to build roads inthe resource regions. We promised a Resource Community Building Fund, committing $170 million overfour years and growing once again to $100 million, to ensure that those resource communities couldgrow and be viable country towns. We talked about the flood plain security program, guaranteeing$40 million over four years and leveraging a similar amount from the Commonwealth and $20 millionfrom local government, to take the fund to $100 million to do something about flood plain security for thecountry towns that had suffered flooding. It was an election promise, it was part of our election platformthat we took to the people of Queensland.

So it was with some surprise this morning when looking through the press clippings that my eyewas caught by a piece in the Mount Isa paper headed ‘Royal demand’—a demand from the member forMount Isa who suddenly has discovered the issue. I quote from that article, which states—Mr Katter is holding a statewide press conference in Brisbane this morning to call on the Queensland Government to implement a“Royalties for Regions” program ...

The member for Mount Isa is about five years behind the game. He is at least 12 months behindthe game, because it was the middle of last year—it was July last year—that I tabled in this House thefirst tranche of our policy to do that. He is well behind the game, because since the election ourgovernment has started to implement the policy that we promised and we will continue to implement thatpolicy in the months ahead.

(Time expired)

Infrastructure Projects

Ms TRAD: My question without notice is to the Premier. I note the Premier’s attendance onSaturday at the Northern Busway community day, which I also attended. Could the Premier pleaseoutline how many more ribbon-cutting and photograph opportunities he is planning on for infrastructureprojects delivered by Labor?

Opposition members interjected.

Madam SPEAKER: Order! I warn members on my left. I call the Premier.


Mr NEWMAN: I thank the member for South Brisbane for her question. The first thing I want tosay relates to a matter of protocol and the way this government will conduct itself. I have actually spokento Her Excellency the Governor and said that we want to get back to the way things were done in thepast. When major infrastructure projects are opened, they should be opened by the Governor. That ismy view. The Premier can be there and the minister can be there, but the Governor will be conductingthose openings where possible. That is what we tried to do with the busway.

Opposition members interjected.Mr NEWMAN: They do not like the answers. I do not know why they ask the questions if they do

not want to listen to the answers. Why ask questions when they do not want to hear the answers? Weknow what people who do that are like.

In relation to this busway, I should let the honourable member know that it probably would nothave happened without the strong cooperation of my team at the time at the Brisbane City Council. Iremember—the Treasurer to my left was the then local councillor—doing the launch of things like theEIS with then Premier Peter Beattie in a local park at Windsor. It was at the park in the middle of thedivided part of Lutwyche Road next to the Windsor School of Arts. I was there for a number of theimportant announcements where we said we would be taking Airport Link and the Northern Buswayforward.

The thing about Peter Beattie is that he actually knew that working with the BCC was the rightway to go. Sadly, he lost his way and later on he crunched councils in the way the Minister for LocalGovernment referred to earlier. At that time, then Premier Peter Beattie knew that cooperation was theorder of the day. The BCC had a strong role in making the Northern Busway and Airport Link a reality.Indeed, that is the way this government will conduct itself.

I hope that answers the question of the member for South Brisbane. I believe that, wherepossible, the Governor should open these projects. Finally, for the benefit of all members—somemembers were there on the weekend—I point out that I do not know why the member for SouthBrisbane did not have the generosity to acknowledge my generosity of spirit when I gave my speech onthe weekend. Who did I acknowledge? I acknowledged then Premier Peter Beattie for making thedecision to proceed with the project.

Public Service, Enterprise Bargaining

Mr GULLEY: My question without notice is to the Premier. Can the Premier update the House onthe enterprise bargaining negotiations for public sector employees and the impact of the financialposition of Queensland on this important process?

Mr NEWMAN: I thank the member for his question. As members would be aware, the recentfindings of the Commission of Audit confirm that this great state of Queensland is indeed in a direfinancial mess as a result of the former Labor government’s waste and mismanagement. We havesimply run out of options. This means that we must make some very difficult decisions. The Commissionof Audit has found the stark truths about Labor’s lack of financial restraint which has pushed the stateinto this diabolical financial position—indeed, the blackest of all black abysses.

We found that in the period 2005-06 to 2007-08 employee expenses jumped by 40 per cent. On afull-time equivalent basis, Public Service numbers have increased by 40 per cent since June 2000.These numbers are simply unsustainable. I want to protect as many jobs as I can, but the fact is thatLabor employed 20,000 more personnel on a full-time basis than this state and its taxpayers—its mumsand dads, its hardworking people—could afford. Labor was paying these 20,000 people with debt. Imake that point again: thanks to Labor’s mismanagement of the state’s finances and borrowing to paywages, we now have 20,000 public sector roles that this state government and its people cannot afford.It would not surprise the House to know that those positions were being funded through debt—D-E-B-T.

Queenslanders should know that a higher wages outcome will ultimately mean fewer jobs. It is asimple equation. I say again in relation to the EBA: if people want higher and higher wages at a timewhen inflation is 1.6 per cent nationally and 1.3 per cent in Queensland—if they are saying that anincrease of 2.2, 2.5 or 2.7 per cent is not enough—then those people will price jobs out of theQueensland Public Service.

We are going to work with the unions. I have stressed before that we will work with the publicsector unions and we will look to reduce staff through attrition to balance the books. It involves havingwhat is called a managerial prerogative—that is, the ability to move people around. We need to be ableto fill a vacancy in, say, Cairns and not have too many people in Townsville or vice versa. We urge theunions to work with us so that we can manage that properly. As the minister said earlier, we want toprotect front-line service delivery, and we will do that.

The final point I make is that this week Fairfax Media group is sacking 1,900 people and we hearthat, sadly, News Corporation is going to do the same thing if not this week then it is believed it will beannounced next week. Thousands of jobs are to go. The news organisations know that they have tobalance their books. We in the Queensland government have to do the same thing. We will work withthe unions and employees to deliver an appropriate outcome.


Queensland Health, Jobs

Mrs MILLER: My question is to the Minister for Health. Will the minister explain how front-linepositions in his portfolio are safe from the LNP’s cost cutting when at least three nursing positions will beaxed at Emerald Hospital from 1 July 2012, including cardiac, immunisation and palliative-care nurses?

Mr SPRINGBORG: The Premier and the Treasurer have outlined today the very serious parlousfinancial situation that the previous Labor government got this state into over its period of administration,and that matter is going to be more broadly debated in this place later today. All I can say to thehonourable member who raised the question is that quite clearly I indicated and wrote to my director-general only a few weeks ago saying that all front-line positions were quarantined from the process ofreductions that would come through natural attrition. I also say this today: something needs to be donein Queensland to balance our budget and something needs to be done in Queensland to bring the stateof our budget back in line so that we can preserve front-line positions. Front-line positions for me aremuch sacrosanct, and I will undertake to look at the individual issues that have been raised by thehonourable member here today.

Indeed, if this member had not been in a government that had presided over a $300 million blow-out in the cost of running the Health payroll over the last 2½ years, an additional 3,000 staff could havebeen employed in Queensland. Indeed, if you look at the biggest growth cost in Queensland of $6 billionin interest on our debt, that is 60,000 front-line staff in the state of Queensland. That is the relativity ofthese particular figures. Indeed, if you look at what the previous government did in Queensland, wehave already seen a voluntary separation program within the department of health that saw over 800people taken out of the corporate office. So they had a realisation themselves that something needed tobe done to address the issue of expansion of the public sector in the state of Queensland. That is thereality that we are very much dealing with.

We also need to deal with the reality, if you look across our districts in the state of Queensland, ofwhere those districts in the last 12 months or so have been well and truly over their staff establishmentof 1,500 or more. I have indicated clearly to them that they are going to have to use growth to manageback within their establishment. If you look back to what happened in the last full year of the Laborgovernment, they were $300 million over in their Health budget. So they kept going back to Treasuryand tipping more and more money into it. Indeed, when I took over the Health portfolio in early April, itwas about $120 million over and guess what? The former government would have felt that they could goback and ask for more money from Treasury to top it up. Well those days are over. We have to manageour establishment within budget to deliver, and front-line services are going to be preserved within thatparticular parameter.

(Time expired)

Public Transport, Buses

Dr DAVIS: My question without notice is to the Minister for Transport and Main Roads. Can theminister please update the House on bus service enhancements on the north side of Brisbane?

Mr EMERSON: I thank the honourable member for his question. It was great to see him andmany other members, including the Premier and the Treasurer, there at the weekend for the opening ofthe Northern Busway. But it was even better on Monday to see those 2,000 additional weekly servicesstart to service the north side. This is a great initiative because what it means is that if you are travellingin that area you could almost throw away your timetable because these services come so frequently thatyou can just turn up and go. I remind the House what the Premier said earlier. He was there and, as hetold our opponents across the chamber, he acknowledged the great work that Peter Beattie did at thetime. He got it wrong later, but Peter Beattie and council worked together, along with the Treasurer whenhe was a councillor. But I have to confess, Premier, that there was one person we did not credit on theday.

Mr Newman: Who was that?

Mr EMERSON: We saw today how Labor does not like to mention that period—those darkdays—between 1998 and 2012. They do not want to remember that time. They will rewrite history. Butthere was one person whom we should have credited, and that is the former transport and main roadsminister, my good friend the member for Gregory. The great thing about that is that in 1997—outside thedark, dim days that Labor wants to forget between 1998 and 2012—the vision of the then transport andmain roads minister, the member for Gregory, was busways. I can see them over there shaking theirheads, rejecting that. Just for the education of the House—


Madam SPEAKER: Order! There are too many interjections from my left. I call the minister.

Mr EMERSON: They do not want to hear the truth. They do not want to hear about the periodbetween 1998 and 2012. They do not want to hear about 1997. For the education of the House, I willtable the Integrated Regional Transport Plan for South East Queensland. Whose name is on the


foreword? The then minister for transport and main roads, the member for Gregory. There he is. When Iturn to the document, what do I see? Busways, busways, busways—all mentioned by the then ministerfor transport and main roads. I am very happy to table that document. Tabled paper: Extract from the Integrated Regional Transport Plan for South East Queensland [343].

Talking about partnerships with council, it was great to see the announcement today by the LordMayor about the overpasses on Robinson Road and Telegraph Road. What a great result. It wassomething that Labor failed to do. It was great to be out during the campaign with the now member forNudgee, who, along with the member for Sandgate, were arguing for them at forums. They werearguing for something that Labor failed to deliver year in year out because Labor would not work withcouncil. This government will work with council to get great results for Queenslanders.

Gladstone Harbour, Dredging

Mrs CUNNINGHAM: My question without notice is to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries andForestry. James Cook University last week released a study which shows that the effects of thedredging plume extends up to 35 kilometres and not the one or two kilometres asserted by theGladstone Ports Corporation. Can the minister give confidence to my community that in considering thismatter the minister will consult the report writers, the commercial and recreational fishing industry andthe electorate and not just accept the response provided to him by the Gladstone Ports Corporation?

Mr McVEIGH: I thank the member for Gladstone for this important question and I appreciate andacknowledge her passion on issues to do with the Gladstone port. I thank the member for drawing theattention of the House to the release of that report in recent days which my department is in the processof getting access and detail on.

I draw the attention of the House to a range of issues raised in the member’s question and, inparticular, I draw the attention of the House to comments that the Premier has made recently in relationto the Gladstone Ports Corporation and its future management and operation. I draw the attention of theHouse to comments that have been made by my colleague the Minister for Environment in relation tothe Gladstone port and those as well from the Deputy Premier.

The simple fact of the matter is that there have been, as the member would know, a number ofstudies commissioned including those commissioned by fishermen themselves in the Gladstone region.Certainly my department has studied those reports and awaits further updates and it reflects upon thefact that those reports are in many cases very similar to my department’s own finding.

In terms of the issues though in the question, as I said, they are to do with environmental issues,they are to do with planning issues and they are to do with the management of the Gladstone port itself.In my Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, it is my role and my intention to continue tofocus on providing support and advice from my expert officers to my fellow ministers and, in particular, tocontinue to serve the fishermen of Queensland, including the fishermen of Gladstone who have beendoing it fairly tough under the former Labor government.

In short, my answer to the question is: most certainly I will be taking note of the report referred tofrom James Cook University, just as we have of those commissioned by local fishermen, just as wehave of any other substantive information that is offered—and some of that has come from theGladstone Ports Corporation—but certainly not depending wholly and solely on one source of advice.

Sports Infrastructure

Mr MINNIKIN: My question without notice is to the Minister for National Parks, Sports andRacing. Can the minister please inform the House of the approach taken by the former government inrelation to the funding and ongoing maintenance of sporting infrastructure? How will the new LNPgovernment’s approach differ?

Mr DICKSON: I thank the member for Chatsworth for the question because this is very importantto the people of Queensland. Last Sunday I cancelled a project to the value of $6.1 million to build awinter Olympic ski jump in Queensland. This project was to be funded by the federal government to thevalue of $3.5 million and by the state government to the value of $2.6 million—and remember that this isall borrowed money. This ski jump was going to be 36 metres in height—or 10 storeys—come with itsown elevator and be seven lanes wide. It did not have an appropriate business plan. It was put forwardby a government which did not understand finances. We have all heard where the Labor governmentwent wrong and why we are in the situation we are in today of having $100 billion worth of debt.


Madam SPEAKER: Order! There is too much noise in the chamber and the minister is not takingthe interjections.

Mr DICKSON: This is a very serious matter. This is the tip of the iceberg. I need to go back to thegenesis of this project, which goes back to 2005. I uncovered that in 2007 the newly elected federalgovernment deemed this project important enough that Lindsay Tanner, the most financially literate



Labor minister in recent history, cancelled the project calling it a waste. But in 2010 the federal Laborgovernment reactivated it with the help of those opposite. I have a document here from Mr Tanner that Iwould like to table and also a picture of the ski jump. I think all members need to remember that forposterity.

Tabled paper: Media statement by Lindsay Tanner entitled ‘Labor’s $3 Billion Savings Plan’ [345].

Tabled paper: Artist’s impressions of proposed ski jump [344].

The LNP government has great alternatives for the people of Townsville. We have a businessplan and we will deliver. It is a project called Get in the Game. We are going to deliver 40,000 grants ofup to $150 for underprivileged children in this state so that they can get involved in sport—not build a skijump. We are going to deliver 200 grants of $10,000 so that infrastructure and equipment can bebrought into play for these young people. We are going to deliver 80 grants of $100,000 so that clubscan get infrastructure which the people of Queensland really need.

The federal government and the local Labor government cannot be trusted with finances. That iswhy we have a $100 billion debt today. Remember that this is borrowed money. Somebody has to pay itback some time, and the LNP government is taking responsibility for the Labor government’s actions.We have to fix your problems. You should hang your heads in shame.

Office of the Adult Guardian, Jobs

Mr BYRNE: My question is to the Attorney-General. Will the Attorney-General advise whetherstaff within the office of the Adult Guardian responsible for protecting the interests of vulnerable adultswith impaired decision making are in fact front-line positions? And will he rule out job cuts to these staff?

Mr BLEIJIE: I thank the member for the question. To understand what the problem is inQueensland, particularly in this realm of guardianship, and for the member’s benefit, let me outline thatin Queensland we have the Public Advocate, we have the Adult Guardian and we have the PublicTrustee. When one has capacity troubles, people call in the Public Trustee and the Adult Guardian andthen the Public Advocate does systemic reviews of all of it to make sure government systems inagencies are appropriate.

What the member should have included in his question was that the Labor Party had allowed theAdult Guardian to have an acting appointed arrangement for many, many months, if not years. If themember were serious about people with capacity problems in Queensland, perhaps the previousgovernment should have made a permanent appointment to the Adult Guardian rather than an actingarrangement. What the Liberal National Party has already done—and we have issued an expression ofinterest—is fill the role of Adult Guardian to a permanent position so that those with capacity problemsacross Queensland can have confidence in the system. The person acting in that arrangement will goback to their substantive position.

What we are also doing, for the member’s benefit, is when we talk about the Office of the PublicAdvocate, which has somewhat of an oversight role, we are going to reinstate the powers of the PublicAdvocate to make sure Queenslanders have confidence in the system. What the Labor Party was goingto do with the Public Advocate was amalgamate it into one agency. It has responsibility of oversight.How can you move a body with oversight responsibilities into the same office? Are they going to haveimaginary Chinese walls? Are they going to tap on the glass next door and ask, ‘What sort of system areyou operating there, bad person?’ No. The Liberal National Party will make sure that the Office of thePublic Advocate is a stand-alone office in the State Law Building, where it currently is. We will savesome $250,000 by not moving the Office of the Public Advocate out of the State Law Building. The officeof the Adult Guardian is contained in the Brisbane Magistrates Court. We will house them in the StateLaw Building at a saving of $250,000.

I can tell the honourable member that there are real problems in the Adult Guardian system. Twopositions have become vacant but I have said that until we have a permanent placement for the AdultGuardian to assist in getting that office back on track those positions should not be filled. I haveexpressions of interest in my office which I am reviewing. Executive Council and I will appoint the bestperson for that job to make sure that in consultation we have the best guardianship system thatQueenslanders deserve and expect.

Nambour, Wild Dog Destruction Officer

Mr WELLINGTON: My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Thestate government is a significant landholder in the Sunshine Coast region, with land ranging fromnational parks to vacant crown land in the Mary Valley. I thank the minister for having one of the state’sfive wild dog destruction officers operate out of the Nambour office, and I ask: when will the wild dogofficer commence work and what will the person’s duties include?




Mr McVEIGH: I thank the member for Nicklin for his question, because he is right: wild dogs areout of control right across the state not only in Western Queensland and south-west Queensland wherewe would expect the problem to exist given the outcome of recent good seasons and continued wild dogand dingo problems but also, as the member reflects, in periurban regions like the Sunshine Coasthinterland.

Agriculture, as the Premier and the LNP team have so very clearly said in recent months, will bereinstated as one of the four pillars of the Queensland economy going forward. Agriculture in that sensewill play a big role in returning the state to where it should be given the significant problems we arecombating now and the $100 billion debt that the Labor Party has left as a sad legacy for our state.

Local farmers and graziers have approached me—they certainly approached the Premier and meat Beef Week recently—directly outlining to us the concerns they have in rural industries such as thesheep and cattle industries. Local councils have similarly approached us outlining the problems inperiurban regions such as the member for Nicklin’s local environment. We were proud—and areproud—to announce wild dog destruction officers, and, as the name suggests, they will be fair dinkumpeople involved in the fair dinkum task of combating this problem on the ground. Yes, one of those willbe permanently based in Nambour, as the local member has acknowledged, and we are currently in therecruitment process for that position. I expect that position to be appointed in the coming weeks, and Ivery much look forward to informing the member for Nicklin about that and the detail in which the localdog destruction officer will operate. He or she will operate in close consultation with local landholders—a bit of a partnership, if you like. He or she will operate with local wild dog committees in areas rightacross the state—

Mr Rickuss: With local government, too?

Mr Cripps: So consultation?

Mr McVEIGH: And, strangely enough, they will operate in close consultation and partnershipwith—you guessed it—local government. Local government, as we know, needs all the help it can get.I am very pleased to share with the House that I have had those sorts of discussions with the memberfor Gregory, the member for Warrego, the member for Southern Downs, the member for Condamine, themember for Nanango and more recently the member for Beaudesert and today the member for Nicklin.

(Time expired)


Mrs SCOTT: My question without notice is to the Minister for Communities, Child Safety andDisability Services. Will the minister explain why the government has failed to renew contracts for ChildSafety staff in regional Queensland, including 10 in Central Queensland and more than 20 in South-West Queensland, and what impact these job losses will have on services and the local communities inthese areas?

Ms DAVIS: I thank the honourable member for her question. I think in my last answer I indicatedthat front-line positions would be preserved—they will be quarantined—and I stand by that commitment.If the member has particular examples that she wishes to share with me, then I am happy to take thatinformation on board. But it is my understanding and my direction to my department that those front-lineservices will be preserved.

Again, this challenging task of getting the state back on track has been made a whole lot moredifficult thanks to the tight financial constraints that we have inherited from the previous Laborgovernment. The state’s finances were in such a precarious position, as outlined in last week’s releaseof the Costello report, that we were borrowing to pay public sector wages. The LNP government is aboutfocusing on and revitalising front-line services for Queensland, and that includes a range across mydepartment in both Child Safety and Disability Services. I say to the honourable member that it is veryimportant to me that front-line services are preserved. As I have stated publicly, I will be monitoring thatto ensure Queenslanders get those front-line services they require and are calling out for.

Crime and Misconduct Commission

Mr STEWART: My question without notice is to the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice.What action does the government propose to ensure the Crime and Misconduct Commission is able tofulfil its proper functions free from political interference?

Madam SPEAKER: Minister, you have two minutes.

Mr BLEIJIE: I thank the member for Sunnybank for his question. The LNP went to this electionwith a clear commitment to restore accountability in government, and that is a commitment that we onthis side of the House hold dear to our hearts. Recently the Premier, the Deputy Premier and I have saidthat we will look at and review the functions of the CMC to ensure it is used to its best ability. In terms ofprudent financial management, we have to ensure that the $50 million that goes to the CMC is beingused wisely, to go after the biggest criminals in Queensland. However, we have seen, particularly from

724 Matters of Public Interest 19 Jun 2012

the Labor Party, a complete abuse of process and of its crime-fighting functions in the state ofQueensland. We have seen the Labor Party refer matter after matter after matter to the Crime andMisconduct Commission, and it is shameful.

During the election campaign—an election campaign by Labor which Queenslandersoverwhelmingly rejected—we took the fundamental view that the CMC should be as free from politicalinterference as possible. Let us look at some of the things that happened during the election campaign.The former Premier said—

Right now all I have is questions. I don’t have enough evidence.

Another quote reads—

Ms Bligh refused to apologise for Labor’s concerted attacks on her opponent’s integrity despite the Crime and MisconductCommission clearing Campbell Newman.

It gets better! Anthony Chisholm from the Labor Party said—

By going hard in targeting Campbell Newman we managed to get the swing down to 10 per cent.

That comment was made after the election. So there had been a clear and direct attempt topervert the course of justice in attacking the Premier and his family. Who was behind it? The member forSouth Brisbane! I have here a photo of Anna Bligh with a very smiling member for South Brisbane. Soas members of the Labor Party were distancing themselves from Anna Bligh and from that dirtycampaign, the member for South Brisbane was cuddling up to the person who was responsible for it.She should be ashamed!

(Time expired)

Madam SPEAKER: The time for questions has expired.

SPEAKER’S STATEMENT

School Group Tours

Madam SPEAKER: Before matters of public interest, I want to acknowledge the school groupsvisiting today. We have St Peter’s Catholic Primary School from Caboolture in the electorate ofPumicestone, Faith Lutheran College from the electorate of Redlands, and Bundaberg West StateSchool in the electorate of Bundaberg.

MATTERS OF PUBLIC INTEREST

Newman Government; Commission of Audit

Ms PALASZCZUK (Inala—ALP) (Leader of the Opposition) (11.04 am): As each week passes,the people of Queensland see with greater clarity the low quality of government being delivered by theLNP. Last Friday we saw further evidence of an arrogant government willing to break promises, misleadvoters and talk down our state if it scores it cheap political points. On Friday we saw the LNP’s politicalmate Peter Costello try his hardest—but fail—to reveal a budget black hole of Labor’s making. Anyreading of the Costello audit shows that the only black hole belongs to the LNP. It is the missing$5.7 billion in savings the Premier and his Treasurer swore before the election they had identified. If ourstate’s credit rating is under threat, it is because the LNP still has not detailed where those savings willcome from. All we know is that the Costello audit states in black and white that some of those savingswill come from the sacking of government workers. That is despite the Premier saying last year that hesaw no need for cuts to government jobs and that public servants should welcome an LNP government.Little did voters know that he was already planning sackings and that public servants had everything tofear, especially the loss of their jobs. At 9.30 this morning we saw an answer to a question on noticetabled by the Premier which clearly outlines 37,000 temporary jobs here in Queensland. On top of that,there are another 18,000 casual jobs. So what we know is that potentially 55,000 jobs are clearly at riskunder this new government.

In this place I previously recounted how more than a decade ago Mr Costello was labelled ‘meanand tricky’ by his own federal Liberal president. Shane Stone may be pleased to know that Mr Costellohas lost neither of those qualities. In fact, he has found a perfect fit right here in Queensland in the formof this mean and tricky LNP government. Audits have been conducted in other states and at the federallevel when conservative governments have come to power. They have been very predictable: they haveall blamed previous Labor governments. We saw it in Victoria, we saw it in New South Wales and nowwe are seeing it quite clearly here in Queensland. They have all given cover to the permanent agenda ofthe conservatives of slashing jobs and cutting services. And Mr Costello’s audit is no different.







19 Jun 2012 Matters of Public Interest 725

Let me make it very clear: it is no different from what happened in New South Wales and whathappened in Victoria. The only difference is that the LNP government could not help itself and just hadto have a former Liberal Party politician head up the audit. Queensland taxpayers are forking out$13,200 a month for Mr Costello to work maybe four days out of 30, if we are lucky! The audit wouldhave been credible if Mr Costello had not been involved. Most of the audits interstate have been headedby independent experts with some authority. This audit in Queensland—let there be no mistake—is ablatant political exercise. From the moment he was announced as leading the audit, Mr Costello wasseen very clearly as a hired political gun. How else would the Premier have been able to preview itsfindings three weeks ago by saying—

I’m very sure that when you hear the initial report of the Costello review that we will hear ... some very unpalatable truths.

So much for an independent audit! It was written by Mr Costello to fit the template set by the LNP.There was only one way Mr Costello could find any way to attack Labor through the audit and that wasto rig the basis on which he assessed the previous government’s record. His findings are based on twovery flawed assumptions. First, he assumed that whatever government was elected in March they wouldhave done nothing to address debt or spending. In other words, they would have taken their hands offthe wheel and just sat back. That was never going to happen. The second flawed assumption used byMr Costello was to claim that the next five years would be identical to the previous five. In other words,he judged outlays against the background of a repeat of the global financial crisis and the worstsequence of natural disasters to hit our state.

Despite those massive setbacks, Labor’s strategy would have returned the budget to surplus in2014-15. The pathway to a surplus was detailed in Treasury’s midyear review in December 2011. Inother words, Labor’s strategy is and always was on track for a surplus. It is now easy to see whyMr Costello never became Prime Minister. Being mean and tricky is second nature to him, just as it is tothe government.

It is curious to note how the Premier and his ministers have been quick to condemn Labor’sbudget strategy. Their speed in doing so is rivalled only by the speed at which they thrust themselves infront of cameras at the opening of major infrastructure projects Labor undertook through the very samebudget strategy. A case in point was last Saturday when the Premier and his transport minister wereseen slapping each other on the back at the open day for the new Northern Busway. And for what?Cutting a ribbon! That was the sum total of their involvement in the project. The Premier cannot have itboth ways. He cannot go around the state criticising Labor’s budget strategy but then grin for thecameras at the events celebrating projects delivered under the strategy.

Ellis, Ms A; YHES House

Mr MOLHOEK (Southport—LNP) (11.11 am): It gives me great pleasure to rise today to take thisopportunity to recognise the work of an outstanding woman and tireless worker in the Southportcommunity. Ten years ago community champion Anne Ellis started working for YHES House inSouthport and has dedicated her life to helping our kids—those who are struggling and those who maynot make it without a helping hand. Anne Ellis is inspirational. Her desire to support those in difficultsituations is an example to us all.

Over the past two decades the Gold Coast region has had one of the fastest growing populationsin Queensland, with a high percentage of young people, especially in Southport, Nerang and thenorthern Gold Coast region. Rapid growth has also occurred in the western corridor without appropriatesupport services. The incidence of mental, emotional and sexual health problems including self-harm,suicide, domestic violence, the problematic use of alcohol and other drugs, sexually transmitteddiseases and unplanned pregnancies continues to increase in the Gold Coast’s youth population.According to the Gold Coast City Council’s key social statistics report of April 2012, there are over 2,000homeless people on the Gold Coast on any given night. That figure represents 8½ per cent of allhomeless people in Queensland. The level of homelessness on the Gold Coast is particularly highcompared with that of other parts of Queensland. The average rate of homelessness for Australia is 53people for every 10,000 people. In Brisbane, it is typically 45 people per 10,000 people. On the GoldCoast the rate is 77 people per 10,000 people, which is significantly higher than the rate in Brisbane and12 per cent higher than the Queensland state average. Children as young as 13 seek refuge on thestreets of the Gold Coast some nights. While people may have trouble finding them, they are there—behind office buildings, in rundown factories, under bridges and in abandoned houses.

YHES House, based in Southport, is a non-profit organisation led by Anne Ellis that provides freesupport services that respond to the needs of these homeless, marginalised and disadvantaged youthand young parents. Anne and her team—people like Tamsyn Hall, Georgina, Karen, Sandy and Faye—have a passion for helping young people to reach their potential and are particularly concerned for thosewho are more vulnerable, those on the fringes, of whom many have complex issues and who typicallyneed some extra support to make it through the difficult challenges and transitions that they face.




According to Anne, support given at the right time can make all the difference to a young personand help ensure that they have the best opportunity to make positive life choices. Every week Anne andher team provide support to Queenslanders and young adults who want to get their lives back on track.YHES House is like a safe haven where they can get support, break the cycle of homelessness andabuse, and help to make positive choices so that they can have a better tomorrow. Anne Ellis is a heroof my community. I rise today to recognise and applaud her and the YHES House team for their hardwork and real commitment to making a difference in the lives of so many in Southport and the northernGold Coast.

Gold Coast, Drug Abuse

Dr DOUGLAS (Gaven—LNP) (11.15 am): Not a day goes by when we do not see seeminglymindless acts of random violence occurring in situations where everyday Queenslanders are enjoyingthemselves. Alcohol is associated with most of the incidents but, increasingly, the offenders and thevictims are multidrug affected. It is not only the increase in amphetamine use in the 20- to 29-age groupthat is giving the police greater problems. A group of major drugs is also creating a long-term problemfor Queenslanders if only because of the consequences of the violent assaults that occur because of thetaking of these drugs.

On Monday of this week in the Gold Coast Bulletin it was reported that a 29-year-old man wasstabbed at Shooters nightclub at 3.45 am. The offender ran off and is being hunted. A day earlier, a 27-year-old in Southport was stabbed, punched and robbed by two members who ran off. As the Law,Justice and Safety Committee report in 2009 stated, it is well known that alcohol is a major influence onviolence between persons. What is not known and has not been appreciated is the growing problem ofviolent perpetrators being increasingly identified as being more dangerous and more potentially aproblem by virtue of the intermix of drugs—mainly illicit but also some prescribed medications—in theirsystems simultaneously. Anecdotally, it has always been noted that the behaviour of amphetamineaffected offenders when either restrained or attempting to be restrained shows that their strength is oneof 10 tigers. What is now clear is that there is evidence that the offenders are multidrug affectedoffenders and we all need to plan around this. Various theories abound, but the hallucinogenic effect ofdrugs, combined with significant sympathetic nervous system effects, are thought to be paramountwhen combined with the consumption of alcohol. To be fair, the Law, Justice and Safety Committee’srecommendation in 2009, when looking into alcohol related violence, also said that the committeeshould look at drugs later on, but that did not eventuate. The time has come.

Whilst between 2007 and 2010 ecstasy use declined, the use of other illicit drugs has taken placeand the number of people drinking at risky levels has increased significantly at the same time. Males aremore common drug users—an 80 to 20 ratio of drug arrests—and are even more prevalent in cocaineuse arrests. With regard to offender profiles, during the 1999 to 2010 period high proportions of adultmale police detainees tested positive to drugs when recorded by monitoring. This information is critical,because there is a competing argument for greater drug relaxation including decriminalisation and,tragically, almost a lack of appreciation of the almost unbelievable growth of the legally obtained andillicitly obtained prescribed medication including morphine equivalents—mainly oxycodone but alsofentanyl and morphine itself. Oxycodone is the precursor ingredient for ‘hillbilly’ heroin and is beingdiverted—possibly in 50 per cent of cases; in extreme volumes—to those not in need but who aredependent on it or who are using it for recreational purposes.

We have moved well on from the cannabis affected dope heads—chronic use, smokinghydroponically grown dope leading to a dull drug haze, a user affected, slowed psychomotive retardedand cognitive declined patient—with a significant number developing psychosis that is both drug andconsumption related. The violence resulting from this is a different problem but must be seen as aseparate issue. The major area that is being impacted by combined drug and alcohol related violence isthe so-called silent one: it is that of domestic violence. It appears to be caused by more than alcoholalone, but it may be lower in percentage only because alcohol abuse is much greater in total numbersand has a wider demographic. It may be that drug and alcohol related violence may be more insidious,more violent, more harmful and potentially even more difficult to control. It is well established in ATSIpatients.

So what drugs are they using? Ecstasy, speed powder, ice, cocaine, ketamine, GHB, LSD,mushrooms, mephedrone, cannabis, tobacco in huge doses, prescribed medication and energy drinksincluding Red Bull and a variety of others. In the most recent review by Sheena Arora et al of theNational Drug and Alcohol Centre, from face-to-face interviews with 693 users, of whom nearly 50 percent are tertiary educated, with a mean age of 24 and an income of $566, only four per cent arecurrently in drug treatment and only four per cent have a previous drug history. Eighty-two per cent usedother drugs with ecstasy; 34 per cent were bingeing on alcohol and drugs; and 22 per cent drank morealcohol than usual when they took ecstasy. But there are plenty of good signs that we can actually dosomething. Sixty-four per cent are driving under the influence of alcohol and could be picked up and56 per cent realised they were taking the wrong thing. We need to do something about this problem. It isa significant problem affecting our community.




Commission of Audit

Mr PITT (Mulgrave—ALP) (11.20 am): The Commission of Audit handed down last weekconfirms that the budget position as outlined by Treasury prior to the election was correct. What theCommission of Audit also confirms is that the LNP still has not released any confirmation by Treasury oftheir election costings. The question for the Treasurer is: what does he have to hide? It might be that inchapter 11 the report details how the Treasurer misled Queenslanders two days before the election. Hetold us that the LNP’s three per cent wages expense cap would not involve forced redundancies or cutsto front-line services. The report details that if the overall increase in employee expenses is to be held tothree per cent, any wage settlements in excess of three per cent must be offset by commensuratedownsizing of the workforce and savings generated from the three per cent cap on employee expenseswill be used to offset the cost of the government’s other election commitments. It then says thatapplication of current growth funding for health, education and communities would be inconsistent withthe government’s policy of a three per cent cap on employee expenses.

The claims made by the LNP that the public service is too large are disputed by the report whereit shows that Queensland has the same proportion of public servants per person as the otherdecentralised, fast-growing state of Western Australia. Further, it says that Labor’s voluntary separationprogram will have primarily reduced the rest of the public service category, as it was focused primarilyon back-office administration. It clearly says over two-thirds of jobs delivered by Labor were in Healthand Education with the majority being front-line jobs. This means that the LNP in their jobs purge to fundelection promises will cut front-line health, education and community staff relative to increases inpopulation.

About a decade ago, former Liberal Party president Shane Stone suggested then Treasurer PeterCostello was mean and tricky. And the LNP have politically shaped this into a mean and tricky report.The Commission of Audit lists the developments since January that led to revised figures in theTreasury May 2012 forward estimates update. While the cover letter of the Commission of Audit saysthe previous government built in unrealistically optimistic budget assumptions, the report then proceedsto attack Treasury’s May 2012 update, which occurred after the election, stating that the commissionhas a number of significant concerns with key assumptions and forecasts underlying the Treasury May2012 forward estimates. It is worth noting that, as detailed in the report, transfer duty increased by25 per cent per annum from 2000-01 to 2005-06. In this context it is politically random to attackTreasury’s May 2012 forecast of a return to 14 per cent annual growth in transfer duty as the economygathers pace. While the LNP talk down the economy in order to blame Labor for their financialincompetence, the ABS detailed that state final demand was 7.8 per cent over the year to March. Thisstrongest year to March quarter result since 2006 was underpinned by the strongest householdconsumption growth since the December quarter 2007. The two famous GFC skeptics, the Treasurerand the member for Southern Downs, denied the existence of the global financial crisis and the need toact and now they seek to deny an economic recovery.

The Treasurer has been telling us of a $10 billion fiscal deficit in 2012-13, another mean andtricky statement. As set out in the report, this figure is artificially inflated by over $3 billion from naturaldisaster costs not offset by Commonwealth payments in that year. Moreover, the standard of a fiscalbalance is used by none of the Treasurer’s conservative colleagues in Victoria, New South Wales orWA. The Commonwealth government uses this measure, but alongside net debt. You will not hear theTreasurer talk about Queensland’s net debt being $24.92 billion at the midyear review. You will onlyhear him talk about gross debt of $100 billion based on some dreamed-up scenario six years into thefuture. And another Costello prediction is that economic circumstances in the next five years would be acarbon copy of the past five, complete with another GFC and catastrophic natural disasters. I doubtTreasury would forecast this and I know the Bureau of Meteorology long-term forecasts are not that longterm.

The bottom line is that the Costello audit could find no Labor black hole. It clearly shows Laborand the LNP with a projected return to a budget surplus in 2014-15—essentially the same fiscalstrategy. Unfortunately for all Queenslanders, Shane Stone was on the money all those years ago.Costello’s involvement in this report means it has been tainted politically and it is full of mean and trickyassumptions that perfectly suit the purposes of a mean and tricky government.

Ginger, Imports

Mr BENNETT (Burnett—LNP) (11.24 am): I rise to share with the House a very importantanalysis currently being conducted by Biosecurity Australia. Biosecurity Australia has given theAustralian ginger industry 60 days to respond to an import risk analysis into the importation of freshginger from Fiji. This is more pressure on our local farmers. It appears that the report compiled byBiosecurity Australia has been poorly drafted using loose science and a lack of references. The problemwe have is that the report clearly undervalues many of the insect pests and diseases that could becontained in imported soils. The draft IRA recommends the introduction of fresh ginger into Australiawith risk management for just one pest, the yam scale. This is not acceptable for the industry and to thehost crops that pests and diseases may impact upon. Because of the irregular, angular shape and tight






crevices of the ginger rhizome it is virtually impossible to completely remove all the soil. This raises theissue that many pests and diseases of concern are contained within the imported soils. Anotherassumption which reflects the lack of understanding of the everyday reality is that the report dismissesthe risks that consumers could potentially plant rhizomes purchased from retail outlets. The IRAstates—... as this pathway cannot be effectively regulated. It is expected that the volumes of ginger diverted to growing purposes byconsumers would be small.

To assume consumers are not going to intentionally or unintentionally plant or dispose of unusedimported ginger rhizomes by planting them, throwing them into compost heaps or into local rubbishdepots is unrealistic and naive. It must be remembered that the proposal is to import a product that is aplanting material and anyone can simply buy imported ginger and plant it.

The IRA assesses the consequence to native species as not discernible on the basis that there isno information available. Surely the precautionary approach should apply. If there is no informationavailable then the risk must be rated as high until the necessary research can be conducted. However, aproperly conducted IRA would have at least attempted to provide some scientific assessment bydisclosing the risks. Many of the pests and diseases present in Fiji are of concern to the Australianenvironment and the ginger industry and they are also a serious risk to other crops in Queensland.Crops like banana, citrus, sweet potato, pineapple and nursery plants could be affected. The gingerindustry is self-sufficient and producing fresh ginger for the Australian market.

My purpose in raising this issue is to alert the House to the serious risks to the environment, theginger industry and a range of major rural industries and backyard gardeners in Australia by theimportation and introduction of fresh ginger from Fiji. We need to consider the impacts on our localfarmers. We need to consider our agricultural needs into the future and the need for sensible decisionmaking. During the 1960s seeds were imported from Thailand that introduced bacteria and as a resultcertain areas in Queensland are no longer farmable for plants like ginger. Any notable increases inginger production and importation from nations such as Fiji will have a strong impact on Australia’sginger industry in the coming years. Demand for fresh product is increasing and I seek to have thatdemand provided by Queensland farmers.


Mrs SCOTT (Woodridge—ALP) (11.27 am): ‘No gift bestowed upon us is so precious as children.They are the hope of the future.’ This quote from former US politician James E Faust manages toconvey in a few words why protection of children should be one of the most important considerations ofgovernment. That is why I was so disappointed to read the Brisbane Times article this morning whichtells of jobs being cut in child safety. Child safety workers in Emerald have had a worrying timewondering about the fate of their jobs. After years of working with the child safety workers in my area ofWoodridge and getting to know the people who do these jobs I am sure their greatest concern is not forthemselves, but for the vulnerable children they work so hard to protect.

According to the Brisbane Times article, an Excel document prepared by the Department ofCommunities, Child Safety and Disability Services outlines 229 positions on a list of temporaryengagements where current arrangements are not being renewed. So right across the Department ofCommunities, Child Safety and Disability Services, the department that is supposed to care for some ofthe most vulnerable people in Queensland, 229 jobs are being cut. According to the interim report of theCommission of Audit at page 7, much of the previous Labor government’s increased expenditure wasdirected at policy objectives including Child Safety Services.

Further on in the report, at page 107, it was acknowledged that the substantial increase in percapita spending by the previous government reflected a number of policy objectives by government toexpand levels of service delivery. Those include introducing a prep year into schooling; significantlyincreasing child safety services; increasing hospital bed numbers; substantially increasing wages andconditions for doctors, nurses and clinical staff; increasing public transport infrastructure and services;and increasing effort in disability services. I would love to know which of those services the LNP wouldnot have provided had it been in government.

At page 137 of the interim report it was acknowledged that in January 2004 the Crime andMisconduct Commission released its final report on abuse in foster care, Protecting children: an inquiryinto abuse of children in foster care, and the government implementation of that report fundamentallychanged the child protection system in Queensland. There was a significant investment in newstructures for child safety, including the appointment of additional child safety officers. Those child safetyofficers need to know that they will be able to continue to provide those services to the vulnerablechildren who rely on them for their safety and care.

I refer to the answer to a question without notice from the Leader of the Opposition, given thismorning by the Minister for Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, in reference to people inher department on temporary contracts. Her response seemed to indicate that the way of dealing withthe uncertainty of whether temporary contracts will be renewed is to end this uncertainty by decisively




ending the contracts. I think a better way to end the uncertainty would be to guarantee jobs for front-lineofficers. However, I would also urge consideration being given to guaranteeing the jobs of support staffwho back up the front-line officers. If the front-line officers are being taken offline to carry out theadministrative tasks previously undertaken by support staff, they are not looking after our children.

The government has been less than honest about the public sector job situation in Queensland.As the audit report itself states at page 104—As a proportion of the population, the Queensland public sector (4.5%) is similar to Western Australia (4.5%) ...

It also notes that, except for Health, the increases in all other functions relative to the year 2000are broadly in line with population growth. I urge the minister to stop playing political football withQueensland’s most vulnerable people.

Glendyne Education and Training Centre

Mrs MADDERN (Maryborough—LNP) (11.32 am): Anyone who is related to or knows aschoolteacher, particularly a high school teacher, will know about the frustration that teachers feel eachtime they have to suspend a student for inappropriate behaviour. In most instances this ends with thestudent free to roam the streets, which is something they much prefer to being in school. The end resultis that the inappropriate behaviour is almost encouraged by the punishment itself. However, teachershave no option: to keep the student in the classroom disadvantages the remaining students becausethey have to put up with disruptive and sometimes dangerous behaviour.

In most areas there is no real alternative for state schools in terms of referring suspended orexpelled students. However, in the Maryborough electorate there is such a facility: the Glendyne specialassistance school. This is a not-for-profit registered school and training centre, supported byQueensland Baptist Care. The school caters for some 120 referrals, the vast majority of which comefrom state high schools in Hervey Bay and Maryborough.

The school program focuses on individual support for the students, particularly in the areas ofmental health, drug addiction and building relationships. There is special one-on-one support in theareas of literacy and numeracy, as many students come to the school with little or no skill in those areas.School classes are kept small, at between seven and 12 students per class. School hours are reducedand sporting activities are an important part of the education process.

The school follows the national curriculum in years 8-10 and delivers VET courses providinghands-on training to senior students. Students are supported by a principal, 11 teachers, seven youthworkers, two tutors, one counsellor, one canteen operator and administration and ground staff. A busservice collects students from the surrounding areas, and breakfast and lunch are provided at a minimalcost. Approximately 80 per cent of students who come to the school have not had breakfast.

The school has had extremely good outcomes, with 85 per cent of students either going on tofurther education or finding work. That is a much superior outcome to the normal situation, where suchstudents would be left to roam the streets, often ending up in the justice system.

I commend the principal, Dale Hansen, and his team of dedicated staff for the outstanding resultsthey have achieved. However, the work that those people carry out is limited by the amount of fundingthey receive. They are not allowed—nor would it serve any purpose—to levy fees on students becausegenerally the students come from families from a very low socioeconomic background that have nocapacity to pay. The total recurrent funding received from the federal and state governments is in theorder of $10,200 per student, yet the actual cost per student is $20,400 because of the need for a muchhigher ratio of teachers to students and the need for counsellors and youth workers to assist studentsthrough issues of drug and alcohol abuse, sex abuse, building relationships, mental health issues,et cetera. That leaves the organisation to be supported by community groups such as the Baptist churchand fundraising activities.

As a community and as a government, we need to take a serious look at the model that theGlendyne school provides for disengaged students. More schools of this type located throughoutvarious parts of Queensland would give teachers the opportunity to refer students they can no longerkeep in their own classes. Keeping those students off the streets and out of the juvenile justice system,and in a large number of cases enabling them to achieve employment, surely would save the taxpayer asignificant amount. At least some of that saving should be redirected to supporting and increasing thenumber of facilities of this type.

The community faces a second issue, which relates to why students are becoming sodisengaged. In a discussion on this issue, the principal of Glendyne, Mr Hansen, told me that at leastone factor in the disengagement of so many students relates to the fact that there is welfare support forthem—often in terms of youth allowances, living-away-from-home allowances or student allowances—but there is no link between actual attendance at school and the payment of the allowance. In light of theprevailing economic climate, the very limited number of jobs in the area and often the incapacity ofstudents to travel to other areas for work, there is no incentive for the students to attend either theregular schooling system or the Glendyne system. Add to this often very dysfunctional familybackgrounds and it is not surprising that there are so many disengaged youths of school age.





I strongly urge the community and this House to review the current funding model for this type offacility with a view to supporting and putting in place additional schools of this type to provide a referraloption for students who are disengaged from and can no longer be catered for in the normal schoolsystem.

(Time expired)

Prime Minister’s Economic Forum, Brisbane

Mr MULHERIN (Mackay—ALP) (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (11.37 am): Last week Iattended the Prime Minister’s economic forum in Brisbane. The forum was well attended by federalgovernment representatives and business, community and union leaders. However, it was not attendedby the Premier or any representative of this government. I think an economic forum in Brisbane wouldbe a perfect opportunity for the Premier or his Treasurer to sell the Queensland economy to businessleaders. It is a pity that the Premier missed a great chance to spruik the Queensland economy tonational business leaders. There was an audience waiting for the Premier to talk about what a greatplace Queensland is to invest, but he missed it. Next month the Treasurer is flying to China, Japan andthe US to spruik the Queensland economy. I would have thought that an economic forum in Brisbanewould be a cheaper and more convenient platform for the new government, but they could not find thetime to attend.

The sessions I attended at the Prime Minister’s economic forum covered building the workforce,skilling and education, and competition and deregulation reform. There was consensus at the forum onthe need for industry and all levels of government to take responsibility for improving training and skillsfor the workforce. The Prime Minister announced at the end of the forum the government’s intention tomove on lowering the corporate tax rate funded from identified offsets in business related spending ortaxation. It was decided that better incentives for employment service providers to locate regionally arerequired. Another outcome was for more options to be provided for training people on income support toimprove productivity in the economy. It was agreed that Australia needs to increase access todeveloping markets with further work leading into the upcoming Australia in the Asian Century whitepaper.

It seems that the Premier and the Treasurer are too scared to turn up and discuss any real issues.They are too busy talking down the Queensland economy. It is little wonder the Treasurer is payingPeter Costello to do this in his first budget.

The economic forum framed new grounds for economic confidence and new ideas for reform. Weheard from business leaders about the need to bolster economic confidence, to appreciate ourstrengths, to forge together to build confidence and to recognise that our glass is more than half full. Thebusiness community understands the importance of optimism when talking about the economy, but theNewman government does not. The continued talking down of the Queensland economy by the Premierand the Treasurer, with inane catchphrases such as ‘a power dive into the abyss’, will only have adetrimental effect on the Queensland economy. This is combined with the Costello interim audit lastweek, delivering predictable findings enabling the Newman government to break more of its electionpromises, to cut more government jobs and front-line services and to lift taxes, fees and charges. Theongoing negativity combined with the government’s ongoing efforts to sack government workers andcontract investment in Queensland regions will only harm our state’s prospects and cost even morejobs. If rating agencies have concerns and are looking at downgrading Queensland’s credit rating, it isdirectly related to this negativity and it is the Premier’s fault.

Redcliffe Electorate, Council Deamalgamation

Mr DRISCOLL (Redcliffe—LNP) (11.42 am): I wish to talk in the House today about the possibledeamalgamation of the Redcliffe council, which was foreshadowed throughout the election campaignand which this government has committed to considering for all councils across Queensland through theindependently appointed Boundaries Commissioner process. It is worth considering the lead-up tothis amalgamation process by the former Labor government back in July 2007. It was done under thebanner of what it called the Local Government Reform Commission. I would certainly consider a reformcommission that delivered the results that this one did across Queensland to be absolutely abysmal andnot unlike the rest of the record of the former Labor government and its standards of delivery forQueensland that we have been hearing about day in and day out.

In my part of the world—in Redcliffe—this amalgamation gutted the community. It ripped out theheart of the community and destroyed the confidence that that community had in its local government.We have done many polls over the past couple of years and these indicate that there is a strong moodfor change and a desire to look at getting back what was the Redcliffe city council. I applaud the work ofthe local government minister and I am very pleased that our government is finally going to give thepeople of Queensland, and those in my area of Redcliffe, the confidence that an independentlyappointed Boundaries Commissioner will look at the mess that the former Labor government created.







It is very interesting—and ironic, I suppose—that it was indeed on the Ides of March when we sawthese councils across Queensland destroyed by the former Labor government. That was the date of theelection—15 March 2008. Those members of this House who are well read—obviously, I am referring tothose on the government side of the House—would realise that Julius Caesar was slaughtered on thefloor of the senate—

Ms TRAD: I rise to a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I find that remark offensive and I ask forit to be withdrawn.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Dr Robinson): I did not hear any personal reference to the member. Ifthere was any personal reference to the member then I would instruct the member speaking—pleasetake your seat member for South Brisbane until I have finished—to ensure that he does not create anyinference that is personally offensive to the member. I did not hear any offensive material attributed tothe member. I will take your point of order if you still want to make it.

Ms TRAD: There was an imputation and a reference to every member on this side of the House.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: There is no point of order. I remind the member about frivolous points oforder. The member will apologise to the chair.

Ms TRAD: I apologise, Mr Deputy Speaker.

Mr DRISCOLL: I will continue with the record that is the shame of the Labor Party. As we saw thismorning, when we talk about its record those opposite do not like to be held to account, whether it berelated to financial matters or indeed the travesty that was this council amalgamation process. It wasthrust upon the people of Redcliffe and the people of Queensland. I understand that it is a legacy thatthe now Labor opposition, the ‘Magnificent Seven’ as they call themselves, do not want to own.

What were the results of this amalgamation process? On the ground in Redcliffe today we havetwo councillors left to represent the entirety of what was the Redcliffe city council. That is two councillorsout of 12 councillors who make up the Moreton Bay Regional Council. Those in this House who cancount—and they can determine who they are themselves or can ask for a bit of help later—would realisethat two out of 12 just does not cut it as far as making sure there is strong representation.

Redcliffe city council was a very iconic entity. It was an iconic entity due to the fact that Redcliffewas the first settlement city in Queensland. It certainly has a proud financial history and I will quotereferences made by the Queensland Treasury Corporation. It identified Redcliffe city council as ‘one ofthe strongest and most sustainable local governments in Queensland’.

It is time, and this government in its wisdom will make sure, that the people of Redcliffe have theirsay, have their voice heard and are not railroaded like the former Labor government did in forcing itsview. There will be an independent process. I look forward to playing a strong part on the ground inRedcliffe and working with the minister and within our government to ensure that justice is served for thepeople of Redcliffe when it comes to looking at the deamalgamation process.

Royalties for the Regions; Uranium Mining

Mr KATTER (Mount Isa—KAP) (11.47 am): I rise today to inform the House of two issues criticalto helping Queensland get its budget back on track. This week I will be tabling a bill for the governmentto consider regarding royalties for the regions. I acknowledge the government committed to such ascheme during the election. I look forward to cooperating with it for the scheme’s speedyimplementation.

Queensland is in a budgetary crisis. I fully support the government’s decision to scale back onwasteful spending such as the cutting of the climate change office. But there is more to do than that. Theregions represent Queensland’s road to prosperity. We cannot afford to neglect this goose that is layingour golden eggs.

This is why the government must redirect funding into building profitable industries in the regions.The royalties for the regions scheme will do just that—that is, direct 20 per cent of mining royalties backinto the regions that generated them. It will deliver two per cent of mining royalties to trade training andapprenticeships. A scheme based on a successful Western Australian model would see $700 millionredirected from building a building for politicians in Brisbane to building prosperity in regionalQueensland.

This scheme will help to ensure that mines waiting for power can open. It will get the undevelopedagricultural sector in North Queensland going. It will boost the government’s bottom line. It will ensureAussies are trained and ready to fill mining jobs so that we do not need any foreign workers. To expandon this, towns such as Moranbah, Mackay, Mount Isa and Gladstone are desperately in need ofinfrastructure such as housing, land, water and sewerage to accommodate this boom and to help themprosper in this boom period of mining. That is what is so desperately needed to be done with thosefunds.




The next issue I would like to raise is uranium. In line with this, Queensland must also openuranium mining in the regions. Our state has over $20 billion of uranium reserves which are sittingwasted while other states are taking advantage of the massive growth in global demand for nuclearpower. The only reason these reserves are off limits is Labor’s decision to put Green preferences beforethe good of Queensland. Uranium mining will open a new multibillion dollar export industry inQueensland. It will create jobs and bring in a new royalty revenue stream which the governmentdesperately needs to pay down debt. Uranium mining will also reinvigorate Queensland’s copper miningsector, which will cease to operate unless new resources are found and exploited. I table a news reportfor the benefit of the House which shows that the LNP previously supported the development of uraniummining in Queensland and I call on the government to overturn Labor’s ban and to open Queensland upfor business. Tabled paper: Extract from The Australian, dated 9 March 2009, titled ‘Lawrence Springborg puts uranium on the table inQueensland campaign’ [346].

To expand on this, Australia has the world’s largest supply of low-cost uranium, with around one-third of known deposits. Queensland alone has known uranium reserves of over 50,000 tonnes,potentially worth $20 billion. Global demand for uranium has risen sharply and is likely to increase bymore than 42 per cent over the next five years. These facts provide Queensland with the opportunity todevelop a multibillion dollar export industry and generate a new royalty revenue stream—something weshould be seriously considering.

The Queensland Resources Council estimates that the state’s silver, copper and zinc depositswill be exhausted in the next 13 years unless further exploration is undertaken to unlock new reserves.As large copper deposits are often found with uranium, the Queensland Resources Councilrecommends removing bans to stimulate new mining activity. This will provide new opportunities forQueensland to take advantage of the resources boom and reinvigorate its production of copper andother minerals. The Australian Uranium Association has estimated that the creation of an exporturanium industry will create another 2,600 jobs in Queensland. These jobs represent future employmentand opportunity for Queensland families.

Nuclear power is carbon free and much cheaper than renewable energy. We may not see it in ourtime in Australia, but the 2008 British white paper on nuclear energy found that it was approximately 166times more cost efficient than wind power at reducing carbon emissions. A report commissioned for theAustralian Uranium Association has estimated that uranium mining in Queensland could reduce globalcarbon emissions by 120 million tonnes by 2030. Uranium mining represents the single best wayQueensland can help reduce global carbon emissions without the unwanted nasty carbon tax.

Uranium mining has found increasing support from all sides of politics. In 2007 the federal Laborgovernment overturned its ban on new mines and last year agreed to sell uranium to India. TheAustralian Workers Union has also called for Queensland to lift its ban on uranium mining.

(Time expired)

Scenic Rim, Tourism

Mr KRAUSE (Beaudesert—LNP) (11.52 am): I rise to bring to the attention of the House theimportance of the tourism industry to my electorate. On Friday, 8 June I met with several local tourismoperators—all small businesses—from the Beaudesert electorate. While I am talking about tourism inmy electorate, I am going to refer to the electorate as the Scenic Rim—the name adopted for the localcouncil, the Scenic Rim Regional Council, and, much earlier than the forced amalgamations of Labor in2008, the name bestowed upon this spectacular part of Queensland by the Beaudesert and Boonahshire councils.

These tourism operators were meeting to discuss how tourism in the Scenic Rim should beadvanced and, in particular, how the DestinationQ conference, which will be held in Cairns next week,can help mould the future of tourism in the Scenic Rim. There was palpable excitement in the room atthe prospect of a state-wide approach to tourism—and, in particular, tourism in regional areas outside ofthe Cairns and Gold Coast paradigm—being developed from the ground up. It has been a long timesince tourism operators of all types and all stakeholders in the industry have had the opportunity tocome together in one place to put together an all-encompassing approach to tourism in this state. Icongratulate the Minister for Tourism and Small Business for the enthusiasm with which she has takenup the challenge to ensure that tourism is a growth industry for Queensland.

Tourism is a key part of the future of the Scenic Rim, along with our agricultural industries andother residential and industrial developments. While I mention agriculture and tourism together, I mustpoint out the terrific festival which will take place in the Scenic Rim in the week commencing 24 June.‘Eat Local Week’, sponsored by the Scenic Rim Regional Council, is, as the council says, ‘a wide rangeof workshops, tours, food tastings, dinners and activities for everyone to enjoy’. Cooking classes,compost workshops, edible garden tours, food tastings and dinners—there is something for everybodyinterested in food in this week. I invite the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines to attend. It starts inBeechmont in the east and finishes at Aratula in the west and will showcase the best of the Scenic Rim’s





food and its agricultural industries. It is events like this which will grow from local events to major events,attracting visitors from all parts of Queensland and overseas if the conditions are right. DestinationQ is aforum to grow and promote ‘Destination Scenic Rim’.

The jewel in the crown of Scenic Rim tourism is Tamborine Mountain, a spectacular mountain topcommunity which overlooks the Gold Coast and the Pacific Ocean to the east and the spectacular hillsand valleys of the Scenic Rim and ranges to the west. Whether it is businesses such as Cedar Creekvineyards, the Polish Place, DeliVino, Sugar N Spice, Witches Falls Winery, Thunderbird Park, thenational parks which nestle the community—in fact, Queensland’s first national park is on TamborineMountain—or the array of recreational activities which can be undertaken on the mountain, such ashang-gliding into the valleys below towards Canungra and Beaudesert, Tamborine Mountain thrives ontourism.

There is much work to do at DestinationQ to grow ‘Destination Scenic Rim’. Scenic Rim tourismventures are generally within an hour and a half drive from Brisbane. However, in comparison to areassuch as the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, there is unfortunately much work to do in ensuring thattourism consumers, from both Queensland and overseas, know about how much this region has to offer.DestinationQ is a terrific opportunity for Scenic Rim tourism businesses to have input into their ownfuture. It is a forum where they can put in place the building blocks for their own future. The Scenic Rimis in itself a region which has a little bit of everything in Queensland. I look forward to working with all ofthe tourism businesses on Tamborine Mountain and in the wider Scenic Rim region to advance this keypart of the economic future of our region.

Agricultural Industry

Mr JOHNSON (Gregory—LNP) (11.56 am): On 24 March this year we witnessed the changing ofthe guard, thank God. The LNP government came to power on the back of a four-pillar policy. One ofthose policies was agriculture. I want to talk about the importance of this portfolio area and whatagriculture means to Queensland.

I congratulate the new Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon. John McVeigh, onthe way he has taken the baton in this portfolio area and covered this great state to date. I also put onrecord the work that the former minister did in relation to the areas of wild dog control—I know that wasa difficult area for him—and ticks. But I do want to say one thing here today: the wild dog issue is out ofcontrol in this state. The minister has put in place five wild dog coordinators to assist local governmentand other agricultural bodies right across the state, in conjunction with AgForce and other agri-politicalgroups, in bringing about the redemption of the cattle industry and the sheep industry because we haveseen the demise of these two great industries. Western Queensland was once the home of the sheep. Itno longer is and many of our western shires today only have about 50,000 to 100,000 sheep.

Mr Stevens: None in Richmond.

Mr JOHNSON: Yes. The Leader of the House, the member for Mermaid Beach, is a Richmondboy himself. I am a Quilpie boy. I know how many sheep were shorn in those places and what it meantnot only to the economy of those western towns like the Deputy Premier was talking about this morningbut also to the economy of Queensland and to the economy of Australia.

What we have witnessed here in the last number of years is the absolute decimation ofagriculture. When I say ‘decimation’, I talk about the live cattle export industry out of North Queensland.We saw the federal government pull the rug out from under the live cattle export industry in their panicbecause some lame-brained idiot in the media wanted to do a job on our cattle men and women byclosing down the export of live cattle to Indonesia.

Mr Deputy Speaker, do you realise how many people went to the wall over that? Some peoplecould not meet their interest and redemption payments of $300,000 and $400,000 as they fell due justbefore June last year. What happened? They have gone to the wall because of irresponsible, lame-brained idiots in Canberra who could not see their way clear to address a situation of business. In termsof business, the most important things this government will do during this term, the next term and theterm after that are make certain that agriculture thrives in this state—the cattle industry and the woolindustry—and train young people in agriculture industries.

Just this week the minister visited Emerald Agricultural College and Longreach Pastoral College.What great facilities they are—training young men and women to go forward in the pastoral andagricultural industries, not only in this state but also in the Northern Territory or wherever they want towork in these great industries that made Australia great. I say to Minister McVeigh today: keep up thegood work and drive the agenda in relation to agriculture because it is vitally important to the ongoingwelfare, wellbeing and profitability of this great state.

I want every member in this House to know that when mining or some other industry collapses itwill be agriculture that keeps carrying the baton. We should always remember the words of greatAmerican President Abraham Lincoln when he said, ‘If you see grass growing in the streets of the cities



734 Treasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 19 Jun 2012

it will be because other industries have failed. The only time grass will be removed from the streets ofthe cities is when agriculture has been successful in making the economies of the state and the nationsuccessful, fruitful and viable again.’

It is agriculture that will redeem the situation. Live cattle exports are vitally important to oureconomy. Our wool industry is vitally important. That is why it is so very important that we address theissue of ticks, which are costing this state’s producers $30 million a year. I urge every Queenslander andevery business to get on board with Queensland agriculture.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The time for matters of public interest has expired.

TREASURY (COST OF LIVING) AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL

Second Reading

Resumed from 7 June (see p. 698), on motion of Mr Nicholls—That the bill be now read a second time.

Mr DILLAWAY (Bulimba—LNP) (12.02 pm), continuing: The measures in the Treasury (Cost ofLiving) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 will bring cost-of-living relief to residents of Bulimbawho suffered from those endless increases in taxes, fees and charges under the former Laborgovernment. This bill also starts to deliver on a reduction to red tape that has been burdening smallbusiness, in particular our real estate industry. We will bring back the principal place of residence stampduty concession, saving Queensland families up to $7,000 on the price of their home. This measure willhelp the many real estate agents across the electorate of Bulimba who have done it tough under Laborand will also reinvigorate activity in our lagging local property sector.

Every resident of Bulimba will benefit from the freezing of electricity tariff 11 which will save themon average $120 a year—a stark contrast to the $700 average increase the same families were hit withby Labor over the past five years. It is unfortunate, however, that our delivery of a reduction in electricitycosts in the family budget in Bulimba will be somewhat undone by federal Labor’s toxic carbon tax,which will start to hurt Queenslanders in less than two weeks time. This bill will deliver on ourcommitment to show the full impact of federal Labor’s carbon tax on people’s electricity bills. Thismeasure is a must to ensure federal Labor remains accountable to the people of Bulimba andQueensland.

The Newman LNP government will increase the payroll tax exemption from $1 million to$1.1 million—the first step in our commitment to increase the exemption to $1.6 million over six years.This new payroll tax exemption threshold will mean that approximately 1,200 small and mediumemployers—the engine rooms across this great state—who would otherwise be paying payroll tax in2012-13 will not be liable. What a fantastic initiative compared to the non-existent, antibusinessapproach the people across the room had during the election and over the past 14 years.

This bill will also deliver on our commitment to provide even further relief to small business acrossthe state. We all know that small business has been doing it tough through increased charges and redtape. It was a central theme during the election and it was raised with me many times every day by themany hardworking small business owners across the Bulimba electorate. It is well known that excessivered tape is a major source of frustration for small businesses and of course impacts on their profitability.I welcome the establishment of the Office of Best Practice Regulation. It is an important part of ourgovernment’s commitment to cutting red tape by 20 per cent.

Importantly for our real estate industry, this bill will introduce measures to scrap the ridiculoussustainability declaration that nobody used anyway. What a waste. It was not sustainable at all. TheNewman LNP government is committed to making it easier for Bulimba and Queensland families tobalance their household budgets, and this bill starts to address that need. Unlike the previous Laborgovernment, the Newman LNP government will deliver real cost-of-living relief and red-tape reductionfor thousands of families and businesses across Queensland. As a government, we will grow a strongfour-pillar economy and we will get Queensland back on track. I commend this bill to the House.

Mr GULLEY (Murrumba—LNP) (12.05 pm): I rise to speak in support of the Treasury (Cost ofLiving) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill.

Battlers are always better off under Labor. Battlers are always better off under Labor.

Mr Rickuss: Who said that?

Mr GULLEY: They are clearly not my words, member for Lockyer, but now that I have yourattention—

Mr Gibson: It was pretty awkward there for a moment.







19 Jun 2012 Treasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 735

Mr GULLEY: They are clearly not my words but they were spoken publicly during the campaign.They were words spoken at a public forum on the north side of Brisbane in February this year. Theywere words spoken at a public forum by a former ALP member of this House. During this speech I wouldlike to explore this fallacy.

This bill has been declared urgent pursuant to standing order 137. I would like to add that this billis urgent in order to deliver real cost-of-living savings to the good people of Murrumba who are nowworse off after 20 years under Labor. Unlike the members of the ALP, we on this side of the Houserecognise that battlers were suffering from increased cost-of-living expenses and that urgent steps needto be taken to address cost-of-living issues.

At the last election, we on this side of parliament went to the electorate—in my case to theelectorate of Murrumba—with a plan, a pledge. I am very proud to have signed the LNP pledge toreduce the cost of living, grow a four-pillar economy, revitalise front-line services, deliver betterinfrastructure and better planning, and restore accountability for government.

I now speak in support of this bill to deliver the pledge that I gave during the state election. Firstly,I would like to talk about reinstating the principal place of residence concession rate of transfer duty forthe family home. This concession was taken away from Queenslanders by the previous Laborgovernment on 1 August 2011. I am proud that a Campbell Newman government will reinstate theconcession rate of transfer duty and deliver real cost-of-living savings of up to $7,000 to Queenslandfamilies. Battlers were worse off under Labor.

Secondly, I support payroll tax relief for small and medium businesses by amending the payrolltax exemption threshold. I support the competitiveness of Queensland employers, who will now be ableto employ more staff. I am proud to support any measure to create and maintain more jobs. Battlerswere worse off under Labor.

Thirdly, I would like to support the measures in this bill to reduce the cost of electricity. I applaudthe step to freeze tariff 11 and give the minister the power to regulate energy network charges for 2012-13. I will leave increased electricity charges with regard to the carbon tax for other commentators.During my maiden speech I spoke of a pensioner who said that they went to bed at 6.30 at night duringwinter because they struggled to pay their electricity bills. Again, battlers were worse off under Labor.

Fourthly, I want to support the establishment of a new office within the Queensland CompetitionAuthority—that is, the Office of Best Practice Regulation. With my training in accounting, I understandgovernance. I understand accountability. I believe in open and accountable reporting. I know that goodgovernance gives rise to good outcomes. Good governance is based on organisations seeking to be ofbest practice, and best practice gives rise to good outcomes. The battlers were worse off under Labor.

Fifthly, let us talk about one of the clearest examples of regulation for regulation’s sake—regulation that achieved almost zero outcomes and only served to push up the cost of living for the goodpeople of Queensland and Murrumba. I am talking about sustainability declarations. I support thecommitment given by Campbell Newman to get Queensland back on track by reducing real estate redtape by scrapping sustainability declarations. Again, battlers were clearly worse off under Labor.

Let us go on a history lesson of waste. Let us go on a journey of waste—a slow-motion trainsmash of high cost of living that has been coming for a decade. A decade ago the Queensland Laborgovernment started to live beyond its means. Did it choose to be honest with Queenslanders and thepeople of the Murrumba electorate? No! It chose to raid the dividends of government ownedcorporations. Who can forget the cash raid of the electricity companies and—surprise, surprise—who isnow paying higher electricity prices? The battlers.

Mr Rickuss: The whole system collapsed.

Mr GULLEY: Correct. We should also consider that the ALP continued to live beyond its meansand was happy to count the billions of dollars of income from the QIC as operating income. But, alas,the winds of the stock market changed and the losses of the Queensland Investment Corporation underLabor were then treated as off balance sheet. Again, here our Labor government’s honesty with thegood people of Queensland was not there. It was not honest that it was spending more than it wasearning. It then said, ‘Let’s put it on the credit card!’ But what did the government do when the creditcard got maxed out? It blamed the GFC for its own mismanagement. Instead of owning up to thepublic—

Mr Rickuss: They went to payday lenders.

Mr GULLEY: Yes, it did. It said, ‘Let’s go and hock the family silver.’ There was no change in itsability to control its lust to spend money. But at last the credit card provider was not happy and had toincrease state government charges. This decade-long deception came to an end. The music stopped.There were no chairs left to hide its lust of spending, and the slow-moving train smash arrived at the2012 state election.


I support this legislation. I refute the statement that battlers are better off under Labor. Clearly, thegood people of Murrumba and Queensland are better off with a can-do government under CampbellNewman.

Mr Rickuss interjected.

Mr GULLEY: Yes; I take that interjection. I support the minister in getting Queensland back ontrack. I commend this bill to the House.

Mr YOUNG (Keppel—LNP) (12.13 pm): I rise to speak in support of the Treasury (Cost of Living)and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012. I had the pleasure of attending the Central Queenslandcarbon footprint forum in early 2011. The study was a snapshot of Central Queensland companiesaffected by the introduction of the carbon tax. The main company reviewed was Stanwell Power Station.Stanwell has four 365-megawatt generators producing 1,460 megawatts of power each year. Stanwell isa coal fired power station that burns through about 3.7 million tonnes of coal each year. It emitsgenerally about seven million tonnes of CO2 per year. From 1 July 2012 the federal Labor governmentwill introduce a carbon tax priced at $23 per tonne of CO2—carbon dioxide. The introduction of a carbontax significantly decreases the carrying value of Stanwell’s operating sites and will add considerableoperating costs comparable to the company’s fuel costs. The seven million tonnes of CO2 emitted from1 July will cost Stanwell Power Station $161 million per year. The National Greenhouse and EnergyReporting scheme regards Stanwell as one of the more efficient coal fired power stations in Australia.However, the cost of producing electricity in Queensland will jump by 43 per cent. The estimated costsof this carbon tax to each household will increase by approximately $317 per household per year. TheRockhampton Regional Council, as part of that study, will have to pass on a staggering $3.5 million tothe ratepayers of Rockhampton. According to research carried out by the University of Queenslandcommissioned by the Fitzroy Basin Association, a leading Rockhampton transport company noted inthat study will now have a financial impost of $500,000 which it will pass on to its customers, ultimatelyaffecting households in Rockhampton.

How does one quantify the financial costs of those firms that are trade exposed and compete withoffshore companies that may not be subject to a similar carbon pricing scheme? A quick flyover ofCentral Queensland would indicate that the major employers there are those that are deemed tradeexposed. Coalmining and allied industries that service the mining sector will be faced with a staggeringfinancial cost of this carbon tax, and what are the employment implications from this toxic tax? I havepensioners in my electorate of Keppel using photovoltaic garden lights that they bring into their houseeach afternoon in order to save money on power bills. Pensioners are struggling with the cost of living,rates, medical and household insurance and now power. These are very real concerns for those whohave made it through the hard times and are now doing it tough again all because of Labor’s financialmismanagement.

Under the Treasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 the LNPgovernment will freeze tariff prices for one year to ease the financial burden of the introduction of thecarbon tax. The freezing of tariff 11 will save the people in my electorate of Keppel on average $120.The LNP will also deliver on its commitment to show the full costing and the financial impact of federalLabor’s toxic carbon tax on people’s electricity bills. The LNP strongly opposes the introduction of thecarbon tax because it will have significant impacts on people’s cost of living. Only an LNP governmentwill address the cost of living for Queenslanders by cutting red tape, cutting waste and growing a four-pillar economy.

In 2008 Western Australia—another mining-rich state—went to an election. At that point WesternAustralia was carrying no state debt. Sadly, in 2008 Queensland had in forward estimates a debt of$62 billion. This was prior to the global financial crisis, prior to Cyclone Yasi and prior to the Brisbanefloods. In what can only be described as a fire sale of state assets as a veiled attempt to maintain thestate’s credit rating, the worst decisions were made. One of these was the sale of Forestry PlantationsQueensland. This magnificent asset was sold for $605 million prior to carrying out an asset and liabilityaudit. The audit after the sale was finalised delivered a finding that Forestry Plantations Queenslandwas worth $1.1 billion. The Bligh government had sold Forestry Plantations Queensland $405 milliontoo cheap!

Now, after the interim Costello report, Queensland is staring down the barrel of almost $92 billionof debt by 2015-16. The interest just to service this state debt will be our fastest-growing expense. TheBligh-Beattie government created unsustainable growth and gross debt. General government and grossdebt has grown tenfold in the last five years. So when the good people of Gracemere, west ofRockhampton, phoned me declaring the need for a high school, I informed them that we could build twohigh schools each week for the state debt interest repayments alone.

Queenslanders are struggling—struggling because of the rising cost of living due to the formerTreasurer’s total lack of financial mismanagement. The honourable Minister for Health recentlyannounced that the Health payroll debacle will now cost the state $1.2 billion to rectify. What health




outcomes could be achieved for the many people who walk through my door every day, such as thosewho are on the waiting list to get on to the waiting list for elective surgery? How do you tell someone youhave known all of your life that there is a waiting list for 12 months just for a consultation—just to see thesurgeon—let alone making it onto the list for actual surgery?

Many years ago Queensland Health was the envy of the Western World. How can it be that areaslike Rockhampton and Gladstone, surrounded by rivers of mineral wealth and now coal seam gas, are inthe middle of a state that went broke? We are not Greece; no-one is going to bail us out. The federalgovernment is not going to come to our rescue. They are going down the same path as Queenslandunder Labor. Only an LNP government—the people with real-life skills, real management know-how—are going to get Queensland back on track. I urge Queenslanders to be patient and to get behind us aswe travel down that rocky road to recovery.

Mrs SCOTT (Woodridge—ALP) (12.21 pm): I am happy to rise to speak on this bill today, theTreasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill. As I have sat and listened to speakersfrom across the chamber I perceive there are several elements missing from many of the speeches. I donot wish to deny that the last few years were rough for our government. However, very rarely have Iheard acknowledgement of a global economic downturn the like of which we have never witnessedbefore, followed by the most disastrous floods in living memory which were followed by a massivecyclone. If that is the boom they believe we went bust in, it staggers me. Then there is the myth of thelack of infrastructure and the waste. Every time I drive the new gateway to the airport and cross theGateway Bridge I am grateful for our Labor government.

Mr Watts: Up to Toowoomba?

Mrs SCOTT: The member opposite should have asked the federal government in the previouscouple of terms. It gave no commitment and nothing.

Every time I take my aged mother and grandkids to Roma Street Parkland or South Bank, I amgrateful for our Labor government—or to GoMA or when I hear of the new hospitals being built right upthrough our regions and down to the Gold Coast, where the magnificent Gold Coast teaching hospital issituated and light rail transit system has been built, or as I travelled west on Friday on the newly openedIpswich Motorway. I am grateful for our Labor government when I use our busways, such as theNorthern Busway, which has just been opened. Then there are the many world-class sporting facilitiesbuilt by Labor. In fact, the ministers will be kept very busy for several years opening all of theinfrastructure projects presently underway commissioned by Labor, all of which have kept workers inQueensland in jobs.

The members opposite have always ridiculed our Smart State policy, but a visit to the Universityof Queensland, Queensland University of Technology or many other major centres of research such asthe Queensland Institute of Medical Research will give them an idea of some of the great facilities andworld-class research being conducted there. And, yes, Chuck Feeney made remarkable contributions toour research in Queensland, but our government made that one of our priorities and attracted manyworld-class scientists to Queensland.

I could keep listing major projects. However while we in Logan City have many things to begrateful for—such as our pedestrian bridge between our Mabel Park schools to ensure the safety of ourstudents, our bus station which is being built at the moment, our metro sports centre or our three rugbyunion fields with fantastic clubhouse opened just a couple of weeks ago by the minister—it is inprograms for the marginalised or those needing assistance, such as helping out families, jobs programsand so many support services, where we have truly shone. And then there are the advances ineducation and early childhood education.

As the member representing the Woodridge electorate, I do have in my electorate a high numberof people on fixed low incomes, many on aged pensions, disability support and carers pensions, andalso those on unemployment benefits. However, with concessions offered, it is often those who workpart time in low-paid jobs who find life even more difficult. So any assistance to relieve the cost of livingis welcomed. However, recent reports of cuts to front-line staff in many important human services I findappalling. This will not only hurt those workers who have lost jobs and those who will in the future losetheir jobs but will also put extreme pressure on those who remain and will reduce services to manyvulnerable people.

While the reinstatement of transfer duty concessions for homes will assist some in the housingmarket and stimulate the industry, and increasing the payroll tax exemption threshold will hopefullyprovide some additional jobs, I wish to address the tariff 11 price freeze. During the past 12 months theWoodridge electorate has had a stark reminder of the huge task of keeping the lights on in the south-east. For weeks we had Energex trucks lined up along our roads, increasing the height of poles andadding additional powerlines. Prior to that we had an upgrade of our substation. This work costseveral millions of dollars and is in answer to the large building developments in both residential andindustrial estates. With large developments planned for Yarrabilba, Park Ridge and Flagstone, theLogan area is set for a huge increase in population. So the need for increased power generation and




distribution is going to continue. We need to pay for those increases, so power will continue to be anissue, as it is in other states. I will be interested in future initiatives to bring down the cost of electricity tohouseholders.

I would like to bring to the attention of the House an innovative manufacturing business in Logan,Kaon Electric, which has devised a fuse saver which has the ability to prevent up to 80 per cent ofcallouts in storms by ensuring continuity of supply. If the power is interrupted by a surge of power, asoften is the case, it is immediately reconnected, often remaining intact. Only if it then disconnects asecond time is a maintenance team required. In rural areas in particular and the outer metropolitan area,the fuse saver provides the ability for electricity companies to make significant savings in maintenancecosts, not to mention cutting down on the exposure to dangerous conditions for the maintenance teams,who are often out in terrible weather restoring power. Innovation can play a major role in cutting downthe cost of providing energy, and Kaon is a great example of that.

The freezing of tariff 11 will give temporary reprieve for some customers. However, manyhouseholds, such as those with pools, electric hot-water systems and air conditioners, will find theirpower bills will increase due to being on other tariffs which are being increased and increasedsubstantially. It is long-lasting solutions that need to be found. I note that this bill is being debated beforethe Queensland Competition Authority reports. We await that report.

Whilst this bill is not about the registration of vehicles, it would be remiss of me not to mentionsome of the calls that came to my office during the election campaign. The LNP TV ads during theelection campaign were responsible for some of the residents in Logan coming to the conclusion thatthey would only have to pay the third-party insurance component of their registration. Puzzled, I tooknotice of the TV ad the next time I was in front of a TV and I believe there was a short pause in thevoiceover whereby people could think they were being offered over $300 in savings on their registrationalone. There was a pause before a mention of electricity and possibly water.

Mr McArdle: Table your policy document and the cost-of-living component of that.

Mrs SCOTT: No, I am sorry. So it shows how easily people can be misinformed. And, of course,all those with utes and other work vehicles, as well as those with motorbikes, were left out of theequation. It now appears that, rather than a reduction in registration, drivers will find possibly a similarincrease due to an increase in the third-party insurance component.

Our former government produced a booklet called Every dollar counts which I have handed outby the hundreds to my constituents. It is very popular. It outlines many of the rebates and subsidiesavailable that I have found are not always known. The Labor government added several new subsidiesfor eligible residents, such as those on life support with oxygen concentrators or kidney dialysis, andalso for those who require air conditioning for certain medical conditions. These were very realreductions in the cost of living to a very needy sector, and it is hoped that there will be no reduction inany items in this booklet.

I believe that many voters will be let down by the cost-of-living reductions they were promisedprior to the election. Remember the directive from the LNP to Queenslanders to take their electricity billswith them to the ballot box? Despite high expectations, they may in fact find their costs in electricity andwater will have increased. Now we find the government calling on local councils to carry the load forthem. The councils have themselves just gone through an election. I am sure that if the councils couldhave they would have offered a reduction in water bills as an election commitment. The opposition willbe monitoring this, with the now government having made such emphatic promises during the electioncampaign. While this bill may be a disappointment, I hear members say that this is but the beginning.We will be supporting this bill and awaiting the next chapter in cost relief as promised.

Hon. SL DICKSON (Buderim—LNP) (Minister for National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing)(12.32 pm): I rise to contribute to the debate on the Treasury (Cost of Living) and Other LegislationAmendment Bill. In the lead-up to the last election, the LNP made a number of commitments in relationto easing the burden the Labor state government had forced upon the people of Queensland. Includedwas a commitment to reinstate the transfer duty home concession—the previous transfer duty ratestructure and previous ceiling of $550,000 for the reducing rebate in respect of the transfer dutyconcession for transactions entered into on or after 1 July 2012 for first home owners. We alsocommitted to increasing the payroll tax exemption threshold from $1 million to $1.1 million from thesame date.

Our commitment to freeze the regulated standard residential retail electricity tariff, tariff 11, at2011-12 levels for one year from 1 July 2012 was in direct response to the shambles created by theprevious Beattie-Bligh government with its ill-conceived plans to reform the power industry inQueensland. They were the same so-called reforms about which the former Premier said that no-onewould pay a cent more for electricity. We all know the outcome of that promise. Power bills went throughthe roof under the Labor government. Regrettably, though, despite our efforts and commitment,electricity bills will continue to rise from 1 July. They will rise because of Labor’s carbon tax. Because ofthat, another of our commitments as outlined within this bill is to include the cost of the Commonwealthgovernment’s carbon tax and to display carbon price impacts on electricity bills.




Queenslanders are very hardworking people. Those of us fortunate enough to have a job get upevery morning and go to work. We carry out our duties, get paid and go home to our families. Along theway we pay our taxes. Most reasonable people understand that for our society to function and forgovernment to provide things like services and infrastructure, taxes are a necessary evil. What thepeople of my electorate tell me is that they do not understand or accept the requirement to payunreasonable and ill-conceived taxes such as the carbon tax. I am constantly being told by constituentsabout the fear they are experiencing with the looming spectre of the carbon tax. Queenslanders willnever accept the notion that you can cool the planet from an office block in Canberra by making us paythis horrendous carbon tax.

This Labor government’s carbon tax will affect most aspects of our lives. A few months ago, whenI was shadow minister for energy and water utilities, I saw a list of the alleged top 50 polluters. There are13 electricity companies in the top 16 polluters. Indeed, 17 electricity companies are among the allegedtop 50, which also includes a few gas companies. This can-do government has made a decision to letthe people of Queensland know exactly the extent of the impact of this Labor tax on their lives. Entersection 55GA of this bill. Section 55GA will make it a condition for a retail authority, where a retail entitysells electricity to a residential customer, to include a prescribed statement relating to carbon andrenewable energy target cost information in the customer’s electricity bill. In the near future, power billsacross my electorate—indeed across all of Queensland—will show what Labor’s carbon tax adds to thecost of electricity. It will be there in black and white for everyone in the world to see.

I have heard opposition members during this debate praise the Gillard government for the familyassistance handouts detailed in the federal budget that supposedly offset some of the impacts of thecarbon tax. What those opposite do not say, and clearly do not understand the implications of, is that thehandouts are being funded from borrowed money. I will say that again: borrowed money. That is why wehave the $100 billion debt in this state. Labor is borrowing money from overseas to fund a compensationpackage in order to offset its carbon tax—a tax it has collected not one cent from yet. In trying to justifythe carbon tax and associated extra costs to the community, the member for Rockhampton stated duringthis debate—I hate to inform this House that climate change is real, is accelerating and is largely caused by humans, and carbon dioxide is asignificant component of the problem.

I am curious as to where the member takes his advice from in respect to climate change and thecarbon tax. I bet he listens to advice from people like Professor Ross Garnaut. The need for this LNPgovernment to introduce legislation such as section 55GA of this bill arises from advice given to thefederal Labor government directly by Ross Garnaut. According to Ross Garnaut, the science is settledon the issue of climate change and how we humans are responsible for it. Because of that advice wehave the carbon tax. Because of the carbon tax we will have higher electricity prices.

Ross Garnaut’s position has been to give advice to the federal government advocating a carbontax based upon his belief that that will reduce pollution in the atmosphere. I have previously spokenabout Ross Garnaut’s credentials as far as pollution is concerned. He is the former chairman of PNGbased mining company Lihir Gold. This is the same Lihir Gold that has reportedly dumped up to89 million tonnes of cyanide tailings on the ocean floor around Lihir Island. Dr Gregg Brunskill of theAustralian Institute for Marine Science has said that coral, fish and other animals are all affected bydeep sea tailings. He said that the Lihir waste already covers 60 square kilometres of the ocean floor.When questioned about this on ABC, Ross Garnaut said—There are genuine dilemmas in resources development anywhere, including in poor developing countries. Mining inevitablygenerates waste and tailings. The disposal of waste and tailings inevitably involves disruption of the natural environment ...

What a guy! The man who Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan have allowed to dictate policy to thegovernment on carbon pricing as a means to address climate change presided over the activities of LihirGold, a serial polluter.

I wonder in the lead-up to the election how much time the new member for Rockhampton spentcampaigning on the virtues of the carbon tax? I suggest he spent absolutely zero time and effortcampaigning on that platform, because he knows just how toxic the Labor carbon tax is. I am sure that itwas not talked about in his electorate. However, this issue is not just about energy prices. Lastweekend, the Sunshine Coast council agreed that the cost of taking rubbish to the tip and charges forroadside wheelie-bin services had to increase. Can members guess why the council is facing thissignificant increase in charges? It is the carbon tax, which makes up nearly half of the increase of thosetip fees. From 1 July, roadside wheelie-bin services will increase by 9.2 per cent. It will cost an extra14.3 per cent to take a trailer load of rubbish to the tip. A large load of domestic waste will cost astaggering 18 per cent more.

During the debate, the member for Rockhampton said—This government will ultimately be held to account for the profligate promises made regarding the day-to-day cost-of-livingpressures confronted by working Queenslanders.

I assume those would be the increases in day-to-day cost-of-living pressures from disastrous Laborpolicies such as the reform to the electricity industry and disastrous Labor policies such as the reform towater supply across South-East Queensland. In the end, Labor’s water reform saw South-East


Queensland water supply being run by 11 separate entities. Labor’s water reform gave Queenslandersthe Traveston Dam, which saw 494 families tossed out of their homes and $700 million wasted, whichnow has to be paid for. Those would be the same increases to the cost of living arising from Labor’sreform that gave us the rusting pile of scrap metal that masquerades as a desalination plant on the GoldCoast and which now has to be paid for. Those would be the same increases to the cost of living thatgave us the expensive western corridor membrane recycling plants that never provided drinking waterand now have to be paid for.

The Health payroll debacle takes Labor’s financial management to a new level. That shambleshas made the leap from hundreds of millions of wasted dollars to the realm of one billion-plus of wasteddollars. My colleague the Minister for Health has received a report regarding the mismanagement of thisportfolio by the former Labor government. The report estimates that the cost of the Health payrollsystem will hit $1.253 billion.

Mr Rickuss: How much was that?

Mr DICKSON: $1.253 billion. Isn’t that scary? However, we should bear in mind that that numberwill not be the total cost. That $1.253 billion does not include all the money already spent. It does notinclude the cost of the reports, studies and analyses from outside Queensland Health, including thoseconsidered by the former Labor government cabinet. It does not include the cost of the upgrade or thereimplementation of a system that will be necessary when licensed support ends in 2014-15. More than1,000 staff are required to support the system and the cost of that will be more than $664 million overthe next five years. Did the former government tell Queenslanders about that? Absolutely not, eventhough it knew because 56 per cent of the basic operating costs were unfunded in its last budget. Thesystem is a shambles. Even today the system is incapable of calculating correctly an employee’s basicleave entitlements. There are 130 manual workarounds, 570 known computer problems within thesystem and few avenues available to correct them. Every fortnight, 200,000 manual processes arerequired to file by hand 92,000 forms. The former member for Rockhampton and minister for publicworks made an on-air bet with former 4BC presenter Michael Smith, insisting that the Health payrollsystem was not at fault. The bet was for one year’s salary. It seems Rob Schwarten owes Michael Smitha big pile of money because, as I have said, the report identifies 570 known computer problems withinthe system.

I could go on and on about the litany of past policies of former Labor governments that havebrought nothing but financial grief to all Queenslanders. If wasting money was an Olympic event, theformer Labor cabinet would have won gold, silver and bronze. Sadly, all of those disasters have to bepaid for and, ultimately, will add to the cost of living for all Queenslanders. During the debate, as I seefrom Hansard, the new member for Rockhampton told some of our government members to go andread a book. I would suggest that he goes and reads a few budget papers and reform bills from theprevious Labor government. He will not like what he reads, but hopefully it may enlighten him and therest of the opposition as to the real reasons for the current cost-of-living pressures being experienced inQueensland. Those reasons have Labor’s fingerprints and DNA all over them.

Mr WATTS (Toowoomba North—LNP) (12.45 pm): I rise to speak in favour of the Treasury (Costof Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill to amend the Building Act 1975, the Carers(Recognition) Act 2008, the Duties Act 2001, the Electricity Act 1994, the Payroll Tax Act 1971, theProperty Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000 and the Queensland Competition Authority Act 1997. Ihave been listening to the debate. The member for Woodridge spoke about people in her electorate whoare on pensions and the wonderful things that the previous Labor government had done. I would beinterested to know what would happen if she went back to her electorate and told people on pensionsand people on fixed incomes that, while she spoke, Queensland had to borrow $140,000 to pay the debtthat her government racked up. We are at the stage of borrowing money at $10,000 a minute. Everyminute, Queensland has to find $10,000. Where does the Queensland government get its money from?It gets its money from the people of Queensland. This bill will try to bring some relief to the people ofQueensland who are suffering under the burden of $85 billion worth of debt.

Mrs Miller: No. They’re suffering because you’re going to throw them out of their housingdepartment homes.

Mr WATTS: I will take the interjection regarding social housing. Social housing is in so muchtrouble because of the waste of the Labor government.

Mrs Miller interjected.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Dr Robinson): Order! The member on my left.

Mrs Miller: We didn’t send the letter out.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The House will come to order.

Mrs Miller: People are crying because of the letter you sent.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The member for Bundamba will cease interjecting.




Mr WATTS: People certainly are crying about their public housing situation and the situation theyfind themselves in. All around Queensland people are crying about the situation they find themselves in,which is that we need $10,000 a minute to meet the financial obligations that you racked up. That isright: you! The Labor Party racked up the debt and left us with rack and ruin. Now, after debt, destructionand incompetent management, it hands it over to us. And we will fix it.

We have a positive vision for Queensland. We have a vision for rebuilding Queensland. We willlook to the four pillars of our economy and we will get Queensland back on track. I digress, so let me getback to the Treasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill.

Let us have a look at the proposed reinstatement of the transfer duty concession that Labor tookaway. Imagine you are a nurse in a hospital and you excitedly find that you have been given a promotionand a transfer to another hospital. You have applied for the job and you are really excited about it. Youare going to have to relocate. So you go home and talk to the rest of your family about this greatpromotional opportunity and how your income is going to increase. You sit down and start doing thehard maths. Under Labor what would you find? You would find that you would have to pay an additional$7,000 in tax to take the promotion.

A government member: Why?Mr WATTS: That is what those opposite did. They took away the transfer duty concession for a

person’s private home. So police officers who got transferred and teachers who got transferred wereaffected. The people of Queensland who tried to better their lives by taking promotions and movingaround were forced to suffer the burden of an additional $7,000 in tax to buy a house every time theymoved.

Mr Ruthenberg: Beating up the working families. Mr WATTS: Beating up the working families. What did that do to the real estate market? Let us

take my home town of Toowoomba as an example. I have spoken to a lot of real estate agents in myhome town of Toowoomba and a lot of them are suffering very badly because—guess what?—peopleare not moving house. Why are they not moving house?

Does anybody here enjoy paying increased taxes? I do not see anybody indicating that they enjoypaying increased taxes. What did we find under Labor? We found that if we wanted to move house wehad to pay increased taxes. It would cost an additional $7,000. Guess what? So we do not move. Whatdoes that do to the Treasury of Queensland? We do not get the small amount of tax that we might haveotherwise got. Why is the budget in deficit? Because those opposite only know how to waste money—$85 billion worth; $14 million a day. There it is. We have to borrow it to keep on going.

What did we get? We talked about some great infrastructure. You need to drive west my friends.The seven of you need to get in your Tarago and come west with me. I will drive you down the WarregoHighway and I will take you up the range crossing as it stands now. What you will find is that not much ofthat $85 billion has been spent on the road between here and Toowoomba, I can assure you of that.

Mr Costigan: Or Mackay and Proserpine.Mr WATTS: Yes, there are plenty of roads in regional Queensland that have suffered as you have

racked up the debt on wonderful pieces of infrastructure—Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Dr Robinson): Order! The member for Toowoomba North will address

his comments through the chair. Mr WATTS: As Labor went around racking up debt, what did we find? Infrastructure was not

being built where it was needed—that is, in regional Queensland. Roads, ports or railway lines—thingsthat would make us more productive and generate income—were not being built. What did we find? I donot know whether it is a tourist attraction or what it is off the coast, but is there anybody here from thecoast who can tell me whether people are coming to study the desalination plant at Tugun? No-one isdrinking any water out of it. Where does the water come from? It comes out of Hinze Dam. Who builtthat? That is right, that would have been before Labor’s time. That was useful infrastructure thatdelivered water to the people of the coast. What do we see now? Some $1.1 billion worth ofinfrastructure has created an interesting tourist attraction at best.

Let me keep going. One of the things that this bill talks about is the establishment of the Office ofBest Practice Regulation. This is a key area for me. In my area we have a lot of industry. We have a lotof small businesses. We have a lot of businesses that would like to grow. Guess what? They do not likepaying tax. What restricts them? When they get to a certain size they all of a sudden get hit with payrolltax.

Mr Ruthenberg: A disincentive.Mr WATTS: A disincentive to employ; that is absolutely correct. I am sure if the Treasurer could

do more he would. But with the situation we have inherited this is what we are offering small business. Itwill make a big difference. It will make a difference in ensuring that red tape is removed and regulationdisappears. That combined with the changes to payroll tax and we will see small businesses start togrow and thrive again, I am sure. I commend the establishment of the office. I look forward to us takingaway the red tape, the green tape and the unnecessary regulations that are strangling small business.

742 Criminal Law (False Evidence Before Parliament) Amendment Bill 19 Jun 2012

A government member interjected.Mr WATTS: That is it, definitely. What else is there? The member for Woodridge spoke about

people on fixed incomes and pensions. As I mentioned before, $140,000 is borrowed to try to pay theinterest on Labor’s debt. These people she speaks of have faced average electricity price increases of$700 over the last five years.

Members of the Labor Party are always talking about social justice and always talking abouthelping the working-class person. I ask them: do they think that a $700 increase over five years for abasic necessity like electricity to run a pensioner’s fridge or to keep them warm in winter is helping theircost of living? I think not. By freezing this tariff we will help pensioners meet their obligations to balancetheir budgets. We understand that for people to balance their budgets we need to lower costs for people.We need to give them an opportunity to increase their wages.

I will explain it slowly for those who might not follow me. They can increase their wages by gettinga promotion. That can happen only if, when they take the promotion, they do not have to pay anadditional $7,000 tax because they had to move house. They can balance their budget by saving moneyon electricity. That is what we are offering. We are offering the opportunity to save some money onelectricity. Again, I am sure it would be more if we did not inherit $85 billion worth of debt—$10,000worth of debt a minute.

I commend this bill to the House. As I have listened to this debate I have noticed that those in theLabor Party still do not get it. Queenslanders have entrusted the LNP to deliver on its commitments andhave given us an overwhelming mandate to get this state back on track. We need to urgently addressthe cost-of-living pressures for everyday Queenslanders, and this bill will do just that. I congratulate theTreasurer on the bill and the people of Toowoomba will thank him for it.

Mrs OSTAPOVITCH (Stretton—LNP) (12.57 pm): I rise to speak on an issue that wasfundamental to my election to this place. That is our promise to introduce this bill and continue to fight tokeep the cost-of-living pressures down for all Queenslanders. I would like to use my time to drawmembers’ attention to my own electorate of Stretton and give members some personal examples Iencountered as I discussed this issue with locals within my community.

The fact is that, prior to my election, under the previous Labor government the people of Strettonwere struggling with the increases to costs of everyday living. Basics like paying for electricity or the costof running a car seemed to be getting harder. The prospects of young adults being able to afford a homeor start a small business were becoming more and more daunting. Last winter I remember meeting witha group of elderly pensioners who would not turn on the heater due to the impact on their rising powerbills. We have elderly people who were so terrified of Labor power bills that they would sit in a coldhouse freezing because they were too scared to put on the heater. There was even a couple who wouldbring in their garden solar lights at night so they could avoid turning on the lights.

It was a very bad situation. Now electricity bills are not going up by $20 or $30 a quarter; they aregoing up by hundreds of dollars. It is these kinds of increases that are hurting our vulnerable people.These vulnerable people in our community—our elderly and our families—are on tight budgets. Thesebudgets have been blown out by cost increases. To say that these people did not know what hit themwould be an understatement. It is these vulnerable people who have been working hard making endsmeet who are most affected. They have been budgeting carefully. For years they have set aside roughlythe same amount of money each week for food, for transport, for petrol, for electricity and so forth. Butover the last few years the increases have spiralled out of control. Some of these vulnerable people aregoing into debt just to keep the lights on.

Some members of my community just cannot keep up and they are now turning to alternativesources for assistance such as charities. I have done a great deal of charity and community work in mylife, and I applaud charities for all their hard work, but I am concerned to hear that charities such as theSalvos, the Tribe of Judah and others have all been reporting more and more people coming to them forfood parcels. Times are tough and we as a government should not let charities bear the burden of pastfailures if we can do something about it.

Sitting suspended from 1.00 pm to 2.30 pm. Debate, on motion of Mrs Ostapovitch, adjourned.

CRIMINAL LAW (FALSE EVIDENCE BEFORE PARLIAMENT) AMENDMENT BILL

Introduction

Hon. JP BLEIJIE (Kawana—LNP) (Attorney-General and Minister for Justice) (2.30 pm): Ipresent a bill for an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 forparticular purposes. I table the bill and the explanatory notes. I nominate the Legal Affairs andCommunity Safety Committee to consider the bill. Tabled paper: Criminal Law (False Evidence Before Parliament) Amendment Bill [347]. Tabled paper: Criminal Law (False Evidence Before Parliament) Amendment Bill, explanatory notes [348].







19 Jun 2012 Criminal Law (False Evidence Before Parliament) Amendment Bill 743

I am pleased to introduce the Criminal Law (False Evidence Before Parliament) Amendment Bill2012. The bill fulfils the Queensland government’s pre-election pledge that within our first 100 days offorming government we would make it, once again, illegal to lie to parliament—that is, that we would re-enact repealed section 57 of the Criminal Code which contained the offence of false evidence beforeparliament. As per the government’s pre-election commitment, the drafting of these amendmentscommenced within the first 30 days of forming government.

This government has been clear in giving to the people of Queensland an undertaking to restoreaccountability in government. This is a central part of our action plan in government. This bill contributesto restoring accountability in government.

The Queensland community expects its parliamentarians to act responsibly and with the highestof integrity. This bill reintroduces the criminal offence of giving false evidence to parliament or itscommittees. Knowingly giving false evidence before the parliament or one of its committees is conductcutting to the heart of parliamentary privilege and is conduct deserving of criminal sanction.

This government has pressed to restore this offence which was repealed under the previousadministration. Our commitment to reintroduce this offence means that, by allowing the courts to dealwith this conduct, issues of cronyism and political interference are addressed. Further, the criminaljustice system is better equipped to judge the veracity of an accused’s evidence while ensuring theaccused is afforded full procedural fairness. The reintroduction of section 57 into the Criminal Code canonly serve to enhance the reputation of our parliament. I will briefly address the specific amendments.

The bill amends the Criminal Code to reintroduce the repealed section 57 (False evidence beforeParliament), with amendment, to make it an offence to knowingly give false evidence to parliament or itscommittees. A maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment applies.

It is acknowledged that there is a tension between an offence like section 57 and theparliamentary privilege of freedom of speech. The offence contemplated by section 57 cannot beprosecuted effectively if evidence cannot be brought before a court of the parliamentary proceeding inwhich the allegedly false evidence was given. As the elements of the offence occur during the debatesor proceedings of the Assembly, use of the evidence would on its face breach the law with respect toparliamentary privilege.

The amendment expressly deals with this tension. New section 57 makes it clear thatparliamentary privilege of freedom of speech and debate is abrogated to the extent necessary toprosecute the person for the offence. The new provision clarifies that the offence applies to members ofparliament as well as non-members.

Further, a complementary amendment to the Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 is included.This amendment is made to ensure consistency of operation within the Parliament of Queensland Actby making it plain that answers given before the Legislative Assembly are treated in the same way asanswers given before a committee in terms of their admissibility in a criminal proceeding or aproceeding before the Assembly or its committees.

The Legislative Assembly will retain the right to decide whether particular conduct should be dealtwith as a contempt of parliament or whether it should be prosecuted under the new offence.

The bill signifies the government’s intention to bring back accountability in government. This billreinstates the criminal offence of giving false evidence to parliament or its committees. Theseamendments will ensure accountability is restored to this place. I commend the bill to the House.

First Reading

Hon. JP BLEIJIE (Kawana—LNP) (Attorney-General and Minister for Justice) (2.34 pm): Imove—

That the bill be now read a first time.

Question put—That the bill be now read a first time.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a first time.

Referral to the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee

Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mrs Cunningham): Order! In accordance with standing order 131,the bill is now referred to the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee.



744 Animal Care and Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 19 Jun 2012

ANIMAL CARE AND PROTECTION AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL

Introduction

Hon. JJ McVEIGH (Toowoomba South—LNP) (Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry)(2.35 pm): I present a bill for an act to amend the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 to ensure animalwelfare obligations apply to acts done under Aboriginal tradition or Torres Strait Islander custom, and tomake consequential amendments to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities (Justice,Land and Other Matters) Act 1984, the Aurukun and Mornington Shire Leases Act 1978 and the NatureConservation Act 1992. I table the bill and the explanatory notes. I nominate the Agriculture, Resourcesand Environment Committee to consider the bill.

Tabled paper: Animal Care and Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Bill [349].

Tabled paper: Animal Care and Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Bill, explanatory notes [350].

The main purpose of this bill is to ensure that animal welfare obligations under the Animal Careand Protection Act 2001 apply to dealings with animals under Aboriginal tradition or Torres StraitIslander custom. Queensland is the only Australian jurisdiction with animal welfare legislation thatexpressly exempts from its application dealings with animals according to Aboriginal tradition or Islandercustom.

In its first 100-day action plan, the government promised to amend the Animal Care andProtection Act 2001 to bring Queensland in line with other states. The Animal Care and Protection andOther Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 delivers on that commitment.

Over 10 years ago parliament passed the bill that became the Animal Care and Protection Act2001. The act included an exemption for dealings with animals according to tradition or custom. The actallowed regulations to be made that would impose conditions on the way those dealings wereconducted and so strike a balance between the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people andcommunity expectations on animal welfare. However, no regulations were ever made under the AnimalCare and Protection Act 2001 to impose conditions on how animals could be dealt with under tradition orcustom.

For at least 10 years, animal welfare interest groups and others, including some Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander people, have voiced concerns about the cruelty of some hunting of sea turtles anddugongs and the immunity from prosecution for animal cruelty that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderpeople are afforded by the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 if they are hunting in accordance withtradition or custom.

Recent media reports of methods used by some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people tohunt dugongs and turtles have again raised concern that the current exemption is too easily exploited bysome rogue hunters who have no regard for animal welfare.

This bill will do what the existing exemption failed to achieve. It will establish a balance betweenthe interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in maintaining their traditional andcustomary practices and the expectations of the broader community, including many Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander people, for whom animal cruelty is unacceptable.

The bill will amend the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 to remove the exemption thatprevents animal welfare obligations under that act from applying to acts done or omissions made underAboriginal tradition and Torres Strait Islander custom. While community concern has been focused onallegations of cruel methods of hunting sea turtles and dugongs, the repeal of the existing exemption willapply to dealings with all animals under Aboriginal tradition or Islander custom, bringing Queensland inline with the animal welfare legislation in other states.

The bill will also amend the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 to ensure that an authorisationunder the Nature Conservation Act 1992 to deal with animals according to tradition or custom is not adefence to prosecution under the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001.

The bill will also amend the Nature Conservation Act 1992, the Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander Communities (Justice, Land and Other Matters) Act 1984 and the Aurukun and MorningtonShire Leases Act 1978. Each of these acts currently allows Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander personsto undertake traditional or customary hunting of turtles and dugongs without being subject to animalwelfare obligations under the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001. The bill will make hunting underthese acts subject to the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001.

The government recognises the entitlement of traditional owners to hunt dugongs and turtles fornon-commercial use under the Native Title Act 1993. The bill will not extinguish native title rights to huntnor will it rescind any other hunting rights. The bill will, however, regulate how hunting rights are





19 Jun 2012 South-East Qld Water (Distribution & Retail Restructuring) A’ment Bill 745

exercised. Animals will need to be killed in a way that causes as little pain as is reasonable. This iscomparable to the existing requirement under the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 that pest or feralanimals must be controlled in a way that causes as little pain as is reasonable.

The government recognises that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been workingto ensure that turtle and dugong hunting in their area is sustainable and does not jeopardise efforts toprotect and recover populations. It is important that this work continues and that implementation of anychanges required to hunting methods is similarly community driven. The government will encourageAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to work with scientists, animal welfare groups andothers to agree on hunting practices that respect tradition and custom and that do not causeunreasonable pain. I commend the bill to the House.

First Reading

Hon. JJ McVEIGH (Toowoomba South—LNP) (Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry)(2.41 pm): I move—That the bill be now read a first time.


Motion agreed to.


Referral to the Agriculture, Resources and Environment Committee

Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mrs Cunningham): Order! In accordance with standing order 131,the bill is now referred to the Agriculture, Resources and Environment Committee.

SOUTH-EAST QUEENSLAND WATER (DISTRIBUTION AND RETAIL RESTRUCTURING) AMENDMENT BILL

Introduction

South-East Qld Water (Distribution & Retail Restructuring) A’ment Bill

Hon. MF McARDLE (Caloundra—LNP) (Minister for Energy and Water Supply) (2.42 pm): Ipresent a bill for an act to amend the South-East Queensland Water (Distribution and RetailRestructuring) Act 2009 for particular purposes. I table the bill and the explanatory notes. I nominate theState Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee to consider the bill.

Tabled paper: South-East Queensland Water (Distribution and Retail Restructuring) Amendment Bill [351].

Tabled paper: South-East Queensland Water (Distribution and Retail Restructuring) Amendment Bill, explanatory notes [352].

The South-East Queensland Water (Distribution Retail and Restructuring) Amendment Bill 2012removes the special industrial relations measures—in particular, the workforce frameworks—that weremandated by the former government. These mandatory frameworks apply to council employees whotransferred to the South-East Queensland distributor-retailers and for those Allconnex Water employeestransferring back to the Gold Coast, Logan and Redland City councils. The removal of the two workforceframeworks will enable the water businesses to manage their workforces in the same way as any otherorganisation.

On 1 July 2010, the then Queensland government created new council owned businesses—distributor-retailers—in SEQ to own and operate the distribution networks and sewage treatment plantsand deliver water and wastewater services to households and businesses within South-EastQueensland. The distributor-retailers are Unitywater, owned by Sunshine Coast Regional Council andMoreton Bay Regional Council; Queensland Urban Utilities, owned by Brisbane City Council, IpswichCity Council, Scenic Rim Regional Council, Lockyer Valley Regional Council and Somerset RegionalCouncil; and Allconnex, owned by Gold Coast City Council, Logan City Council and Redland CityCouncil.

In addition to establishing the three distributor-retailers, the SEQ Water (Distribution and RetailRestructuring) Act 2009 transferred assets, liabilities and employees to the distributor-retailers. The actalso provided for certain industrial protections for the transferring staff by putting in place the ability tomake a Staff Support Framework—that is, the 2009 Workforce Framework. The 2009 WorkforceFramework applies to staff transferred from councils to the three distributor-retailers—QueenslandUrban Utilities, Unitywater and Allconnex.

In August 2011, the three participating councils of Allconnex—Gold Coast, Logan and Redland—decided to withdraw from Allconnex and re-establish council owned and operated water businesses.Earlier this year, amendments to the act provided for the dissolution of Allconnex and the re-







746 South-East Qld Water (Distribution & Retail Restructuring) A’ment Bill 19 Jun 2012

establishment of the council water businesses to be operational from 1 July 2012. These amendmentsprovided for the transfer of assets, liabilities and employees from Allconnex to the three council waterbusinesses.

As was the case for the transfer of council employees in the original water reform process, the actprovided for certain industrial protections for staff transferring from Allconnex back to councils. The actput in place the ability for the relevant minister to make a Retransfer Staff Support Framework—the2012 Workforce Framework. The 2012 Workforce Framework was approved by the then minister on 17February 2012 to have retrospective effect and commence on 16 December 2011. The 2012 WorkforceFramework expires on 30 June 2015 or three years from when an affected employee transfers to arelevant council.

These frameworks imposed measures that exceeded the ordinary industrial relations regime thatgenerally would have applied to council employees. The frameworks, among other things, imposedlengthy job security obligations, additional moving and travelling allowances and salary maintenance.These measures placed upon the water businesses represent an unnecessary cost to business whichultimately is passed on to household water bills. Removal of these frameworks will give the waterbusinesses greater flexibility in managing their staff and ultimately lower staffing costs. More importantly,it rightly makes the employer the decision maker in its business affairs.

Ultimately it will remain up to councils as to how they use the flexibility given back to them underthis bill. In particular, the bill proposes to terminate the operation of the 2009 Workforce Framework atthe end of 30 June 2012 which currently applies to Queensland Urban Utilities and Unitywater; to revokethe 2012 Workforce Framework coming into effect in relation to employees transferring from Allconnexback to the withdrawn councils of Gold Coast, Logan and Redland; and deeming provisions to ensurethe Local Government (Operations) Regulation 2010 operates as intended so that staff of Allconnex willtransfer back to the withdrawn councils with their long service leave entitlements preserved.

I stress that, while the former state government’s mandated 2009 and 2012 frameworks are beingremoved, employees still have the protection of the enterprise bargaining arrangements. Unions andemployees of Queensland Urban Utilities had their enterprise bargaining agreement negotiated andcertified late last year. The Queensland Urban Utilities enterprise bargaining agreement provides for noforced redundancies in Queensland Urban Utilities until 30 June 2013. This ultimately provides thesame protection against forced redundancies contained in the 2009 Workforce Framework, which isrepealed by this bill.

Unitywater’s enterprise bargaining agreement was certified early this year. However, theagreement does not provide for no forced redundancies as these provisions were contained in the 2009Workforce Framework. The removal of the 2009 Workforce Framework will provide Unitywater with anopportunity to reconsider its enterprise bargaining agreement in light of the removal of the framework.

Allconnex employees in the Gold Coast, Logan and Redland areas are currently covered byrelevant council enterprise bargaining agreements. After their transfer back to the councils, they will becovered by the enterprise bargaining agreement for the council where they work or by their contracts ifthe enterprise bargaining agreement does not apply. Employees being transferred from Allconnex alsohave a level of protection as all of the relevant council enterprise bargaining agreements seek to ensurethat redundancy is a measure of last resort, exhausting other methods such as retraining, redeploymentand voluntary separation payments.

The government is committed to good-faith bargaining, and these measures place industrialrelations back on a level playing field with any business developing an enterprise bargaining agreementin consultation with employees and unions. The government has shown how determined we are to getthe state back on track. We believe it is possible to properly reward staff through enterprise bargainingwhile also ensuring financial sustainability for these water service providers. The South-EastQueensland Water (Distribution and Retail Restructuring) Amendment Bill 2012 proposes to terminatethe 2009 workforce framework at 30 June 2012, 12 months earlier than planned, and effectively deemthe 2012 workforce framework, which was approved on 18 February 2012 by the previous government,not to have ever been in effect.

The government has committed to handing back control to councils. The removal of theseframeworks will enable the council owners to strategically plan and grow their water business to meetcustomer needs, and one customer need in particular is price relief. Queenslanders are facingincreasing costs of living and family budgets are under severe strain. The government is committed toeasing the cost of living for families. The government has already announced the merger of the bulk-water entities to reduce cost of supply. This action is only one part of the broader work program beingundertaken to assess and deliver least-cost water services to customers. The removal of the workforceframeworks is another step in the government’s planned approach to let the water businesses focus oncustomer service delivery and customer bills. The government wants to work with councils in a jointeffort to reduce household water bills. For example, I have been advised that it is estimated thatUnitywater would make a proposed saving of $2.8 million as a result of the removal of the 2009workforce framework by not having to pay those costs for the 2012-13 financial year. I commend this billto the House.


First Reading

Hon. MF McARDLE (Caloundra—LNP) (Minister for Energy and Water Supply) (2.51 pm): Imove—That the bill be now read a first time.


Motion agreed to.


Referral to the State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee

Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mrs Cunningham): Order! In accordance with standing order 131,the bill is now referred to the State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee.

Portfolio Committee, Reporting Date

Hon. MF McARDLE (Caloundra—LNP) (Minister for Energy and Water Supply) (2.51 pm), byleave, without notice: I move—

That under the provisions of standing order 136, the State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee report to theHouse on the South-East Queensland Water (Distribution and Retail Restructuring) Amendment Bill 2012 by Monday, 2 July 2012.

Question put—That the motion be agreed to.

Motion agreed to.


Second Reading

Resumed from p. 742, on motion of Mr Nicholls—

That the bill be now read a second time.

Mrs OSTAPOVITCH (Stretton—LNP) (2.52 pm), continuing: The Labor Party across this countryreminds me of the arrogant French monarchy just before the French Revolution when the people cried,‘We have no bread to eat,’ and Queen Marie Antoinette said, ‘Then let them eat cake.’ Likewise, wehave a Rolls Royce NBN but no relief for working families who earn just a little too much to get anyassistance. So out of touch was that government and likewise our Labor governments past and stillpresent in Canberra that they still have not heard the message from their people. People do not needhandouts to pay for bad policy; they need a government that keeps everyday costs down for allQueenslanders. They do not need a government that throws money at people for votes; they need agovernment with solutions. They do not need bandaid solutions that leave a generation ofQueenslanders to pay the bill; they need a strong and resolute government.

Under Labor, Queenslanders just kept paying the higher cost of living, with no plan and no end tothe cost rises in sight. Now, after the burden our state has been living with under state Labor, we willsoon have the killer python—that is, federal Labor’s toxic carbon tax. I know that our Treasurer is deeplyconcerned with this toxic carbon tax. His department believes that this carbon tax will cost Queensland$148 million next financial year, and that figure could rise to almost $200 million by 2015-16.Queensland Treasury modelling has also found that gross state product could take a hit of up to$9.6 billion, up to 21,000 jobs could be lost and real wages could be reduced by $2,900 by 2020. Thatmeans that Labor’s toxic carbon tax will have a more pronounced effect in Queensland than in any otherstate in Australia. When will Labor learn? Mr Abbott was right when he said that it is going to be apython squeeze rather than a cobra strike. This Labor tax is absolutely going to put the squeeze onQueensland’s economic growth, reduce standards of living for everyday Queenslanders, increaseelectricity prices and significantly harm our state budget. Labor knows it, Queenslanders know it andAustralians know it.

That is why we have started straightaway to deliver on our commitments to reduce the cost ofliving for Queenslanders. We will show the full impact of federal Labor’s toxic carbon tax on people’selectricity bills. We will freeze electricity tariff 11, saving our community an average of $120 a year. Wewill introduce stamp duty concessions, saving Queensland families up to $7,000 on the price of theirhome. We will also deliver on our commitment to provide relief to small businesses across the state.This is the can-do policy team that took the steps that were absolutely crucial to reduce the cost of living











for Queenslanders. All LNP candidates signed the pledge to decrease the cost of living for families byreducing waste. We promised to give families and the elderly some hope of relief, and now I am proudto be in the chamber to be delivering on those promises. I commend this bill to the House.

Mrs FRECKLINGTON (Nanango—LNP) (2.56 pm): I rise to support the Treasury (Cost of Living)and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012. The bill encompasses measures that will lower the cost ofliving for all Queenslanders. This bill is essential and will bring a lower cost of living in particular to theresidents of the Nanango electorate, who are sick of the rising cost of living and the incredibly steep hillof rising taxes and charges that were forced upon them under the previous Labor government. Underthe previous Labor government administration, the cost of living spiralled out of control. As I go aroundmy electorate speaking to mums and dads, business owners and retirees I find that this is the No. 1issue raised with me.

It was why the people of Queensland gave the LNP this mandate, as we want to make it easierfor all Queenslanders to balance their budgets. The Newman LNP government will deliver cost-of-livingrelief and red-tape reduction for families and businesses. Throughout Queensland red tape, fees, leviesand charges drain approximately $7 billion out of our business economy each year. I support theintroduction of this bill, which will reinstate the transfer duty home concession and the previous transferduty rate structure; increase the payroll tax exemption threshold from $1 million to $1.1 million; freezetariff 11, the standard residential retail electricity tariff, and display carbon price impacts on electricitybills; facilitate the establishment of the Office of Best Practice Regulation within the QueenslandCompetition Authority; and remove the requirements to prepare and provide sustainability declarationsprior to the sale of residential dwellings.

In my role as Assistant Minister for Finance, Administration and Regulatory Reform, I had theopportunity to read the Treasury incoming government brief. As the Treasurer has mentioned onnumerous occasions, he was mortified to read this brief—as was I—which stated that Queensland’sfiscal position and outlook are unsustainable and that restoration must be an urgent priority for this termof government. We have inherited a debt-ridden state, with a debt that is now blowing out to $1 billion.We now know that the Commission of Audit has discovered that the general government gross debt hasgrown ten-fold in the past five years. Total government gross debt would reach $10 billion by 2018-19 ifsomething were not done to stem this flow. Interest is now our fastest growing expense, and since 2005-06 expenses have outstripped revenue. Our capital program is almost entirely funded from borrowings.

All of this occurred at the same time that Queenslanders were suffering from the increased cost ofliving. Thank goodness for the incoming Newman government—a government that has received theoverwhelming mandate to urgently address cost-of-living pressures for all Queenslanders. On the firstavailable date, the Treasurer did the right thing to ease the cost of living by introducing this bill into thisHouse. I thank the Treasurer and, trust me, so do the people of the Nanango electorate for it is abouttime that the people of my electorate get some relief instead of another tax, charge or fee.

This bill contains amendments to the Queensland Competition Authority Act 1997 to facilitate theestablishment of the Office of Best Practice Regulation within the QCA. The responsibilities of theOBPR will include to review and report on regulatory impact statements by government departments forboth primary and subordinate legislation; to review the existing stock of our legislation; to publish annualreports of departmental performance against regulatory burden benchmarks; and, at the discretion ofthe ministers, to undertake in-depth principles based investigations on matters relating to industry,productivity or best practice regulation.

Onerous red tape and regulation is a constraint on all business growth, productivity andinvestment. We must review the regulations currently in place to identify where outdated, onerous andunwarranted regulation can be cut to save business and government both time and money. TheProductivity Commission reports that Queensland has over 70,000 pages of regulation, makingQueensland the highest and most regulated state in all of Australia.

Our Premier has made a commitment to establish the OBPR within the first 100 days ofgovernment. I have been given the role of working with the Treasurer to establish this office. Importantly,this office is to cut regulation by 20 per cent within the first term of our government. It is also essentialthat we liaise with business and industry to ensure that both government and stakeholders are on thesame page in relation to what is considered excessive, unreasonable or costly regulation.

New members like myself would ask how the state could rack up such a debt. The answer couldbe with disastrous spending. It is also difficult to imagine the incredible decision making without anystopgaps or balances—decisions like wasting $600 million on the failed Traveston Dam project or$1.1 billion on the Tugun desalination plant or the Health debacle, which I am now told has blown out toapproximately $1.235 billion. There is also the introduction of a smart card licence system, meaning thecost of drivers’ licences will double from $73.70 to $152.50.

The establishment of the OBPR will enable ministers to direct the QCA to review and report onregulatory impact statements prepared by those departments for new primary and subordinatelegislation. This will allow new regulation to be developed in accordance with best practice principles





and will ensure that any regulatory burdens imposed on business or the communities are not onlyappropriate but are justified. Simply, it will prevent the creation of unnecessary red tape and debt thatthe people of Queensland have given us a mandate to get rid of.

The reduction of red tape will not only help small business but midsize and big business. To givean example, there is a business that has been operating for approximately seven years currentlyemploying 25 people, including three apprentices and trainees and three juniors. The compliance red-tape cost based on the federal government’s business cost calculator is some $356,000 per annum andan estimated 35.54 hours per week just to undertake compliance activities. A major supermarket chainhas quoted to me that the compliance costs of duplicate regulation—as they trade across borders—isthe cost of approximately one extra staff member per week working 38 hours per week. At the other endof the scale, a Kingaroy builder who employs five people and numerous subbies quotes that complianceregulation costs him approximately five hours per week. The cost of red tape and regulation to businessis simply prohibitive.

To get the state back on track, we need to ensure that the Queensland economy is productive andcompetitive. By utilising the Office of Best Practice Regulation we can provide independent advice andrecommendations that will help the government achieve this goal. Effective and efficient regulation is akey component of a competitive, well-functioning economy. Regulatory reform will improvecompetitiveness and the productivity of our economy.

In relation to the payroll tax exemption threshold changes, the Newman government wants towork with business and encourage growth. It wants to see business prosper, employ more people andgrow their business without strangling them with rising taxes and charges. The LNP blueprint forQueensland small business provides a policy commitment to provide payroll tax relief available for allQueensland businesses. The bill amends the Payroll Tax Act 1971 and allows for the first incrementalthreshold change from $1 million to $1.1 million, meaning that the benefit of the payroll tax deduction willbe extended. The deduction currently cuts out when the employer’s payroll reaches $5 million. Thechanges mean the deduction will now cut out at $5.5 million. This section of the bill allows forapproximately 90 per cent of our state’s employers—that is Queensland employers—who will not besubject to paying a payroll tax. That means a saving to approximately 1,200 employers, meaning moreemployers can employ more people, giving opportunities to many residents of my electorate. The bill isthe first step in our commitment to increasing this threshold to $1.6 million over six years.

The bill also extends to changes in the home concession. Unbelievably, mid last year when theQueensland people were really suffering under the weight of the rising cost-of-living pressures, theLabor government removed the home concession effective from 31 July 2011. Thankfully, theamendment to the Duties Act 2001 rights this wrong. When this change occurred let me explain whathappened to all of the small businesses and all of the buyers and sellers of real estate within theNanango electorate. Their business stopped. In my then position as a local solicitor I was inundated withcalls of outrage. I recall taking a call from Jane Erkens from Nanango Real Estate saying that if thischange came in, her business would stop. This story was the same for every single real estate agent Ispoke to. I doubt there was one real estate agent in Queensland who voted for Labor in this previouselection.

We will introduce the stamp duty concession, saving Queensland families up to $7,000 on theprice of their home. Not only will this save them that amount, but it will allow them to buy again or getback into the market. As members from the real world would realise, $7,000 can make or break a familydesperately trying to purchase their home or to get out of the vicious rental cycle. This reinstatementbrings relief to small business such as the local conveyancer or law firm, local real estate agents and allassociated businesses such as valuers, maintenance persons right down to the local carpet cleaner.They are real Queenslanders who are out there trying to earn a living and, in some cases, fighting tostay afloat so that they can continue to employ staff. This bill delivers on the LNP’s promise to lower thecost of living for families and this bill will back up the government’s plan to boost activity within thehousing market.

Under Labor, the average Queensland family saw $700 added to their household power bills overthe past five years, despite Labor’s promise that nobody would be worse off under the Blighgovernment’s electricity reform. Like every person in my electorate, Beryl Virgo, a wonderful resident ofmy electorate, needs this relief. She needs relief from the rising cost of electricity. She needs to feelcomfortable to be able to turn on her heater in winter and her air conditioner in summer. The Newmangovernment will freeze the standard domestic tariff 11 and help cut the cost of electricity bills. This billwill provide savings of around $120 per annum compared with prices under the previous Laborgovernment.

We will also give consumers transparency in electricity pricing. We will make sure electricity billsdisplay the impact of the federal government’s toxic carbon tax and the cost of the green energyschemes on families’ cost of living. By ensuring that the impact on householders’ cost of living isincluded on every electricity bill, families will be able to determine whether the federal government’scompensation is sufficient. This information will be open and transparent—consistent with the approach


now taken in New South Wales. Queenslanders need to know what they are paying for. This ridiculouscarbon tax will increase our cost of living every time we turn on a light and every time we open thefridge. The effect on businesses will be disastrous.

In relation to the sustainability declaration, for all my time in business this would have to be one ofthe most ridiculous pieces of red-tape regulation and time-wasting ever introduced into our lives. Thecost-of-living bill will amend the Building Act and Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act to make therequired changes that will mean that, effective immediately on the bill receiving royal assent, thesustainability declarations will be null and void—not required—including for those houses that are on themarket. Can I say this is not a minute before time. The declaration never did anything in relation tosustainability issues. A blank piece of paper contains about as much weight as this declaration.

More often than not, this form was signed on the bottom and not even filled in. I recall talking to ayoung couple from Crows Nest who were trying to sell their home. This young couple were struggling asit was and the extra burden of completing this form was simply too much. It was just simple, useless redtape. When I was talking to local real estate agents, like Jackie Allery in Kingaroy, Mark and Tim fromToogoolawah and David and Viviene from Esk, they all said that sellers already highlight the energysustainability issues as this is what sells property and buyers will pay more for these features. They saidthey did not need a government to stretch into their lives and weigh them down with more red tape.Enough is enough. People are not simple and they understand that investing in energy and waterefficiency not only improves the value of their home but it makes it cheaper to live in. I also wonderabout the cost to the state to administer the enforcing of the $200 fine per person for those people whoapparently were going to fail to complete this piece of paper.

This bill will help get small businesses back to what they do best: focusing on running theirbusiness, creating new local jobs and, in turn, helping to lower the cost of living for all consumers, anessential element of our government’s commitment to the people of Queensland. The cost of living is abig issue for a great many Queenslander. No matter where you go or who you talk to, whether it be thelocal farmer, the local real estate agent, a cafe owner, a builder, nurses, teachers or truck drivers, nomember of this parliament could have missed the message that the cost of living is affecting everyone’sdaily life. From talking to my colleagues this is a consistent message across our state that has stemmedfrom an attitudinal problem: an assumption by the previous government over the past 20 years thatsomehow all the little costs on people really did not matter. But all these little costs have added a costburden on families that is now becoming impossible to bear. They are struggling with an increasingfinancial burden and the continued challenge of making ends meet, especially people on fixed incomesand people with growing families. The cost of supporting these families inevitably grows.

With this bill the Newman government will ease the costs of living to Queenslanders. We need tostop the spiralling costs and help ease the pressure on family budgets so that they can afford the littleextras such as new school shoes, a family holiday or a trip to the movies. We will help business cutthrough the red tape that is holding them back. We will be a government that has a positive attitudetowards business and works with them rather than against them to help them succeed. I commend thisbill to the House.

Hon. GW ELMES (Noosa—LNP) (Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander andMulticultural Affairs and Minister Assisting the Premier) (3.11 pm): I rise to speak in support of theTreasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 on behalf of the constituents ofNoosa. The Newman LNP government faces stiff challenges on many fronts. All ministers look into themirror each morning and remind themselves that they are now looking at the person who is responsible.I urge all Queenslanders to read the interim report of the Queensland Commission of Audit. Thequickest glance will be a shock, as the report sets out the parlous condition of this state’s finances. It isessential that the community understands the issues fully as it is a journey of recovery that we need tobe taking together. While we on this side of the House are now the government and we are responsiblefor fixing Labor’s disasters, we need the people of Queensland to come with us and they can only dothat from a position of knowledge and understanding.

The Newman LNP government has been elected in its own right with a humbling mandate. It hasnot snuck into government because Queenslanders have finally recognised in great number just howbad a Labor government—the Bligh Labor government they elected in 2009—had become. Theyelected the Newman LNP government to get Queensland back on track, to implement our range ofpolicies which we made everyone aware of during the elongated election campaign—both the overlylong official campaign and the synthetic campaign which Labor started the day Campbell Newman wasmade leader of the Liberal National Party. No-one can say that they did not know what we would do ingovernment. Every Queenslander knows the can-do track record of the member for Ashgrove. Thosepolicies, those commitments, are on the LNP website still today for all to see.

When introducing this bill the Treasurer was correct when he said—The Treasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 amends legislation to give effect to a number of thegovernment’s election commitments, as we have spoken about earlier today. Specifically, it reinstates the transfer duty homeconcession; it increases the payroll tax exemption threshold; it freezes the tariff 11 electricity tariff prices for one year; it alsofacilitates the establishment of the Office of Best Practice Regulation; and it removes the requirement for sustainabilitydeclarations




In one stroke of the legislative pen the Treasurer has reversed the Bligh Labor government’s taxslug on the family home. Remember that was the one that was dressed up as an initiative to stimulatethe building industry and benefit first home buyers. Then Treasurer Andrew Fraser smiled his waythrough the introduction as the pretend friend of the first home buyer while simultaneously smashingtheir parents’ investment in the family home and slipping his grasping paw into the family’s accumulatedwealth and transferring it to Victorians and others.

This bill will amend the Duties Act 2001 to reinstate the transfer duty home concession, theprevious transfer duty rate structure and the previous phasing point of $550,000 for the reducing rebatefor the transfer duty first home concession for transactions entered into on or after 1 July 2012. It giveseffect to the Newman LNP commitment to save homeowners up to $7,000—an additional Bligh-Frasertax on the purchase of the family home.

We on this side of the House understand the cost-of-living pressures on householders. Weunderstand that the Bligh Labor government added about $700 a year to household electricity bills whileit squandered billions in reckless borrowed spending on capital projects and unsustainable recurrentexpenditures. Those rises were on the back of Labor’s solemn commitment that no-one would be worseoff under Labor’s electricity privatisation program. That is why this bill will amend the Electricity Act 1994to freeze tariff 11, the standard regulated residential electricity tariff, at 2011-12 prices for one year from1 July 2012.

Regrettably, however, there will be an increase in the household cost of electricity and this comescourtesy of federal Labor’s carbon tax. This tax slug is courtesy of the Gillard Labor government, theself-proclaimed champion of working families. I am reminded of the adage ‘with friends like these whoneeds enemies’. As the Bligh Labor government stumbled from one crisis of its own making to the nextcrisis of its own making, all semblance of coherent rational thinking deserted it. What better examplecould there be of this muddle-headed thinking than the total confusion between trying to create someenvironmental benefit and the effect of the sustainability declaration on the residential housing market. Itis difficult to imagine a more stupid policy decision by the former government than this one, and we havelegions of choices to take into consideration for that award.

It is very pleasing to see that this bill will amend the Building Act 1975 and the Property Agentsand Motor Dealers Act 2000 to remove the requirements to prepare and provide a sustainabilitydeclaration prior to the sale of a residential dwelling. I know for a fact that my constituents in Noosa,whether a seller of a residential dwelling or a real estate agent involved in the transaction, will becheering loudly and adding another toast to this government when celebrating the sale of the property.

In addition to meeting the first tranche of our promises on the cost-of-living pressures, this bill alsoamends the Payroll Tax Act 1971 to increase the exemption threshold from $1 million to $1.1 millionfrom 1 July 2012 and there is a range of those to come as the years roll on. The key employing group inAustralia is small business. The key to sustainable employment growth in Queensland is smallbusiness. We will be doing all we can to give a hand up to small business. This measure is the first stepto fulfilling that promise.

The second step is also in this bill. It will also amend the Queensland Competition Authority Act1997 to facilitate the establishment of an Office of Best Practice Regulation within the QueenslandCompetition Authority. No doubt the member for Nanango and Assistant Minister for Finance,Administration and Regulatory Reform who we just heard from will welcome this weapon in her arsenalas she attacks the red-tape cholesterol that is clogging the arteries of business, in particular smallbusiness. I am sure that this office will drive genuine, long-lasting and effective reform through allsectors.

There are many more boxes to be ticked. Rest assured, we will tick them. We will tick each andevery one of them until our promises are delivered. I hope that those opposite, who created the chaosthat we on this side of the House are systematically repairing, will not have the sheer gall to oppose thisbill or any part of it. At the same time as we are trying to get the Queensland economy back on track, weare trying to restore Queenslanders’ faith in democratic government. I invite members opposite to joinus in this bipartisan quest by showing genuine remorse for what they collectively have done and supportevery measure, which is essential to rebuild trust and the economy.

Mr SHUTTLEWORTH (Ferny Grove—LNP) (3.19 pm): I rise to speak to the Treasury (Cost ofLiving) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 and the importance of the passage of this billthrough the House in a manner that will allow the Campbell Newman government to deliver on ourelection promises to the people of Queensland and the people of Ferny Grove. A linchpin of ourcommitment to the people of Queensland and my commitment to the people of Ferny Grove was toaddress their cost of living that, under Labor, escalated at levels well beyond traditional indices of CPI.Constantly we hear from those opposite that their appalling decisions to tax at every turn were a result ofthe GFC and, therefore, beyond their control. Their decisions to relentlessly impose costs upon allfamilies—be it through increased water and electricity charges, the removal of the fuel subsidy or theremoval of the stamp duty concession on the primary place of residence—were all blamed on the globalfinancial crisis. Certainly I am not about to refute the fact that the GFC occurred. However, I question






how it is that the very term ‘global’ seemed to escape those further along this side of the House.Continuously they lay blame at the feet of the GFC for the downgrade of our credit rating. They blamethe GFC and use it as justification for the increased taxes that have occurred, all during the mining andresources boom. How is it that other jurisdictions within Australia, and ironically within the same globe,that have also suffered the effects of the GFC have managed to retain their credit ratings and how is itthat they have per capita debt levels far lower than those of Queensland?

I would suggest significant contributors to the environment that necessitated the relentless pursuitof tax revenue were the inability of the former administration to rein in its waste and to effectivelymanage projects and, unfortunately, the difficulty it faced in paying back the interest after our AAA creditrating was lost. In fact, recently we heard that this is the state’s fastest growing expenditure item. Likemost Queenslanders, I was appalled to learn during the last sittings that the debacle of the Healthpayroll system is now set to cost Queensland taxpayers in excess of $1 billion and, more alarmingly, thedowngrade of our credit rating is costing us $700 million per year in additional interest payments. Whilethat may well fund the blow-out in the cost of the new Children’s Hospital or, indeed, pay for the repairsof a flawed payroll system, it could also build us new schools, maintain dilapidated public housing oremploy new police and teachers.

At times throughout its governance, the previous administration was a little delusional. Forexample, on 28 September 2005, when questioned by Phil Reeves about electricity competition, formerPremier Mr Beattie said—If people live in largely the south-east corner, the first choice they will have is that they can leave the current system with Energexand they can go out and become part of the brave new world of choice, which I think will charge up to $150 a year less.

...

They will be able to decide whether they go into the new system or not. If they do, they are likely to pay up to $150 a year less.

...

In other words, 1.2 million Queenslanders will be able to access $150 roughly a year.

I ask members present today: how many Queenslanders do you think are paying $150 less forelectricity? Mr Beattie went on to say—One fact is certain: we have the fairest and strongest system in Australia and that will not change. This is a great day forQueensland electricity consumers. They will pay less.

I have here a few figures that would seem to indicate that that is nowhere near the case. On 19June 2007, under the ministerial guidance of my predecessor, electricity prices increased by 11.37 percent; on 7 February 2008, a further seven per cent; on 9 June 2009, 11.82 per cent; on 28 May 2010,13.29 per cent; and on 31 May last year, 6.6 per cent. My maths would have that total 50.08 per cent.

Mr Newman: What was inflation? Mr SHUTTLEWORTH: I am glad the Premier interjected. Throughout that same period of time,

the CPI increase was a measly 23.9 per cent. By anyone’s reckoning, that increase is very hard tojustify. It brings into focus the stark contrast between the over-taxing policies of the previousadministration and the benefits apparent to all Queenslanders as a result of the cost-saving measuresforming part of this cost-of-living bill. By freezing tariff 11, families will save an average of $120 perannum.

Now I will review another area of cost saving: motor vehicle registration. In 2006 in the electorateof Ferny Grove there were 14,238 dwellings and almost 25,500 motor vehicles. It is clear that thedecision by the LNP Newman government to hold the registration on family motor vehicles will bewarmly welcomed by all. To reflect again on the contrast between the previous administration’scontinual hikes in registration and the LNP’s cost-saving measures, I reflect upon 1983, when I firstregistered my V6 LH Torana in New South Wales. Back then, registration charges in Queensland weresignificantly cheaper than in New South Wales. The table included in this month’s QPL Post shows thatif I had registered my car in May of this year I would have been $161.30 better off in New South Walesand $265.70 better off in Victoria. We have fallen a long way behind on the cost-of-living affordabilityscale. What has happened to our low-cost, low-taxing state of Queensland?

Public transport costs are another significant contributor to the cost of living. Whilst it is clearly nota component of this bill, it is worthy of mention to highlight yet another area where the proactive andpositive actions of the LNP government are delivering real benefit to the people of Ferny Grove. Wehave brought to an end the skyrocketing fare structure that we all endured under the taxing regime ofLabor through halving the planned increases and providing free transport to go card users on their 10thand subsequent journeys each week.

Another example of the benefits of the bill is evidenced in a review of stamp duty on the primaryplace of residence. A little over a year ago, on 13 March 2011, the then Treasurer, Mr Fraser, describedstamp duty as a relic and an inefficient tax. He went on to say that it would be at the top of his hit list atthe federal tax summit later that same year and he hoped that within five years the tax would beabolished. Just 94 days later, on 15 June 2011, Mr Fraser announced a decision to double the stampduty for homeowners who change their principal place of residence.



Within the electorate of Ferny Grove there are plenty of small business operators in the realestate sector. To say that of late times have been a little tough for them would be a massiveunderstatement. The removal of the concession on stamp duty was the straw that broke the camel’sback, and since the announcement of this initiative agents have enthusiastically and regularly checkedwith me to reconfirm our commitment to remove that impediment on their business. It seems that theyare nervous and thought that perhaps this commitment would be rescinded. I can understand theirwariness. After all, it was about this far into the term of the 53rd Parliament when things began to getquite flaky, when assets we were promised would remain ours were sold, when the fuel subsidy we werepromised would remain went and when the commitments and promises made prior to the 2009 electionwere struck off, never to be delivered.

Can I say to those small businesses throughout the Ferny Grove electorate that are eagerlyawaiting the delivery of our pre-election commitments to watch this space. The removal of thesustainability declaration and the reinstatement of the stamp duty concession on a primary place ofresidence are just days away. Clearly, those on the far end of this side of this House have no idea howto manage finances. This is evident through waste such as the Health payroll system, Traveston Dam,the Children’s Hospital and the desalination plant. They revert to the only idea they have, the onlysolution they ever turn to—that is, to increase taxes.

Incompetence and a lack of project management capability, which automatically translate intoadditional taxes under the Labor regime, have thankfully been brought to an abrupt end. This cost-of-living bill, introduced well within the first 100 days of an invigorated and highly competent Newman-ledLNP government—will deliver on one of the five totems—one of our core pledges to our communities,that we will lower the cost of living.

Families like Paul and Anne’s from Arana Hills who, with their three children in tow, met with thenow Premier and me at a listening post during the campaign highlighted their disappointment with theLabor government and how it seemed to have lost touch with the Aussie battler. Paul and Anne hadover many years made the decision that Anne would remain at home to raise their children and providethem with the stable and nurturing environment they desired. Over the past year, with the cost of livingspiralling out of control, they simply could not make ends meet. They reluctantly made the decision tohave Anne return to the workforce, undertaking shelf packing of an evening.

They were devastated that, in their minds, Labor’s own mismanagement and waste had nowplaced additional burdens on their family and forced them to compromise their child’s wellbeing. Theywere bitterly disappointed that their youngest child could not be afforded the same nurturingenvironment as had their two elder children. That is their perception of their situation. While those a littlefurther along this side of the House might quip at their situation, this is a direct and tangible example ofhow Labor’s mismanagement is costing Queensland families through higher prices and compromisedstandards of living.

Conversely, this bill will see a huge number of small businesses throughout the Ferny Groveelectorate and the state of Queensland experience significant savings through the increased payroll taxexemption thresholds. It will see many families save up to $7,000 through the reinstatement of theconcession for stamp duty on a primary place of residence. The tariff 11 freeze will deliver significantsavings to every Queensland family. Small businesses will benefit from the removal of a significant red-tape burden in the form of the removal of the sustainability declaration. I applaud the Treasurer and thePremier on the drafting of this bill and congratulate them on their insight and demonstrableunderstanding of the cost-of-living pressures being felt throughout this state. This bill will restorebusiness confidence and significantly reduce the costs of living for most Queensland families. It seemsto me that within this government’s first 100 days Queensland really is on the way to getting back ontrack. We are showing the people of Queensland that this can-do Newman government is one thatwould make any Nike marketer justifiably proud, as we just do it.

Hon. AC POWELL (Glass House—LNP) (Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection)(3.33 pm): It is my pleasure to make a very brief contribution to the debate on the Treasury (Cost ofLiving) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012. I have to say from the outset—

Mr Nicholls interjected.

Mr POWELL: That was long enough, was it, Treasurer?

Mr Nicholls: Hope it’s a good one.

Mr POWELL: It is going to be a good one because this is good news. It is wonderful to be part ofa new government with a new mandate and introducing a bill that is not about adding taxes for people,adding red tape for people but actually about making it easier for people to put money into their ownpocket, to put money into savings, to pay for their kids’ education and to put food on their tables. What ismore, we are removing red tape in the process. It is wonderful to be part of a cabinet and a team that is




bringing forward legislation that is about saving Queenslanders money, saving Queenslanders from theburden of unnecessary red tape and delivering real outcomes for businesses, individuals and familiesacross this state.

As speakers before me have noted, there are a number of aspects to this bill. It amends theDuties Act to reinstate the transfer duty home concession. It amends the Payroll Tax Act to increase theexemption threshold from $1 million to $1.1 million. It amends the Electricity Act to freeze the regulatedstandard residential retail electricity tariff—tariff 11 as we commonly know it. It also amends the BuildingAct and the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act regarding the sustainability declaration. I also notethat it facilitates the establishment of the Office of Best Practice Regulation. That in itself is an excitingmove that will see this government make sure that the regulation we introduce and approve is of thehighest quality possible.

A lot of speakers have spoken on each of the aspects of the bill, but I want to particularly focus onthe Payroll Tax Act amendments, and possibly from a slightly different perspective from other speakers.The businesses in my electorate that are suffering the most under the Payroll Tax Act provisions areactually agricultural businesses. In my neck of the woods we have a number of strawberry farmers.Because of the very nature of their businesses, they end up having to pay payroll tax because of thehigh casual employment rates they have at the time of picking and packing.

The Treasurer met some of the strawberry growers in my electorate when he visited Palmwoodsa year ago. This was the issue that they raised with the Treasurer. It is fantastic to be able to report backto them now that we are making amendments that will make it easier for them in the long term tooperate their businesses. The great incentive for them is that, due to the payroll tax threshold increasingto $1.1 million—and it goes from there—it frees them up to expand their businesses, to employ morecasual employees to pick and pack their strawberries each year and to ensure that there is moreQueensland product in our markets and we are not having to import strawberries from other states likeVictoria or further afield. That would mean that it is Queensland produce in our stores, that Queenslandbusinesses are getting their feet on the ground and that Queenslanders are being employed.

I think this is a wonderful initiative. I look forward to us taking this initiative further and removingfurther disincentives for businesses, particularly successful businesses and, particularly in my patch,agricultural businesses.

This is one of a raft of changes we are making to deliver on our policy of driving down the costs ofliving for individuals, for families and for businesses around this state. I will use this opportunity to brieflymention that one of those changes is the removal of the waste levy. Effective 1 July this year, that levywill be zeroed out for each waste stream other than regulated waste.

Mr Cripps: Perverse.

Mr POWELL: It is a perverse levy. It is a tax by another name. Again, it is a disincentive forbusinesses, a disincentive for the recycling industry and a disincentive for local governments. All of thelocal governments that we spoke to were talking about the higher administrative costs that were going tobe imposed as part of this levy. We spoke to those in the recycling industry who demonstrated to us thatit would be cheaper for them to import timber from South-East Asian forests than to recycle timber polesfrom Energex, Ergon or the railways. It is wonderful to be the minister who introduces that regulatorychange to take effect as of 1 July this year and to come back later in the year and remove the head ofpower within the act itself, the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act, to ensure that the levy is gone.

I also note that we are making changes with regard to such things as public transport. Again, thatis a big issue in my electorate. I have a number of residents in my electorate who, like me prior tocoming into this position, use the opportunity availed to them by the north coast rail line to commutefrom places such as Palmwoods, Landsborough and the Glasshouse Mountains to stations furthersouth such as Caboolture and then onto Brisbane. I am ecstatic that my colleague the Minister forTransport and Main Roads is addressing some of these cost-of-living elements through his halving ofthe fare increases over the coming years from 15 per cent to 7½ per cent. I am further pleased to notethat we are reintroducing the free travel after nine trips.

These are extraordinary outcomes for people, particularly for people from my home town ofPalmwoods, who are going to be saving significant amounts of money. It will be savings in the order of$600 to $900 a year to travel from a place like Palmwoods into the Brisbane CBD. That is real money.There are people I know in my community who will be able to use that money to make sure their kidscan participate in sport or to make sure their kids get a new pair of shoes to go to school. As I said whenI started, it is fantastic to be part of a government that has a mandate and a policy that is about drivingdown the cost of living for Queenslanders. It is exciting to be able to contribute to this debate on theTreasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill.

Hon. AP CRIPPS (Hinchinbrook—LNP) (Minister for Natural Resources and Mines) (3.39 pm): Irise to make a contribution to the debate and to support the Treasury (Cost of Living) and OtherLegislation Amendment Bill and to congratulate the Treasurer, the member for Clayfield, for movingquickly to introduce measures to deliver cost-of-living relief for many Queenslanders. The LNP




committed to doing everything that we could to address the pressure that the rising cost of living washaving on Queensland households, and this bill demonstrates that the LNP is determined to deliver onthat commitment.

Under the Beattie and Bligh Labor governments, the cost of living for households and the cost ofdoing business in this state spiralled out of control. Speaking to many people in my electorate ofHinchinbrook, I have heard the stories particularly from families and, most concerningly, frompensioners about the power bills, the rates notices, the healthcare costs, the fuel bills, the registrationcosts and the grocery bills that keep increasing and increasing.

As much as possible, governments at all levels, including local councils and federal governments,need to do what they can to bring these spiralling costs of living under control. I recognise as far as localcouncils are concerned that their finances are constrained, in many cases, for historical reasons,outside of the control of current council administrations. Yet, as a local MP, the increases in rate noticesare a real worry for people, particularly those on low and fixed incomes.

As far as the Gillard Labor government are concerned, they have an opportunity to sparehouseholds and businesses a huge cost-of-living and cost-of-doing-business increase, and I call onthem to do so today—abandon the carbon tax. The carbon tax will destroy jobs and it will be a hugeblow to the competitiveness of Australian industries including Queensland’s four economic pillars—agriculture, construction, tourism and resources. The impact of the carbon tax in Queensland will alsobe felt in manufacturing and value-adding enterprises and in the road transport industry due to theincreased costs of electricity and fuel, which are the major inputs into these enterprises.

Mr Johnson: We could save 8.354c a litre.

Mr CRIPPS: Who did that? I take the interjection from the member for Gregory, who said that wehave an extra 9c a litre fuel tax on the costs of operating road transport vehicles in this state thanks to abroken promise from those who now sit opposite.

There is less than two weeks until the introduction of the carbon tax. The Bligh Labor governmentwas and the Labor opposition now is in cahoots with the Gillard Labor government on the carbon tax.Labor in Queensland is in bed with Labor in Canberra on the carbon tax. It hangs around their neck likean anchor.

Here in Queensland the Newman LNP government has acted to honour our commitments on thecost of living. In my electorate of Hinchinbrook this will be particularly welcome given the cost-of-livingpressures experienced by a lot of my constituents following Cyclone Yasi and the enormous task peopleare facing rebuilding their lives and the infrastructure that supports them on a daily basis.

People in my electorate have been suffering. They have suffered firstly through a natural disasterand now they are suffering from the fallout of that natural disaster. Tourism has been drastically affectednot only because motels, roads and resorts have been physically destroyed and need to be rebuilt butalso because visitors have simply stopped holidaying in the region, affecting the incomes of touristoperators.

Individuals and businesses of all types have been significantly affected by increases in insurancepremiums—another cost-of-living issue—most acutely felt in areas impacted by the recent naturaldisaster. This bill offers some relief on the cost-of-living and cost-of-doing-business issues thatQueenslanders desperately need.

The bill proposes to freeze the domestic electricity tariff, tariff 11, for a period of one year from 1July 2012. It will reinstate the principal place of residence stamp duty concession for homebuyers sothat Queenslanders are not slugged up to an extra $7,000 when purchasing their family home. It willincrease the payroll tax exemption threshold from $1 million to $1.1 million from 1 July this year as partof our commitment to increasing the threshold by $100,000 a year for the next six years. It will abolishthe requirement for a sustainability declaration when selling a residential dwelling—one of the mostridiculous and utterly useless pieces of green tape introduced by the Bligh Labor government.

I was appalled when the Bligh Labor government removed the principal place of residence stampduty concession from 1 August last year. In doing so, they increased the cost to families looking to buy ahome. Homebuyers have since been slugged with up to an extra $7,000 in stamp duty, whichundermined an already fragile housing market. This bill amends the Duties Act to reinstate theconcession for homebuyers. From 1 July this year families purchasing a home will save money underthe new LNP government in Queensland. Families will have more of an incentive to enter the propertymarket for the first time. The Queensland property market and construction industry will be given amuch needed shot in the arm. Prior to the election the LNP promised we would do this and we aresticking to our word because we are committed to cutting the cost of living in this state.


There is an amendment in this bill to the Payroll Tax Act which proposes to increase theexemption threshold from $1 million to $1.1 million. This initiative will be another shot in the arm that theeconomy desperately needs, particularly the small business sector in Queensland. Small businesseshave been suffering in current economic conditions. In honouring this election commitment, the LNP isoffering small businesses a helping hand that they so desperately need. This will be particularlybeneficial for small businesses in my electorate of Hinchinbrook, as they struggle to rebuild after thecyclone last year.

Mr Johnson: Where is Hinchinbrook?

Mr CRIPPS: It is in North Queensland. I take the interjection from the member for Gregory. Theelectorate of Hinchinbrook stretches from the Bohle River in the south on the northern side of the greatcity of Townsville to north along the Wet Tropics coast to the South Johnstone River at Innisfail. It iscertainly 300 kilometres of the most beautiful coastline and country that you will come across in thegreat state of Queensland.

But, as I was saying before I was waylaid by the member for Gregory, the people of my electorateare struggling to rebuild after the cyclone, and small businesses in particular will benefit from theincrease in the payroll tax exemption, because the cost of re-employing staff as they get back on theirfeet and recommence trading as normal has been significant. After the devastation of Cyclone Yasi,businesses in the Hinchinbrook area need all the help they can get. I am delighted quite frankly to bepart of an LNP government committed to lowering the costs of doing business in this state—a longoverdue measure to try to relieve the payroll tax burden on small businesses in Queensland, particularlywhen they are doing it tough.

Across Queensland, it is expected that in the 2012-13 financial year approximately 1,200employers who would normally be liable for payroll tax will now be exempt as of 1 July, saving smallbusinesses about $40 million.

A government member: Good for Queensland.

Mr CRIPPS: Absolutely good for Queensland. After many years of crying out for recognition andsuffering under the Beattie and Bligh Labor governments, small businesses have been provided withsome relief by the Newman LNP government.

This bill also amends the Electricity Act to freeze the regulated standard retail electricity tariff, ortariff 11, at 2011-12 prices for the next financial year. Electricity consumers will benefit through thesecost-of-living savings on their quarterly electricity bill. The amendments in this bill will also provide forelectricity retailers to be required to display the cost of the Gillard Labor government’s carbon tax andgreen energy schemes on household electricity bills. This is a positive step forward for pricetransparency. From 1 July, Queensland electricity consumers will know exactly what they are paying for.From 1 July, Queenslanders will know exactly what the Gillard Labor government’s carbon tax is costingthem. They will be able to see in black and white on their bills the extent of Labor’s folly.

The former state Labor government made a promise to the people of Queensland that electricityprices would not increase after the electricity industry was deregulated. But what happened? We hadincrease after increase after increase, pushing an essential service like electricity to the point of beingunaffordable for some of the most vulnerable people in our community like families and pensioners.

The delivery of an affordable, secure supply of electricity is one of the most importantresponsibilities of a state government. The Bligh Labor government failed miserably in delivering this.The freezing of tariff 11 electricity prices for a year will be welcomed with open arms by long-sufferingQueenslanders. In North Queensland in particular, in the hot tropical summers air conditioning becomesan essential service for many people, particularly the aged and the unwell who are still living in their ownhomes. North Queensland already pays more for its electricity in the form of additional transmissioncharges, so the spiralling costs of electricity have been felt particularly hard in the north. This isunacceptable and this small concession is important for North Queensland.

The bill removes the requirement for sustainability declarations to be completed byQueenslanders wishing to sell a residential property. The LNP committed to reducing red tape duringthe election campaign. The LNP committed to reducing green tape. We are delivering on thatcommitment, and we are starting here with the silliest, the most ridiculous and the most useless piece ofgreen tape conceived by the former Bligh Labor government—the sustainability declaration.

The bill amends the Building Act and the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act so there will beno need for sellers and real estate agents to provide sustainability declarations to prospective residentialproperty buyers. This measure will mean home sellers can forget about this unnecessary paperwork.They can put this excessive burden behind them. Repealing the sustainability declaration will not meanbuyers are unable to take sustainability features into account when they are buying homes and it will notprevent sellers from disclosing these features if they chose to do so. What the removal of thesustainability declaration will do is abolish this totally unnecessary item of paperwork and do away witha totally useless step in the home-buying and home-selling process. What is even better is that


Queenslanders will no longer be threatened with a $200 fine for failing to complete this pointless pieceof paperwork. This is another step towards streamlining the process of buying and selling property andanother saving for the people of Queensland through the provisions of this bill.

The passing of the Treasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill will see thepeople of Queensland realise several cost-of-living benefits. The LNP knows that many Queenslandersare struggling and trying hard to make ends meet. We intend to keep working hard to relieve thefinancial pressure burdening Queenslanders. I congratulate the Treasurer on these worthwhileinitiatives and thank him on behalf of my electorate for delivering on his promises.

Mr KNUTH (Dalrymple—KAP) (3.52 pm): In speaking to the Treasury (Cost of Living) and OtherLegislation Amendment Bill 2012, I note that under ‘Policy Objectives’ the explanatory notes state—

The Treasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 ... amends legislation to implement a number of electioncommitments. Specifically, the Bill amends the:

• Duties Act 2001 to reinstate the transfer duty home concession, the previous transfer duty rate structure and previousphasing-out point of $550,000 for the reducing rebate for the transfer duty first home concession for transactions enteredinto on or after 1 July 2012 ...

This is a good measure. I believe it was a bad move by the previous government to remove thetransfer duty concession. I believe another bad move by the then government was the sale of ourprofitable assets, which goes against their fundamental principles. We are talking about homebuyers—working-class people and average battlers—and we need to back them and support them in every waywe possibly can to ensure they can purchase their first home. As the saying goes, your home is yourcastle, and I believe the reinstatement of this transfer duty concession is a good measure.

The other day I talked to a family at a shopping centre in Charters Towers who recently bought ahome. They said that, after paying stamp duty and all those who had their hand out for their cut, itamounted to $13,000. I think that is criminal when we are talking about people trying to buy a home.They pay a massive cost and then they are hit with $13,000 to provide to Treasury coffers. So I feel thisis a good move by the government.

I believe another good move is the amendment to the Payroll Tax Act 1971 to increase theexemption threshold from $1 million to $1.1 million from 1 July 2012. Well before this announcementwas made it was the KAP’s policy to increase it to $1.5 million, because small business is the backboneof this country. If every small business could employ one employee, we would be able to solve ourunemployment problems right across this country. I feel this is a good start and a good step in the rightdirection.

This bill also amends the Electricity Act 1994 to freeze the regulated standard residential retailelectricity tariff—tariff 11—at 2011-12 prices, plus the cost of the Commonwealth government’s carbontax, for one year from 1 July 2012 and to display carbon price impacts on electricity bills. This is good,too, because this is about looking after the battlers of this state and the battlers of each individualmember’s electorate. Madam Deputy Speaker, you would know as you knock on people’s doors or go tosupermarkets in your electorate—all the different places where you meet your constituents—that thereare a lot of people who are doing it tough. Any support that can reduce the cost of electricity is a step inthe right direction.

I have heard many LNP members pointing the finger at the previous state government over theincrease in electricity prices and the cost of living, but it was the LNP that supported the government inthe privatisation of the retail arm of our energy sector through the Energy Assets (Restructuring andDisposal) Bill 2006, which brought in full retail competition. This legislation privatised the retail arm ofour energy sector but also enabled the Competition and Consumer Commission to set the pricebenchmark. So the LNP can get up here and point the finger—

Mr Johnson: You were a member, too, Shane. Did you stand up in the party room?

Mr KNUTH: That is right and they supported it. They are pointing the finger—and they have agood reason to point the finger—but they voted to support this price rise. Not only that, the LNP ishaving a go at the Gillard government about the carbon tax. I oppose the carbon tax through andthrough, but the LNP supported the Labor government in passing the cost of the carbon tax to theconsumer rather than to the big energy companies. This was also supported by the LNP. We can get upthere and point the finger and say, ‘You did this and that,’ but they voted for it.

Privatisation is not a good thing for this state and country. I know that the LNP has already agreedto sell the remaining shares of QR National. As a result of the privatisation of QR National, we have norail freight service from Charters Towers to Mount Isa. It is all bulk freight—support for the miningcompanies. This is what it is all about: supporting the big companies. The LNP can get up there andpoint the finger—and rightly so, as they have a good point—but they were also responsible for theprivatisation of the retail arm of the energy sector. Likewise, they supported passing the cost of JuliaGillard’s carbon tax to the consumer and not to the big energy companies.




This bill also amends the Building Act 1975 and the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000to remove the requirements to prepare and provide sustainability declarations prior to the sale of aresidential dwelling. This is a good move in removing this red tape, especially when people are sellingtheir homes. This was also a great burden on real estate agents. This is red tape and there is no doubtthat I fully support this move. This is a good bill and I commend it to the House.

Mr BOOTHMAN (Albert—LNP) (3.59 pm): The crippling costs of living are stifling householdsability to stay afloat. The Treasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill is one that Iurge this House to accept immediately, and I say this with the utmost conviction, because it is the wishof the electors of Albert—the individuals who have given me the opportunity to represent them in thisparliament. Furthermore, failure to act on such an important bill will only create additional stress onQueenslanders.

I want to highlight some of the major issues causing grief to the Albert electorate. In my maidenspeech I spoke of the diversity within Albert. This is an electorate which is home to a large mix ofconstruction, industrial, mining, semirural and entertainment industries. Albert is the constructioncorridor of South-East Queensland which relies heavily on the income of the construction andmanufacturing industries. In recent years the construction industry has faced considerable hardship.Incomes have almost ground to a halt. Tradies in the Albert electorate are now forced to travel far andwide to find employment. Every morning we are witness to tradies travelling further afield to findemployment, placing even greater demands on their limited incomes.

On 1 August 2011 the previous government introduced the Building Boost strategy. This was acomplete and utter failure. I want to paraphrase the Queensland Treasurer, the Hon. Tim Nicholls, whosaid that ‘the former government has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars writing to residents in NewSouth Wales and Victoria and over $1.4 million in advertising a program that so far has failed to meet a50 per cent uptake rate’. Once again, the Queensland taxpayer is forced to pick up the tab for theincompetence of those former government members who now warm the seats on the small oppositionbenches. To pay for its ineptitude, the previous government once again hit homeowners by removingstamp duty concessions on the family home. Again, the previous government showed its utter contemptfor the average family and their ability to gain the great Australian dream—homeownership. In manycircumstances the family home is the only way many families can build their wealth for future retirementneeds.

During the election campaign I had the honour to speak to thousands of Albert residents whoprovided me with their views on how the cost of living is hurting them. I want to take this opportunity toloosely paraphrase one Albert resident—a gentleman who has been in the concreting industry all of hisadult life. He said to me, ‘I have always voted Labor. I felt the Labor Party was for the worker, but notanymore. They have lost their way. They have abandoned us. The building industry is dead. Every dayis a struggle to find employment. We are slugged with increases in our power bills, our water costs andother charges.’ This came from an individual who has honestly felt betrayed by a conviction he held hislife to. Pensioners—individuals who have worked hard all of their lives—are suffering from thesespiralling cost-of-living increases. During the campaign I had the privilege to speak to multiple elderlypensioners who unreservedly informed me that life has never been so tough. To prove this, the QCOSSwebsite states—

Our findings continue to show that many low income households are still unable to afford even the basic standards of living.

Low-income households continue to spend a greater share of income on the essentials like food,rent, electricity and transport whilst at the same time the cost of these essential items is rising muchfaster than the consumer price index. These unsustainable cost-of-living increases are a direct result ofthe previous government’s inability to manage the fiscal budget and its inability to properly plan for thefuture.

Let us look closely at Traveston Dam. In 2007 the previous government purchased 478 propertiesat a cost of $445 million. The current land value is less than $220 million. The rusting and crackingTugun desalination plant—a white elephant—has cost the Queensland taxpayer $1.2 billion. This feelslike a game show with no winners. But there is still more! The Wyaralong Dam cost $350 million and allit is is a pond because the previous Labor government shelved plans to connect it to the water grid. TheHealth payroll saga has cost Queenslanders $412 million. Most importantly, former Premier PeterBeattie promised in this parliament that power prices would not rise after he deregulated the market andformer Premier Anna Bligh promised that she was not going to sell any assets.

To the people of Albert and Queensland, this is why the cost of living is increasing rapidly. Yourmoney has been flushed away as a result of political disaster after political disaster. Furthermore, on alocal level, the previous government wasted almost $1 million on repairs to the John Muntz Causeway.These repairs failed their first test—the 2012 floods. This causeway should have been replaced 10years ago with a more suitable structure. Again, it is a failure to plan ahead. The billions wasted by theprevious government could have been used for something useful.




This is a good example. I have a school in my electorate that has a toilet block. This school doesnot actually have any toilets in that toilet block. However, I can tell honourable members that, to this day,they can go to that toilet block and plug in their laptop. They will get free internet because there are dataconnections in the toilet block but no toilets in the toilet block. There is plumbing in there. This issue hascaused enormous anguish with the local principal in that school. They want facilities for their schools.The schools in my electorate are desperate for money. The amount of money that the previousgovernment actually wasted has placed a heavy burden on our students.

The steep increases in the cost of living and the implementation of the carbon tax are creating anenormous uncertainty in our domestic economy. This continued pain is a blight on all Queenslanders. Itdestroys disposable incomes, which in turn limits the growth of our domestic economy. I wholeheartedlysupport the Treasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill. It is about making a realdifference for the Albert residents and the people of Queensland as a whole. I say freeze tariff 11 prices,inform Queenslanders on their power bills about the real cost of the carbon tax, create jobs byincreasing the payroll threshold, cut red tape and get Queenslanders back into work. The cost-of-livingincreases affect not only the hip pocket of Queenslanders but also our entire domestic economy. Weneed this bill to be passed to ensure the future growth of our economy and to ease the costs forresidents.

Mr COX (Thuringowa—LNP) (4.11 pm): I rise today to speak in support of the Treasury (Cost ofLiving) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill. It is not the seven people from the Labor Party sittingopposite whom I blame directly today for our rising cost of living; it is the Labor Party itself with its left-wing ideologies and its method of implementation—its attitude in general of spending the people’s taxesin a way that is not accountable. This only illustrates the folly of social engineering which results in thedestruction rather than the creation of wealth. It is clear that Labor could not get the basics right and, asa result, has put this state into a complete nosedive. The people of Queensland sent out a loud andclear message to Labor at the state election that they are looking to the LNP government to pull up theplane and prevent the inevitable crash we were heading for.

Many voters in my electorate of Thuringowa who normally vote Labor realised that the LaborParty failed to look after its own people and forgot what it once stood for. They realised that the LaborParty will continue to ignore its traditional base until it changes that ideology. Exit polls painted a clearpicture that cost-of-living pressures played a crucial role in the Queensland election. As we are allaware, Labor cannot get the basics right. As a result, the cost-of-living expenses have continued tospiral out of control.

We all feel the pinch every day, whether it is when paying the grocery bill at the checkout orpaying those endless bills that appear in the letterbox. Pensioners and the unemployed are amongstthose feeling the effects of spiralling cost-of-living expenses. We constantly hear from front-line charityorganisations such as the Salvation Army and Lifeline that many people are struggling to clothe andfeed their families. Many are also struggling to make ends meet and to pay their bills on time. Beforethose opposite start complaining that we are the problem now and we plan to cut jobs, they shouldunderstand that if we in government do not turn around immediately and stop this waste and rein in thedebt, the situation faced by these types of charities will only get worse. Why is that? Because of theBligh government’s cost-of-living increases!

Late last year the Queensland Council of Social Service released its annual poverty statement,which showed that household essentials such as power, petrol, water, car registration and bus fares hadrisen faster than increases in the CPI over the past five years. The report showed that 480,000Queenslanders are living near or on the poverty line. I am sure that, since the report was released inOctober late last year, that number has increased even further. The report also revealed a massive jumpin the need for community support, with an increase of seven per cent in just one year.

Just like every other Queenslander, I ask myself: where did things go so terribly wrong forQueensland? Queensland used to enjoy a AAA rating. Thanks to Labor, our state lost that rating and itcould take up to a decade to get that AAA rating back if we make some hard decisions now. Queenslandis one of the most expensive states in which to own and operate a car—also thanks to Labor. Driver’slicence fees have significantly jumped over the past few years thanks to Labor. Power bills havecontinued to rise. Once again, we can thank Labor. With the imminent introduction of the carbon tax,which those seven across the floor seem to support, we are looking at another hike in electricity bills,with a new report revealing bills may go up by as much as 18 per cent. The people of Thuringowa, bothindividuals and business owners, tell me that they do not want this tax, which has no benefit to them butwill result in them incurring yet another cost.

Queensland used to be a prosperous state and it used to have one of the highest growth rates.Why has that changed? Because of inefficiencies, wastage and spending beyond our means. The fullextent of Labor’s economic mismanagement finally emerged last week with the release of theindependent Commission of Audit. The report revealed the full details of the Bligh government’s lack offiscal discipline and predicts that the state debt will hit $100 billion in 2018-19 unless urgent action is




taken by the Newman government. This is money that could have been better spent on vitalinfrastructure such as roads, hospitals and schools and on delivering front-line services. Instead, themoney will be spent on paying off Labor’s huge debt.

The report clearly showed that Labor relied on unrealistic budget assumptions to mask the extentof underlying structural problems. The opening paragraph of the report says it all: that the Laborgovernment embarked on an unsustainable level of spending which has jeopardised Queensland’sfinancial position. In a nutshell, the previous government lived beyond its means. There were budgetoverruns in Health, Education and Communities. We owe it to the people of Queensland and theresidents of Thuringowa to fix this mess.

The Newman government, on the other hand, will make the tough decisions to reduce state debtand regain that AAA rating. One step in helping to regain the state’s AAA credit rating and helping toease the burden of the rising cost of living is the introduction of this Treasury (Cost of Living) and OtherLegislation Amendment Bill 2012. This bill will amend legislation to provide for the government’s electioncommitments, which include increasing the payroll tax exemption threshold, freezing tariff 11 electricityprices for one year and reinstating the principal place of residence concessional rate of transfer duty forthe purchase of a person’s home. These amendments to legislation will go towards delivering on ourpromises to lower the cost of living.

The bill also addresses the stress that has been put on small and medium-sized businessesduring the years of mismanagement by the Labor government. During my time of campaigning in myelectorate of Thuringowa the one issue that was raised by small business owners time and time againwas the adverse effects of the payroll tax. The bill aims to provide relief for small and medium-sizedbusinesses by amending the Payroll Tax Act 1971 to increase the payroll tax exemption threshold from$1 million to $1.1 million so that employers with payrolls of up to $1.1 million will effectively be exemptfrom the payroll tax. This will also benefit businesses with payrolls between $1.1 million and $5.5 million,which will be entitled to a deduction or an increase in their existing deduction.

Speaking for my electorate of Thuringowa, the main issue that residents raised with me not onlyduring the campaign but also since becoming the member for Thuringowa is still the rising cost of livingand expenses. During the 20 years of mismanagement of the Labor government in Queensland the costof electricity, water, petrol, car registration, licences and public transport has increased significantly. TheNewman government is committed to doing all it can to reduce the pressure of living expenses onindividuals and families. We will reduce water bills, reform electricity prices and freeze the cost of carregistration in our first term of government, saving the average family $250 to $330 a year. While somemay think this is a small amount, it can go towards new school shoes, a week’s food bill, school fees ormaybe just tickets to see the Cowboys.

We now have to ensure that we maintain front-line services for the people of Thuringowa until welevel out that spiral downwards and ensure those most vulnerable in our community are looked after. Iunderstand some people are feeling anxious about the future—even their jobs—but the state of thestate’s coffers is that if we do not rein in the spending currently going to the areas that have been fundedon borrowed money we will not be looking at job cuts but cuts in basic services to our community. Weneed to support those looking at having to change and help their transition with training or support. Ibelieve that this bill, the Treasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill, will go a longway towards honouring that commitment and reducing the cost of living.

Hon. JP BLEIJIE (Kawana—LNP) (Attorney-General and Minister for Justice) (4.20 pm): It is mypleasure to speak this afternoon to the Treasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill2012. The reason that it gives me an immense amount of pleasure to speak to this bill is that it isproviding real cost relief for Queensland families, something which the average Queenslander has nothad for many, many years. It is great that as a new government we can come into this place and talkabout taxation relief because I would hazard a guess that the last time a bill was debated on taxationrelief was probably between 1996 to 1998 when the last conservative government was in power inQueensland. All we have debated in the last 14 years in particular have been higher taxes, highercharges, higher rates and higher registrations. Those opposite stopped using the word ‘tax’ andreplaced it with ‘levy’ so we then debated bills in this place about levies. So it is great that we canactually talk about taxation relief. I would say that the members of the Australian Labor Party would notknow what it meant because they have never debated an actual bill that gave relief to Queenslanders inthe 14 years they have served in this place.

What an opportune time to afford the average Queenslander this cost-of-living relief that isburdening them. There has been one thing on the shoulders and the minds of Queenslanders for thelast 14 or so years and that has been the Labor Party. The Labor Party has got in the way of businessand the individual in Queensland. It has not let businesses thrive, nor sought investment opportunities. Ithas not created an environment to attract businesses to Queensland. Queensland used to be a place ofopportunity, a place where business would want to invest. We used to stand up and say people fromdown south were moving here in their droves to be a part of Queensland and our economy. Those dayshave gone. But it is not over. Although the Treasurer and the government members will talk about the




Commission of Audit in great length, particularly this week, it is important for business to understand thatall is not lost, that they now have a government that is on their side. They have a government that is onthe side of the working class people in Queensland. They have a government that will drive down cost-of-living pressures. At the 2012 election Queenslanders wanted that change and voted for it. It is greatto see that a government with a new Premier in only its first 100 days can be in this place debating billsin relation to taxation relief in Queensland, a sight the Labor Party would not know if it fell in front of themor hit them in the head. All those opposite could do was—

Mr Johnson: Create the taxes!

Mr BLEIJIE: I will take the interjection from the member for Gregory. The reason they had tocreate taxes is that they created unsustainable debt. The only way they could pay the debt was toincrease taxes. They could not manage the economy. They could not create an opportunity forinvestment in Queensland where businesses and foreign investors would want to come. Queenslandused to be the land of opportunity. This bill, aptly named the Treasury (Cost of Living) and OtherLegislation Amendment Bill, amends the Duties Act. I was once a lawyer.

Mr Johnson: You are still a lawyer!

Mr BLEIJIE: I am the first law officer. I guess I am still in the field.

Government members interjected.

Mr BLEIJIE: I have heard before all the jokes about lawyers. I am not practising any more, butthere was a time when I did. I note that there are many lawyers in the chamber now with the new field ofMPs. There was a time when I practised in this area. Prior to the global financial crisis I saw propertytransactions involving people who could ill-afford a loan but wanted to live the Australian dream ofowning their own home and they wanted to own a home in Queensland. One of the only things that gavethem the capacity to own their own home and live the Australian dream, which we on this side of theHouse want people to aspire to—we want people to be successful in their ventures and their personallives—was the stamp duty concession. Just as things were looking bright in terms of the economy,investment and resources the Labor Party smacked them down right where it hurt and got rid of theconcessional rate of stamp duty. That was the only thing that was getting a lot of people across the linein terms of living their dream of owning their own home in Queensland. I remember the Treasurer at thetime, Andrew Fraser, the former member for Mount Coot-tha—incidentally, don’t we have a goodmember for Mount Coot-tha now!—said that it brings us in line with other states. Why would the formergovernment aspire to be one of the highest taxing states in Australia? Wouldn’t we want Queensland tobe one of the lowest taxing states where people would want to move to and invest in? That is the statewe should aspire to be. But no, they wanted to be like every other state. They were looking at the NewSouth Wales economy under the Labor Party at the time. I can see them sitting in the back room therelooking at the basket-case that was the New South Wales economy and saying, ‘Let us aspire to be justlike New South Wales’. That is where they were heading. That is where Queensland would have headedhad we not had a change of government in the March 2012 election. We would have headed to thebasket-case economy as was the case when the New South Wales Labor Party had that reign for solong.

It is great that Queenslanders who are investing in Queensland and moving into a principal placeof residence are afforded the opportunity to claim a concessional rate of stamp duty on their property.We are not talking about the first home owner grant here, we are talking about the transfer duty. Thereare different ranges of the transfer duty. If it is an investment property you do not get the concession. If itis a principal place of residence, under the old system you received a concession as long as you movedinto it within 12 months. The Labor Party got rid of it so every Queenslander would be paying the sametax as an investor coming into Queensland would pay. It gave no incentive for people who wanted toupgrade because they were taxed to do that. If a person wanted to seek a job somewhere else and theywanted to buy another property in Queensland the former Labor government taxed them for that. Thisbill will reintroduce that concessional rate of stamp duty.

We think, as does industry, that it will provide an invigoration in terms of investment opportunitiesin Queensland. It should never been taken off, but as the member for Gregory said before, all the LaborParty knew was the word ‘tax’. They did know a second word, member for Gregory, and that was‘increase’. For the last 14 years that is all we ever heard from the Labor Party. If they could not tax it theycalled it a levy. If they could not call it a levy they increased the tax on something else. That is all theyever did.

I turn to payroll tax. For years, business has been crying out about payroll tax. The state needstaxes. We are not denying that fact. If we are to provide police, teachers, nurses, judges, lawyers and soon, we need taxes. We are not denying that. We have to recognise the fact that, if you keep onincreasing taxes, you can get to a point where the economy will come crashing down because peoplecan no longer afford to pay them. It does not matter how much the state taxes a person, if they cannotafford it the state will not get the tax. We say to Queensland business, particularly small to medium-sized enterprises, that the government will offer incentives in terms of payroll tax relief, that is, we willincrease the threshold from $1 million to $1.1 million in the first year, going up to $1.6 million after the


sixth year. Of course, that relief falls within our theme of reducing unemployment by four per cent in sixyears. That is a realistic target. We did not rush into the election and say, ‘Folks, vote for us and in threeyears the unemployment rate will be down.’ It is a very conservative and realistic estimate that we will beable to achieve in six years. It is not a short-term bandaid solution.

The payroll tax reforms will give 5,000 businesses immediate relief. Members opposite havefailed and always will fail to understand that the more business has in its pocket, the more people it canemploy. Consequently, the unemployment rate will reduce. Not only will the unemployment rate reducebut also people will be working and will be able to afford to feed their families. That is what it all means.Until members opposite get into the sphere of working out that small business runs the Queenslandeconomy and keeps people employed, they will never hit the mark with the answers.

Mr Newman interjected.

Mr BLEIJIE: I take the Premier’s interjection. They do not understand; they never have and theynever will. Over many years in Queensland we have seen Socialist and Bolshevik governments andthose opposite are no different. They just spend, spend, spend and tax, tax, tax. Of course, in 2005-06we had the situation in Queensland where expenditure was here and revenue was higher than theexpenditure. But come 2011, under the Treasurership of Andrew Fraser and prior to that Anna Bligh,state expenditure was way up here and revenue was here. This morning, the Premier said that, fromreading the Commission of Audit document, it does not take a rocket scientist to understand that wehave a problem. We have a problem when expenditure is here and revenue is here. Who fills the void?How is the void filled? According to the Australian Labor Party, it is filled by the taxpayer, but thetaxpayer cannot afford to fill that void anymore.

We want business to invest in Queensland so that small business can once again run and thrivewithin the huge cog of wheels that is the state economy. Small business is the engine of the economy. Itis the oil that keeps the cogs working. We want to free up business. We want to invest in the oil, so thatthe cogs can turn once again. When business is paying less tax, it is employing more people. The LaborParty will then say, ‘But your revenue will be lost.’ It does not understand that that is a short-term view ofthe world. It does not understand that, by having more people employed, we are working towardsgetting our AAA credit rating back. If we have low unemployment in Queensland, people will want tocome here. We want government ministers to have knocking on their doors people from right aroundAustralia saying, ‘We’re from Western Australia and we’re from South Australia, and we are here toinvest in Queensland.’ We are telling businesses right across Australia that we would enjoy theopportunity to talk to them. We want to talk to businesses from other states and territories so that theyinvest in Queensland and increase employment rates for Queenslanders.

This bill contains relief for business under the Duties Act, it contains payroll tax relief and itcontains relief from increasing electricity charges. From my office I listened to the speech of the memberfor Woodridge. She said, ‘How dare Liberal National Party members of the former parliament tell peoplethat they should bring their electricity bills to the ballot box.’ Many of us in the former parliament alsosaid, ‘Bring your water bills to the ballot box.’ We asked Queenslanders to bring their electricity andwater bills to the ballot box to remind them, day in and day out, of the grief and burden that theQueensland Labor Party caused to the Queenslanders who could least afford to pay for increasing cost-of-living pressures. I remember when Peter Beattie stood in this place and said, ‘We’re doing all thisstuff in the electricity industry, but don’t fear, there’s no threat and no-one will be worse off.’ However,across Queensland we have seen a $700 increase in people’s electricity accounts. We are pleased thatthis bill will freeze the regulated standard retail electricity tariff 11 at 2011-12 prices.

I turn to the evil great big new tax, the carbon tax. We opposed it when it was announced. Thefederal coalition has opposed it.

Mr Newman: We oppose it now.

Mr BLEIJIE: I take that interjection. What we see at a federal level is exactly what we have seenat a state level for the past 10 or so years. The only way for federal Labor to get out of the problemscreated by its financial mismanagement and its incompetence is to tax, tax, tax. We should be living in aworld where we look at taxation relief. The Labor Party talks about ‘tax’ and ‘increase’. Those are thetwo words in its vocabulary. We talk about ‘taxation’ and ‘relief’. We understand that taxation isimportant, but we also understand that in particular situations we have to offer relief to get the cogs inthe economy moving. Therefore, it is great that Queenslanders will see the dreaded evil great big newtax, the carbon tax, mentioned on their electricity bills.

I live in a world of optimism. I hope that those seven little mice opposite will talk to their federalcolleagues and keep campaigning against the carbon tax.

Mr Johnson: And tell them what it’s going to do to Queensland.

Mr BLEIJIE: They should tell them what is going to do.

A government member: Stand up for Queensland.


Mr BLEIJIE: They should stand up for Queensland. I call on the member for Rockhampton—theghost of Schwarto’s past—to stand up and be louder than the former member for Rockhampton. I call onhim to have a say. If there is one thing that his constituents will admire about him it will be if he takes astand on the carbon tax where the former member for Rockhampton did not. I call on the member forSouth Brisbane and the member for Bundamba. Recently I visited the electorate of Bundamba, wherethere is lots of industry. During the campaign I visited one particular industrial estate, the name of whichI cannot recall, that was having problems with people hooning from about midnight on a Friday andSaturday nights. Those industries in the electorate of the member for Bundamba will be hit by thecarbon tax. It will not just hit the businesses; it will hit the employees. I call on the member forBundamba to stand up against this great big new tax.

How time flies when you are having fun. I have only three minutes to go and I have not evencovered the detail of the sustainability declarations yet.

Ms Trad: It’s the sound of your own voice.

Mr BLEIJIE: I would like to take that interjection. What was it?

A government member: She said you have a great voice!

Mr BLEIJIE: I think the interjection was something along the lines of, ‘He likes to hear the soundof his own voice.’ I can tell the member for South Brisbane that the constituents of South Brisbane likewhat we say in the bill. The constituents of South Brisbane like what every member of the LiberalNational Party says about the cost of living. If there is one thing that they will not get out of thoseopposite, it is taxation relief. If there is one thing that they will not get out of those opposite it is talk abouthow Labor will ease their cost-of-living pressures. We on this side of the parliament are proud to standup and talk about this issue for 20 minutes. We are proud to talk about taxation relief, which issomething that Queenslanders have not heard from the member for South Brisbane’s party for a longtime. Never can the member for South Brisbane stand in this place and say, ‘I was only elected in 2012but under Anna Bligh it was terrible, it was terrible.’ Tomorrow I will table the photo that I mentioned thismorning, showing Anna Bligh campaigning for the member for South Brisbane during the state election.I need not remind the member for South Brisbane of her policy position in the Labor Party. She was asenior member of the Labor Party. She had direct responsibility for the taxation—

Honourable members interjected.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Ruthenberg): Order!

Mr BLEIJIE: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I will turn to the sustainability declarations, which Imentioned before I went off track. I have said in this place before—and I hate to say, ‘We told you so,’but we told you so—we told the Labor Party what would happen and it has happened. We told them thatindustry would hate it and real estate agents would hate it. We told them it would be a lemon becausepeople have to provide it but not fill it out if they do not know the answers. I sold my investment propertyto my brother. I rang him up and said, ‘I have to provide this ridiculous form to you. I am not filling it outbecause I don’t know. I assume that the half flush on the left-hand side of the dual-flush toilet is moresustainable than the right-hand side full flush. I assume the down lights I have in the house are a littleless sustainable than fluoros, but if you want fluoros go ahead and put them in.’

We trust Queenslanders to be able to make those decisions for themselves. They do not needgovernment intervention. They do not need the government to tell them that fans in a house areprobably more sustainable than split-cycle air conditioners. We will stick up for Queenslanders. I call onthose in the Labor Party to always stick up for Queenslanders and be different from those who were inpower for the last 14 years.

Mr JOHNSON (Gregory—LNP) (4.40 pm): It is going to be a hard act to follow the Attorney. Whata fine contribution it was.

Mrs Miller: Entertain us, darling.

Mr JOHNSON: I will. I will give you all the entertainment you want, Jo. I will give you the wholelot—the full bottle and not the half bottle.

Ms Trad interjected.

Mr JOHNSON: The same will be applicable to the member for South Brisbane.

The Treasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill is a great piece of legislation.The people of Queensland say, ‘Thank you very much, Tim Nicholls. We have been waiting for this for along, long time.’ I have to tell members what has been going on. As the Attorney just said, over a longperiod this state has been taxed into oblivion. When I say oblivion, it is not only tax that has been aproblem but there is another cost-of-living pressure that nobody has even calculated. That is the runningdown of this state’s infrastructure.

In terms of infrastructure, this great state has over 10,000 kilometres of railway line and over30,000 kilometres of main roads plus state controlled roads plus private roads. What we have seen overrecent years is a lot of local governments in rural and regional Queensland, and here in the south-east




corner too, having to let their road infrastructure deteriorate and run down because there has been nosuitable funding to upgrade or maintain that infrastructure. The most important artery in our state is ourroad infrastructure.

In the Bjelke-Petersen days the government maintained and upgraded some 1,200 kilometres ofroad a year. Under Goss that fell back to about 300 or 400 kilometres a year. Under our governmentfrom 1996 to 1998 we built it back up to around 600 kilometres a year. It has come back again under theprevious government. We have seen a boost in road infrastructure in South-East Queensland, and yesthey needed it. They needed it because it had run down. There has been a population explosion in thesouth-east. I heard one of the ministers say today that it is estimated that our population will be aroundfive million in a few years.

We have a policy on decentralisation. It is not about South-East Queensland. It is about invitingpeople to live in rural and regional Queensland—the engine room of Queensland. Right up the coast wehave magnificent places to live. We have wonderful towns and cities right across our state—places likeKingaroy, Dalby, Roma, Charleville—

A government member: Longreach.Mr JOHNSON: Longreach—yes I will take that one—Barcaldine, Emerald, Blackall, Cloncurry,

Charters Towers, Biloela, Moranbah, Blackwater. With the exception of Blackwater, all of those townshave really good social infrastructure. When I say social infrastructure I mean that in these placesmothers can give birth to their infants, their children can go to grade 12 at high school and they are greatplaces to live. They are places that we should be encouraging people to move to because theemployment and quality of life are there. That is what rural and regional Queensland has to offer thepeople of this state.

Do members know what it has not got to offer? It does not have the associated road infrastructurethat people living in those regions need. We have seen that deterioration in road infrastructure. If welook at the Warrego Highway we find that two-thirds of Queensland’s cattle that descend on the south-east corner from the north-west, the west and central west are transported on that highway. They aregoing to processing plants like JBS at Dinmore, Teys Bros at Beenleigh and Beef City and other feedlotson the Downs.

Those processing plants get the processed cattle or finished cattle from feedlots. But how do theyget them to their processing plants? They get there on the back of road trains and B-doubles on ourdeteriorating road infrastructure. They do not come down on the back of Queensland Rail trains. Wesaw cattle train operations virtually grind to a halt under the former Labor government because they didnot have the vision and the understanding of how we could get that volume of cattle long distanceswithout putting them onto our already overtaxed and deteriorating road system.

What have we got now? We have the situation in this state where it is catch-up time. I rememberwhen I was the minister for transport many years ago and Joseph Elu was the chairman of Seisia at thetip of Cape York. Joseph said to me and Bruce Wilson, the director-general of transport at the time, ‘It isnow catch-up time.’ I said, ‘What do you mean, Joseph?’ He said, ‘It is catch-up for Cape York.’ I said, ‘Itis not only catch-up time for Cape York, Joseph, it is catch-up time for the whole of Queensland that hasbeen left wanting under a Labor government for the last six years.’

I have to say that the same thing is happening now in the federal sphere. Last week at a forum inBrisbane the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Mr Glenn Stevens, said that if we are to pick up our qualityof life and the fruits of the harvest in this country we have to increase productivity. Don’t you love it. Thatis coming from the Governor of the Reserve Bank. I think it is fantastic. But how are we going to pick upproductivity when all the infrastructure associated with productivity is deteriorating and the high taxregime from the federal and the former state government is crippling productivity in this state?

I congratulate the Premier and Treasurer and this government for making things happen. We hadthe Commission of Audit conducted by Peter Costello, Professor Sandra Harding and Dr DougMcTaggart. Those three magnificent, intelligent people have shown us exactly the state we are in.

I have always been taught to buy what you need not what you want. Under Labor they boughtwhat they wanted not what they needed. They forgot about taking the people with them. The only waywe can get the productivity that the Governor of the Reserve Bank is talking about in this state is tocreate growth through employment. I heard the Attorney say that we need to get small business going.How are we going to do that?

One of the platforms is a part of this legislation we are debating today. The new payroll taxexemption threshold will mean that approximately 1,200 employers in this state who would otherwise bepaying payroll tax in 2012-13 will not be liable to pay that payroll tax. What does that mean? It meansmore profits for their small business. It means a greater margin for them. I have always been taught thatone man’s success is another man’s gain.

We must help people promote and develop their profitability in business. Not everybody wants tobe a businessperson. Not everybody wants to go out there and be successful. But those who do are theones who are enhancing the quality of life of other people who want to own their own homes. When we


talk about owning one’s own home, what have we done there? Homebuyers will once again benefit froma lower transfer duty. What a magnificent outcome that $7,000 saving is going to be for people who wantto buy their own home.

That is what it is all about. It is all about our young people. As I stand here today I am very proudto say that I have three adult children and four grandchildren. That is what it is about. It is about theyoung people of this state. I see members right around this chamber who have children. We have someyoung members in this House too and what a great mix it is, because they are the people who are goingto take Queensland forward under the LNP banner for a lot of years to come, and thank the Lord forthat.

Coming back to this piece of legislation, it is vitally important that this bill provides payroll tax relieffor medium and small sized businesses by amending the Payroll Tax Act 1971, which the Treasurerreferred to in his introductory speech. The changes that will apply to the payroll tax thresholds on 1 July2012 are something that the people of Queensland have been dreaming of for a long, long time. Theseprovisions are going to help take this state forward and rebuild this state. The growth that we will witnessin this state will be because of sane, responsible policies that will correct the problem.

That great American industrialist Harvey Firestone, the man who invented the inner pneumatictube, once said, ‘You don’t fix a problem by throwing money at it; you fix a problem by throwing brains atit.’ That is precisely what this government is doing—finding out the best ways to address the issuesthrough proper management structures and through proper economic development policies. That isprecisely what we are going to do and the people of Queensland are going to benefit from that.

There is only one thing I will say to the Treasurer, the Premier and the government: I think wehave to put ourselves on notice that these policies that we are implementing are going to encouragemore people to want to migrate to this great state to take advantage of the productivity that these greatpolicies are going to create. We saw that happen with former coalition and conservative governments inthis state, and I can assure you, Mr Deputy Speaker, that it will happen again.

With our four-pillar policy of tourism, construction, mining and agriculture, this state can only goone way and that is up. We have a great population of young people. We have a great population ofintellectual people who want to work in professional fields. We also have a policy where we are going totrain people in trade skills which is so vitally important and is precisely what is needed—that is, for thoseyoung people, both young men and young women, to have the opportunity to take advantage of what ison offer in this great state.

For too long we have seen everything enveloped around the south-east. When I talk about thesouth-east, let’s talk about the cattle industry for a moment. For every head of cattle that is shipped outof western or north-western areas and goes through a processing plant at Dinmore or at Beenleigh oranywhere else on the coast, it is providing jobs for three people each day. This is the multiplier effect.Just think about the flow-on effects of that at a place like Dinmore, where they are killing about 2,500head of cattle each day. In the electorate of the member for Bundamba, in the electorate of the memberfor Ipswich and in other electorates, for every head of cattle there are three people who produce andtransport the cattle or whatever other goods to the south-east corner or to the eastern seaboard. This isthe multiplier effect. It is the productivity of a few that is making this happen.

I have always said in this House that the minority provide for the majority. We who live in rural andregional Queensland are the minority. That is one thing that I believe is going to be very substantial andvery profitable for the people of rural and regional Queensland. We heard the Deputy Premier talk aboutroyalties to the regions in the House this morning in answer to a question without notice. This again isgoing to drive the cost of living down for some people.

Our hospital situation is out of control and we need to do better in our schools with education. Thegreatest export we have had in the bush in recent years—and I am sad to say this—has been our youngpeople. We have had to send them away to educate them at boarding schools on the coast or in thesouth-east or on the north coast at Townsville, Charters Towers, Cairns, Rocky or wherever.Unfortunately a lot of those kids do not go home. Out of my three, I am happy to say that I have my twodaughters back in the far west. But at the end of the day being able to go home is not applicable toeverybody. I think the most important thing is that we make certain that we have policies that are goingto give our young people the opportunity to be able to live and have a quality of life and work and earn agood living in rural and regional Queensland or even here in Brisbane or in Townsville or Cairns, ourlarger regional cities.

It is about equality. We have not seen equality in this state in recent years. Look at our Indigenouspeople in the Far North. Look at Palm Island. I was on the former Premier’s parliamentary selectcommittee that undertook an investigation into Palm Island and I saw the price of goods there and whatthe people had to pay. The member for Townsville is not in the House this evening, but the member forTownsville has spoken to me about this. I think many people will have witnessed how these people arebeing ripped off because of the poor management strategies that have been put in place by formeradministrations that have deprived these people of a fair go. That is what this government is about. We


are about the workers. We are always about the workers and we will continue to be about the workers.Whether you are millionaire or a bagman, we will look after you. That is precisely what the policies of theLNP will do.

Look at our hospital situation. We have seen the deterioration right across Western Queenslandand in rural and regional Queensland over the last few years. Mothers cannot give birth to their infants insome of our country hospitals—

Mr Newman: Like Emerald.

Mr JOHNSON: They can, Premier. I take the interjection of the Premier. In Emerald there areover 600 births a year—


Mr JOHNSON: Hang on a second. That is a very valid point.


Mr JOHNSON: I seek your protection, Mr Deputy Speaker. I need to be protected.

Mr Hobbs: I’ll protect you, mate.

Mr JOHNSON: My mate will protect me.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Ruthenberg): Order! Member for Gregory.

Mr JOHNSON: Now I will give them the facts. I thank the Premier for the interjection. There areover 600 births a year at Emerald. Currently there are only 400 because of the problems associated withindemnity insurance, the lack of GPs and the operation of the health system, and a lot of mums havehad to go to Mackay or Rocky or somewhere else. A lot of them are miners’ partners or wives. Thesewomen cannot have their infants in some of our country hospitals, and they do not have the backupsupport of a mother or a sister or an aunty or a friend because they come from interstate.

Mr Newman: They don’t get it, do they?

Mr JOHNSON: That is right, Premier. They are the mob who created this problem. In myelectorate of Gregory, which covers some 380,000 square kilometres, there are two hospitals wheremothers can give birth to their infants. That is an absolute disgrace in 2012. Here we are talking aboutthe rights of the family and the family unit. All this is doing is creating an environment that is going todrive the family unit apart. I believe that our policies will redeem that situation. I know Laurie Springborg,as the Minister for Health, will make certain that that does happen. Every minister in our government todate has identified ways and means to save money, to drive the cost of living down and, at the sametime, to create productivity that is going to enhance the lives of people who live right across the state.

In the couple of minutes I have left—time goes quickly here; can I get an extension or not?—Imake this point: here we are on the eve of the mining tax as such and what an impost that is going to beon the people who live in rural and regional Queensland, people who live in hut type operations in myelectorate—people who are living in camps in places like Blackwater and Moranbah, which is not in myelectorate, but they are springing up everywhere. Again, this is about the disintegration of the familyunit. The family unit is the most sacred thing that we have in our lives. It is absolutely paramount that wetry to keep the family unit together regardless of where they live. If we can get low-cost housing intothose places and secure land where they can build and get away from this native title stupidity, I believewe are going to address a lot of the problems we are seeing that are a scourge on our community andour society today.

There are a lot of good things in this legislation. I want to touch very briefly on the cost ofelectricity to consumers in rural and regional Queensland. I know a small business in the far west whosepower bill in the last quarter of last year was $5,000 but their power bill in the first quarter of this yearwas—are you ready for it?—$10,000. It has doubled—$10,000. That is applicable right across WesternQueensland. It is an absolute scourge on small business. It is to the detriment of the productivity ofcompanies and individuals. As I have said, a lot of these people are young people having a go. All I cansay is: thank God we now have an LNP government in Queensland. The Treasurer, the Premier, thecabinet and the government will determine the future of this state by driving the agenda in a responsibleway and taking Queensland into the 21st century, making it a place that Queenslanders can be proud ofand that Australia will be proud of because they will all want to live here when we are finished with it.

Mr BERRY (Ipswich—LNP) (5.00 pm): I rise to speak to the Treasury (Cost of Living) and OtherLegislation Amendment Bill 2012, which contains significant measures by the LNP Newmangovernment to start out on the journey of restoring Queenslanders’ faith in government. Before I talkabout the measures that I believe are important to Queenslanders, I thank the member for Gregory andthe Attorney-General and Minister for Justice for their awe-inspiring rendition of what this government isdoing for Queenslanders. Quite frankly, one of the factors which caused me to get involved in politicswas the absolutely disgraceful legislation that was being passed for which everybody, particularly thelegal profession, had to bear the cost. I am talking about PAMDA, sustainability declarations and soon—myriad green and red tape. It is a rocky road.




The interim report of the Queensland Commission of Audit, released on Friday, indicated that wehave a $4.9 billion operating deficit. That is a huge figure by anybody’s standards. Everybody has heardabout how our fiscal deficit is equal to that of New South Wales and Victoria. It is shameful how, in astate as prosperous as Queensland, hardworking Queenslanders now have to foot the bill and pay itback. This will be generational, because you cannot kill the sacred cow. The debt repayment has to bedone slowly and deliberately. It is a huge debt to sustain.

This bill will operate on many fronts. It contains something for everybody—at least in the shortterm. The bill delivers on one of the promises the Premier made on the campaign trail. The sustainabilitydeclaration is a document which is purposeless in its outcome. The freezing of tariff 11 is a bold step,particularly after the delivery of the interim report on Friday. I will speak briefly about reinstating thehomeowner’s subsidy because the removal of that subsidy has distorted the property market. It causeda freezing up of business, of people wanting to invest, of young people going into homes because ofsupply and demand.

Carbon tax disclosure is the essence of what will be happening over the next 18 months or so.The federal government will be held accountable for the impact of the tax. When I was circulatingthroughout Ipswich in campaigning before the election I found that the topic that was most important toIpswichians was the carbon tax.

A government member: ‘Ipswichians’?

Mr BERRY: It is a new word; it has ‘Ian’ on the end, you see. The carbon tax was the factor thatinfluenced everybody the most. People did not consider whether I was running for council or for state orfederal government; Labor voters came up and told me that what concerned them the most was thecarbon tax. That is something that I think the federal government has lost sight of. I do not think itrealises how important it is for Queenslanders and Australians, particularly people who live in Ipswich.

The member for Gregory mentioned the transport operators in his electorate. Nolan’s transport ison the top 100 list. I do not know what they are going to do with the carbon tax—how their business canbecome more efficient in order to absorb the carbon tax. It is difficult to say. I have been to a lecturegiven by BDO Kendalls about how this works. It is so complex. How small and medium businesses—leave aside the large ones—are going to cope with this I have no idea, but they are very concerned.

The sustainability declaration is a retrograde and ridiculous legislative measure. As a lawyer I cansay that nobody had any idea what it was for. Its purpose was unknown. People did not know how tocalculate the information upon which the—

Mr Bleijie: It was to appease the Greens.

Mr BERRY: There you go: the Greens again. The difficulty with that document is that you aretrying to encourage people to declare how efficient is the home they are selling—not that I think manypeople place any relevance on whether in fact the light globes glow or whether you have to open thewindows in summer or close the windows in winter or whether there is an air conditioner. What peopleare really concerned about—young people, battlers, anybody who wants to buy a home—is price andlocation. That has been known for quite some time. Yet we have this declaration that nobody knowsabout. People attempt to fill it out, but if they do not fill it out or do not fill it out correctly they can get afine of up to $2,000. What was the government thinking? People who are selling a home could be up fora $2,000 fine. The sustainability declaration imposed upon vendors and vendors’ agents the obligationto fill out the form. Of course, there are people out there who do not use agents. They have to sit downand do the best they can to try to measure how sustainable is the house that is to be placed on themarket.

Queenslanders were dismayed that the Labor government abolished the homeowner subsidy.The Labor Party could have imposed a means test or put a cap on capital value. It could have dealt withthis in lots of ways. If this was a philosophical decision and was not based on economics, it could haveprotected the battlers. They are the battlers who were the heartland of the Labor vote and who desertedLabor in droves. The reality is that those battlers have now voted for an LNP conservative government.It is incredible that they should do that. The reason they did that was that they lost confidence in theLabor Party and the direction in which it was going. For people trying to break into the housing market itwas difficult enough to save for a deposit. People who were clever and prosperous would have a largerdeposit and avoid paying mortgage insurance. People were doing those things at the time the subsidywas abolished, but not anymore. Once people have taken all of those steps and saved all of that money,they face the imposition of a further $7,000 to save up for. It is very, very difficult indeed.

It was once the case that moving into a new home was exciting. To own a little bit of Queenslandwas a dream. It still is a dream for most of us. Abolishing the subsidy was a retrograde step. It distortedthe market, simply for the reason that once the subsidy was abolished people withdrew. There werevendors wanting to sell but the demand for the house had reduced. But things have changed. Since theannouncement by the government that this legislation would be introduced quickly, vibrancy has comeback into the marketplace. People are now looking forward to having that saving again.


There is a certain buoyancy about the economy, certainly in Ipswich. There are people lookingforward—looking forward to an LNP government getting on with business. The action that has beentaken in the first 100 days is incredible. There has been an uplifting of people’s enterprise and we arelooking forward to getting on and hopefully extinguishing this debt, although that will obviously takemany years, if not generations.

It is the battlers who have suffered the most. It is the men and women of Labor’s heartland whohave in fact deserted it in droves. But now we know why all of these things happened. It was notphilosophically based; it was based an on economic landscape—a landscape where the Laborgovernment had been mortgaging Queensland to the hilt and beyond. The level of Queensland’s debtbeggars belief. I do not know if members remember, but during the election campaign then PremierBligh was asked what Queensland’s debt was and she did not know. Either she knew and was notprepared to tell Queenslanders what they were entitled to know or she did not know. It is forQueenslanders to decide the credibility of the former Premier.

On election day I clearly remember speaking with a lady who had just walked past the federalmember for Blair and avoided taking a handout from him—but we will talk about the carbon tax in moredetail later. This lady said to me, ‘Half of my income goes on accommodation. The other half I live on.’ Isaid that the LNP could deliver for her a freeze on electricity tariff 11. Car registration did not reallyconcern her. The subsidy did not really concern her. One thing she was really concerned about was thecarbon tax. The fact is that we are going to save money for this lady and others in Queensland and theywill know what the carbon tax is going to cost them so they can offset that against whatever paymentthey get from the federal government. That will give them a better idea as to how they will be voting in 18months time. There were many stories like that throughout the campaign. It really is a huge concern toQueenslanders. She felt betrayed and she said that she had lost confidence in where the Labor Partywas going. The reality of life is that it is refreshing to be a part of a government with a fresh and vibrantagenda.

Mr PUCCI (Logan—LNP) (5.11 pm): I am pleased today to rise to speak in support of theTreasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012. As promised, this bill will deliver anumber of LNP promises made during the election campaign aimed at lowering the cost of living forfamilies. Because the former Labor government could not get the basics right, Queenslanders arefacing spiralling costs of living and family budgets are under severe strain. There was no forwardplanning; there was just growing government waste, such as the $600 million on the failed TravestonCrossing Dam, over $1 billion on the unused Tugun desalination plant and $350 million on theWyaralong Dam, which is not even connected to the South-East Queensland water grid! Let us notforget the $7 billion spent on that water grid. Then there is the failed Queensland Health payroll systemthat will cost more than $1.2 billion to fix and continues to be of financial and emotional distress forthousands of front-line Health staff. Of course, let us not forget accountability and how a fake prince canhelp himself to $16 million of taxpayers’ money from the Health system.

These blunders—this incompetence—are costing Queenslanders over $100 million a week topay back. In terms of my electorate, what could we do with $100 million a week? Why are there suburbsin my electorate with little or no transportation at all? There are families and children in my electoratewho cannot get to places to do things and, as a result, crime rates are spiralling out of control in someareas because people are locked up in communities built without proper infrastructure, without properspending. Places like Flagstone, Greenbank and Logan Village have no transportation. There areplaces with no sporting facilities. How many sporting facilities could we build with $100 million a week?How many could we have? How many multicultural centres could we have, given the cultural diversity inLogan? How many of those could we have with $100 million? Where did the money go? Where is it? Itis definitely not in Logan, I can tell members that! Why do people in Logan drive on roads like the MountLindesay Highway with promises on the never-never that it will be fixed, but it never comes? Why arethey driving on roads like Camp Cable Road, which people are afraid to drive on for fear of being killed?The money was not coming to Logan. Where did the money go? What could we do with $100 million aweek?

Water bills and electricity bills have skyrocketed. Queensland is now the most expensive state inwhich to own a car, with the cost of vehicle registrations and drivers’ licences practically doubled. Lastyear alone public transport costs increased by 20 per cent. Despite all of these increases in revenue theformer Bligh Labor government still kept climbing further and further into debt. It is costing us$100 million a week. I am sure everybody remembers the previous Labor government’s electricityprivatisation and the promise that no-one—no family—would be worse off. Since that promise, theaverage Queensland family has had approximately $700 per annum added to their household powerbill. I know a young mother in Park Ridge—Kylie—who has personally told me of her struggle to providefor her children because of the rising price of electricity. But true to our election promise, this bill willprovide the ability for the government to freeze electricity tariff 11 at this year’s prices, plus the cost ofthe federal government’s carbon tax, for 2012-13. The bill also includes the government’s commitmentfor retailers to display the cost of the federal government’s carbon price and the renewable energy targeton household electricity bills from 1 July 2012.




The tired former Labor government, in its desperate attempt to raise revenue to cover its wastefulblunders, abolished the principal place of residence concessional rate of stamp duty. I cannot tellmembers how many doors I knocked on during the election campaign where people asked me aboutthis concession and how many people came up to me when I was standing by the roadside who askedme about this concession. They were telling me that they could not afford to buy a house. They couldnot afford to put a down payment on a house. Where has the money gone? This change sluggedhomebuyers with up to $7,000—all to feed the coffers of the wasteful, inept previous Bligh government.No long-term good economic planning appeared to be involved in this decision. It devalued existinghomeowners’ properties and made home purchasing in Queensland less affordable. This bill reversesthat decision and, again, delivers on our promise to lower the cost of living for families by saving up to$7,000 for homebuyers. This assistance may be the extra boost for couples like Jermain and Sarena, ayoung couple I met in Browns Plains, to now be able to finally afford a deposit for a home.

This bill also removes the requirement to prepare and provide a sustainability declaration prior tothe sale of residential dwellings. What a joke that was! Can members believe that members of theprevious government actually tried to do this because they thought the people wanted it? They are notliving in my world, I can tell members that. This is part of the government’s commitment to reduce wasteand red tape—in this case, green tape. The sustainability declaration was a pointless document which,in real life, was very rarely completed in full, and nor was it required to be. It was really just a waste ofpaper.

Encouraging businesses to grow and employ more people is part of the LNP government’s propereconomic management plan to get Queensland back on track. Small business is the backbone of oureconomy and needs less red tape and regulation to allow them to get on with the job of running theirbusinesses. This bill delivers on another promise—to increase the payroll tax exemption from $1 millionto $1.6 million, freeing more cash for employers to utilise in their business, which could includeexpansion and employing more staff or even just retaining staff. This part of the bill will aid in growingand strengthening our economy as well as aid in our target to lower the unemployment rate.

This bill also includes amendments to the Queensland Competition Authority Act, allowing theestablishment of the Office of Best Practice Regulation under the Queensland Competition Authority.Under the direction of the minister, the authority will then be allowed to investigate and report on anymatter relating to competition, industry, productivity or best practice regulation; to review and report onregulatory assessment statements; and to review and report on existing legislation. This is real supportto grow our economy. This cost-of-living bill makes a number of amendments that will all have a positiveimpact on families struggling with the escalating costs of living. I am proud to support this bill and Icommend it to the House.

Mr RUTHENBERG (Kallangur—LNP) (5.20 pm): I rise to speak in favour of the Treasury (Cost ofLiving) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012. I support the bill and recognise the five objectives. Ialso thank the cabinet for bringing this legislation forward to the House as early as it has. Any help thatwe in the LNP government can bring to families and businesses of my electorate will be gratefullyreceived.

The reinstatement of the transfer duty concession for the sale of the family home will be goodnews for families, real estate agents and tradies in my electorate. The increase in the payroll taxthreshold will be good news for employment, and companies will now be able to plan for growth again.The freezing of electricity tariff 11 for 12 months will be greatly appreciated by the families in myelectorate. The establishment of the Office of Best Practice Regulation is a wise and welcome measureand I believe it will deliver efficiency and effectiveness at a time it is desperately needed. The killing offof the ill-conceived sustainability declaration that must be produced prior to the sale of a residentialdwelling not only is welcome but also is an example of a type of silly red tape that was killing businessacross Queensland. This measure should be welcomed by Labor and the Greens as a common-senseand much needed approach.

In the 18 months leading up to the 24 March election I knocked on the doors of approximately14,000 homes and walked into over 400 businesses. I am firmly of the belief that the overwhelmingmajority of people and business owners had completely lost confidence in the then Labor stategovernment. Most of the people to whom I spoke were hurting financially due to the ever-increasingtaxes, fees, levies and charges coming from government and quasi-government agencies. Familybudgets were being squeezed harder than most people were able to remember and more were startingto get weary of the pressure they felt.

My electorate is substantially residential. I have no CBD and no major shopping centres andapproximately 80 per cent of the people who go to work in my electorate leave the electorate to do so.My electorate is in the fastest growing area of Queensland right now, and the projections are that thiswill continue. I am keenly interested in developing a viable economic base within my electorate and willwork with the other MPs in my region, the ministers and the council to this effect. Essentially, Labor hastaken our region for granted for the last 20 years. We now suffer from a serious deficit in social andtransport infrastructure. I have already started lobbying several ministers in regard to my community’sneeds.




One of the real pressure points, like many communities in Queensland, was the damage toinfrastructure following the January 2011 floods. A vital piece of infrastructure was damaged during theflood, that being the northbound lanes of the AJ Wyllie Bridge. This bridge was damaged beyondeconomic repair. This fact was established in March of 2011. The two remaining lanes of the bridgewere reconfigured to a two-lane bridge. Prior to the flood, approximately 28,000 cars used that bridgeevery day. After the flood approximately 21,000 cars use it. This reduction in traffic has had a seriousimpact on the businesses in Petrie, Lawnton, Narangba and Kallangur due to the reduced drive-bytraffic. I know of at least eight businesses that have suffered to the point of closure due to this reducedtrade. Prior to this flood event businesses and families were already starting to feel the pinch due to theirresponsible financial position of the former Labor government. This event, however, really hurtbusinesses in my community.

There are only three crossings over the North Pine River, and AJ Wyllie Bridge is a vital part ofthat infrastructure. Unfortunately, even with the best efforts of the member for Pine Rivers and me topress the then Labor government to mitigate the impact on our community and get the bridge built, theformer government decided to ignore the needs of our communities, and work to build a replacementbridge was only announced—guess when? Just prior to the 24 March election—over 13 months after itwas declared unrepairable! Unfortunately—

Mr Watts: Was it funding?

Mr RUTHENBERG: No, funding was available. Unfortunately, more than most communities inQueensland, my community has felt the impact of Labor’s economic legacy of complete ruin andreckless disregard for business and families. Business is where income is generated, but it appears theformer government could not see this. A case in point is the $1.25 billion for a payroll system that wassupposed to cost $40 million. Are you kidding me? I oversaw and project managed very largeapplication software projects all over the world and never have I seen such an unbelievable abuse ofcustomer-vendor relationship, nor have I ever seen the level of unaccountability that the former Laborgovernment displayed and allowed in this matter. It is simply unacceptable. With Greece still on theedge of economic oblivion, Spain dancing with the same devil, Italy treading lightly and keeping its headlow and Germany distracted with trying to hold the EU together, now more than ever we must encourageeconomic stability in Queensland, and this bill will go a long way towards doing that.

In my electorate most of the business is small retail business. I want to relay to the House someof their experiences as they have relayed them to me. There is a servo owner in my electorate. Theservo has been there for over 40 years. Sales are down 28 per cent. Why? Because the tradies are notcoming in! Why are the tradies not coming in? Because there are no houses being built; there is noindustry for them to be employed in! They are not coming in to buy fuel and, consequently, they are notbuying chocolate bars, Cokes and meat pies. There is a drainer who is now doing fly-in fly-out workbecause he cannot find work anywhere else. He wants to be with his family but has no choice if hewants to provide an income for his family. Why? Because the building industry stalled! Mechanics aresaying that people are skipping services because they cannot afford it. This poor guy is working his tailoff. His wife is in the business working with him but they have not paid themselves for over four monthsnow. People are hurting.

The owner of the tyre shop has had to put off all his casuals and go back to working full time aftersemi-retiring because that is the only way he knew how to keep his head above water. How about thegolf shop owner who was looking at moving after his lease was up because he just could not keep thedoors open much longer? The real estate agent office lost over a third of their staff and were working forvery little just to stay in the game. The two butcher shops could not make ends meet and eventually hadto close. The baker who had been in business for over 27 years had to close one of the shops and putoff several people because she simply could not keep the doors open any longer. And that was throughno fault of her own, through no fault of anything she had done.

How about the newsagents who had to shut their doors after 20 years because customers wereno longer buying magazines and ancillary items? There is also the professional services company that,for the first time in 12 years, had fewer than seven consultants on the road with no prospect for keepingfive of them on the road for another three months. There is also the solicitor who had to take anextended overdraft, lay off staff and reduce office space to keep the doors open.

Business in this state had stalled under Labor. It seems that the former government just did notget that it is business that generates income from which people are paid and taxes are withdrawn.Without a strong business base, our community suffers. I am proud that this LNP government gets thatand that our Premier and cabinet are pushing forward with our plan for a four-pillar economy. We willcreate the environment in which business can once again have confidence to invest, employ and grow.Only then will we see this great state once again be the powerhouse it has the potential to be. This billwill go a long way to helping these people.

The reinstatement of the transfer duty home concession for family homes will help real estateagents in my area, as people will once again consider upgrading or downgrading their primaryresidence. The amount of $7,000 will go a long way towards home renovations that are often needed

19 Jun 2012 Motion 771

when you move into a new home. I relayed to this House in my maiden speech that my wife and I hadlived in 26 homes on three continents. I can tell members that $7,000 goes towards hooking up phones,putting in new curtains, putting down new carpet and painting. Guess where you get all that from? Youget all that from local businesses. You bring tradies in and they come and help. It helps the wholeeconomy. Guess what Labor did when it got rid of that? It said to tradies, ‘Pfft, you don’t matteranymore.’ It is simply unacceptable that they were treated with such complete and absolute disregard.

Debate, on motion of Mr Ruthenberg, adjourned.

MOTION

Budget Strategies

Mr PITT (Mulgrave—ALP) (5.30 pm): I move—That this House acknowledges the budget strategies of Queensland state governments from 1998 to February 2012 that:

• invested in necessary infrastructure

• expanded essential services

• cushioned the impact of the global financial crisis

• supported the rural sector through historic drought, and

• rebuilt communities and jobs following an unprecedented and costly sequence of natural disasters

all without the need for forced redundancies or cutbacks to front-line jobs and services.

It is Labor that has delivered jobs for Queenslanders and built the modern diversified economyand infrastructure we all enjoy today. It is clear that the LNP does not see what I am about to list aspriorities of government. We see them as achievements in building a modern Queensland. The Costelloaudit interim report highlighted Labor’s spending on the following: introducing a prep year into schooling;significantly increasing child safety and funding for disability services; increasing hospital bed numbers;substantially increasing wages and conditions for doctors, nurses and clinical staff; and increasingpublic transport and infrastructure services. The list of Labor’s achievements does not stop there. Majorinfrastructure investment has occurred in the following areas: the South East Queensland InfrastructurePlan; the upgrade of the electricity distribution network, following the recommendations of theSomerville Review; the upgrade of the water infrastructure network; and the ‘more beds for Queensland’hospital rebuilding and expansion program. The report also mentions that spending on health has morethan tripled in the 10 years to 2010-11 and that expenditure in housing and communities almost doubledbetween 2005-06 and 2010-11—more than double the growth rate of the previous five years. These areinvestments in social services and infrastructure that we make no apologies for.

When it comes to the growth of the Public Service, the Commission of Audit report found exactlywhat we had said was happening: that we were providing more front-line staff, including teachers,nurses, doctors and police. To quote the report, and as derided by the Premier this morning, on a full-time equivalent basis Public Service numbers have increased by 40 per cent since June 2000. Almosthalf of this increase was in Health, with the next largest contributor being Education. The Premier hastold us that we need to have a more sustainable Public Service. However, the report details that, as aproportion of the population, the Queensland public sector is similar to that of the other fast-growingdecentralised state of Western Australia—both 4.5 per cent. The report has also found that Labor wassuccessfully managing the number of non-front-line positions. The voluntary separation program willhave primarily reduced the rest of the Public Service category, as the program excluded front-lineservices and was focused on back-office administration and support functions. We in the Labor partycan be proud of what we have helped deliver: 11,151 new teacher and teacher aides; 3,850 extrapolice—a 57 per cent increase higher than population growth; 14,300 additional nurses; and in the lastfour years, 5,000 extra doctors, nurses and allied health professionals. We increased infrastructurespending from $1,241 per person in 1997-98 to $3,172 per person over the last financial year,maintaining the largest infrastructure spend per person of any state in the nation; supported the creationof 740,000 jobs across the Queensland economy with over two-thirds of these full-time jobs; andoversaw the largest fall in unemployment in the nation from a peak of 10 per cent, when the LNP werelast in government, down to 5.5 per cent.

We acknowledge that when we left office the gross debt across the entire government was$64 billion, which included GOC debt which is serviced by commercial revenues, not taxpayers. Wemade no secret of that. Equally, it has to be acknowledged that Labor provided over $54 billion ininfrastructure over the last four years, including once-in-a-generation projects such as the GatewayBridge duplication; supported the establishment of a Queensland LNG industry supporting $45 billion ofinvestment and 18,000 jobs; locked Queensland in as the second largest private investment destinationas assessed by Deloitte Access Economics, with the second largest pipeline of future investment; andlocked in strong economic growth with state final demand at 7.8 per cent over the year to March. This isthe strongest year to March quarter result since 2006 underpinned by the strongest household



772 Motion 19 Jun 2012

consumption growth since the December quarter 2007. We also provided an increase in concessions of53 per cent since 2007-08 to support vulnerable members of society to meet the cost of living andincreased the participation rate of children attending kindergarten from 29 per cent to 44 per cent. Mostimportantly, and singled out in the Commission of Audit interim report, we maintained a building programthrough the financial crisis that kept over 100,000 Queenslanders in jobs.

As quoted by the Commission of Audit in its interim report, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s atthe time said—The state’s capital program is substantial. Given the significant decline in operating revenue as a result of a weakening economicenvironment and the state’s commitment to its large capital program, Queensland’s balance sheet is unlikely to remain consistentwith a ‘AAA’ rating.

We make no apologies for avoiding the same mistakes as the last LNP government, which cutinfrastructure spending during an economic downturn and let unemployment hit 10 per cent across thestate in 1997. These are the levels reached in the United States during the global financial crisis. In fact,this is why strictly adhering to a fiscal balance of including net infrastructure spending in the operatingbalance is impractical. It is a blunt measure that does not factor in broader economic circumstances.The Commission of Audit interim report again decided to selectively quote Standard & Poor’s, this timefrom a report last year at page 30 where it states—Queensland’s budgetary performance is the weakest of all the Australian States.

What the report failed to mention was this quote from Standard & Poor’s in the same report—We consider limited budgetary flexibility as a credit weakness of all Australian states, including Queensland.

This is because most of the tax and revenue options rest with the Commonwealth, not the states andterritories. This same report continues—Queensland’s financial management is excellent, in our view.

...

An upgrade in the medium-to-long term is possible once the structural improvements introduced by the Queensland governmentbegin to be reflected in the state’s budgetary performance and debt burden.

...

much of Queensland’s capital expenditure is due to generational rebuilds, the state’s rising population or is a result of the 2011natural disasters

...

Hard-hit by natural disasters over the past year, the Australian state of Queensland remains a strongly rated government entity ona globally comparable basis.

And what was the title of this research update? Ratings on state of Queensland affirmed onstrong financial management; outlook stable. It says that if it were not for the GFC, and in particular thenatural disasters, Queensland is in pretty good shape. And that is how we left it when we lostgovernment. Of course, that is not what you will hear from the Premier or the Treasurer or this trumped-up so-called independent Commission of Audit. This is not to imply that Labor would not have taken anymeasures in government to pay down debt and reduce expenditure. For example, at the last midyearreview Labor locked in $737 million in net savings—that is, savings after new spending. The LNPopposed all the measures Labor took to restore the budget position over the last term of government.

To soften the impact of the GFC, Labor governments at state and federal level put in placestimulus measures, whereas the LNP were GFC skeptics—brushing over the global impacts of thiscrisis that saw rioting in the streets and deaths, unemployment levels of around 25 per cent, the schoolweek in some US states reduced to just four days and local police services completely shut down. InAustralia we did not see the full impact of this crisis because we acted and we acted early. These thingsdid not happen here because Labor took the tough decisions to build vital and necessary infrastructureto keep pace with a growing population and to keep people in jobs.

These are just some of the achievements that we in the Labor party are proud of. While deliveringall of these priorities we kept Queensland’s No.1 tax status. We all remember at the last budget theTreasurer’s statements that Queensland did not have a competitive tax environment for businesses andthat taxes and charges are out of control. An independent report by Pitcher Partners confirmed last yearthat, on tax competitiveness for a start-up operation, the significant gap set by the Queenslandgovernment is not being narrowed by the other states. We maintained the lowest transfer duty of allmainland states in Australia, the highest payroll tax threshold and lowest rate, and the lowest rate ofduty on general insurance in the nation—taxation $440 below the national average. This was confirmedin the Commission of Audit report, which states that Queensland is a low-taxing state. The Commissionof Audit has also refuted the claims made by the LNP that Labor somehow went bust in a boom andsquandered rivers of gold, where it outlines that revenue growth from property and mining was offset byweakness in other taxes and GST. Despite knowing the true budget position of the state, the Treasurerthen drafted a set of election costings that proposed a series of tax cuts and new expenditure worth over$4 billion on their own count. Compare that with Labor, which ran very lean and announced electionpromises totalling $1.8 billion with $745 million of this funded from existing initiatives. As the economicrecovery underway in Queensland gathers strength, it is the LNP that is the biggest financial risk to


Queensland by proposing to cut Queensland jobs to fund its promises. It is time for the Treasurer toreveal to Queenslanders what Treasury really told him about the cost of the LNP’s electioncommitments. He should table the incoming brief.

Labor’s record is a proud one. The current debate about apportioning blame for the debt doesnothing but trash Queensland’s economy and talk down investor confidence. The debate should now beabout how we continue to manage our investment in much needed social infrastructure into the futureand how we continue to fund it as a federation.

Mrs SCOTT (Woodridge—ALP) (5.39 pm): I rise to second the motion moved by the Leader ofOpposition Business and member for Mulgrave. Labor has a strong record of building infrastructure andprotecting jobs, particularly in regional Queensland. We created 100,000 jobs during the global financialcrisis. At a time when every government around the world was abandoning their infrastructure projects,we stuck to ours to keep people in jobs across Queensland and it worked. Historically, Queensland’saverage unemployment rate has been 7.2 per cent. Under the last conservative government it was9.8 per cent. At the election, after the global financial crisis and the natural disasters that thumped ourstate, it sat at 5.5 per cent. We protected jobs, unlike this government that, after being in power for onlythree months, has ripped jobs and services out of regional Queensland. The predictable findings of theinterim audit of state finances by Peter Costello has given the Newman government an excuse forthousands of job cuts and the potential sacking of permanent public servants.

However, how many jobs will be cut is unclear with the government failing to provide a firm andfinal answer on how many of its own workers it plans to sack to fund its election promises. In parliamenttoday the Premier suggested 20,000 jobs would go; previously the Premier mentioned 41,000temporary and contract workers would go; and, in an answer to a question on notice, the Premier refersto 55,000 temporary and casual employees. All we know is that regional Queensland will be hit hard bythe LNP’s jobs purge and the erosion of services. Already Premier Newman has failed to rule outsacking of contract teachers despite his claims of protecting front-line service standards. Since theelection we have seen staff and services cut at regional hospitals in Cairns and Townsville. Also wehave seen the real possibility of job losses in the regions if Ergon and Energex are merged. Thegovernment will not say how many of RoadTek’s 2,500 staff and contractors across the state will be cutfrom work centres as part of another Newman government jobs purge. Yesterday, the local governmentminister confirmed that there will be job losses in QBuild across the regions.

Despite this government’s stripping of jobs, services and infrastructure from regional Queensland,it is still happy to officially open and take credit for infrastructure programs that were funded and built bythe previous Queensland Labor government. The previous Labor government had a strong record ondelivering the infrastructure and community services needed for the growing regions acrossQueensland. More than 58 per cent of the $15 billion building program in last year’s budget, supporting93,000 jobs, was spent outside Brisbane: $1.04 billion was spent on infrastructure in the Far North,$887 million in Northern Queensland, $741.5 million on the Darling Downs and $650 million in theMackay region. Capital expenditure per person was higher in every region outside of the south east,with the highest spending per person in the south west and central west. That expenditure kept peoplein jobs in regional communities, building legacy pieces of infrastructure and services across regionalQueensland. That infrastructure included the Cairns, Townsville and Mackay hospital redevelopments;Mackay’s single biggest road project, the $148 million Forgan Bridge; $121 million worth of work at thePort of Gladstone’s RG Tanna Coal Terminal; $101.7 million spent on the Mount Isa rail line;$101.6 million spent on the Townsville Marine Precinct; the $40 million Fursden Creek Bridge project;and $26.6 million to upgrade the Tropical North Queensland Institute of TAFE in Cairns.

As well as maintaining our infrastructure program while steering Queensland through the GFC,the previous Labor government rebuilt after the summer of floods in 2010-11 and a number of cyclonesthat hit the Queensland coast dating back six years, including Yasi, Larry and Ului. We supportedproductivity and innovation in agriculture through a decade of drought followed by three years ofconsecutive flooding, to emerge with an agricultural industry in Queensland where most sectors arebooming, including cotton, sugar cane and wool. Those are just some examples of the billions of dollarsworth of infrastructure built and services provided by the previous Labor government that would neverhave been delivered by the Newman government.

(Time expired)

Hon. TJ NICHOLLS (Clayfield—LNP) (Treasurer and Minister for Trade) (5.44 pm): I move—That all words after ‘2012’ be deleted and the following words inserted:

‘have jeopardised the financial position of the State and this House note the Commission of Audit’s Interim Report and itsrecommendations.’

For posterity’s sake, I table the interim Commission of Audit report, so that all people who look atthe record of parliament can have a clear understanding of the diabolical financial situation in which theLabor Party left Queensland. Tabled paper: Queensland Commission of Audit: Interim Report, dated June 2012 [353].







A number of issues have been raised during the debate, but let us deal with what the report itselfsays. The introductory statement is signed. I know the members opposite have been very conscious ofwho is on this committee. It is signed by Peter Costello, the Treasurer who was responsible for twoupgrades to Australia’s credit rating following the grim reaper himself, Paul Keating, who wasresponsible for two downgrades to Australia’s credit rating. Keating was the man who delivered the l-a-w law tax cuts, but failed to deliver; he was the man who saw more businesses go broke than any otherTreasurer in Australia’s history. Peter Costello delivered the biggest tax cuts in Australia’s history andthe biggest financial reform in Australia’s history. That incredibly biased operative of the LNP, ProfessorSandra Harding, has also signed the report. It states, ‘It is disturbing to report—’

Opposition members interjected.Mr NICHOLLS: They do not like it. The report states—

It is disturbing to report that, in recent years, the Government of Queensland embarked on an unsustainable level of spendingwhich has jeopardised the financial position of the State.

But wait, there’s more, although it is not just a set of steak knives. The report states—Urgent fiscal repair is necessary just to stabilise debt which will continue growing in the absence of corrective measures. Afterthat, the State will need a very large program of debt repayment to recover its AAA rating.

That is signed by Peter Costello, Professor Sandra Harding and Dr Doug McTaggart, the person whomthe Labor Party appointed to head up the Queensland Investment Corporation—$60 billion funds undermanagement. What would they know compared to the economic geniuses on the other side of theroom? What did the economic geniuses on the other side deliver us? A gross debt of $64 billion in 2011-12, $95 billion by 2015-16 and $100 billion by 2018-19. They never said that in any of their forwardreports, did they? There is not a word of that, yet we have it all detailed in the independent Commissionof Audit report. It is all there, chapter and verse.

Mr Stevens: Keating only got to $96 billion of debt. Mr NICHOLLS: Exactly, I take the interjection from the Manager of Government Business. Even

Paul Keating achieved only $96 billion of debt and that was for all of Australia. The operating deficit isscheduled to be $2.8 billion. If you use a fiscal balance—that is, the true cost, including the investmentin capital—where would we be if the previous government had remained in power? Under itsrecommendations, next year we would be at $9.8 billion. Under the former government, debt wouldcontinue to increase.

I heard some commentary about capital investment by the former government and how wise thatcapital investment was. I thought I would tickle my memory a little about some of that wise capitalexpenditure. I thought I would refresh my memory. At the stage when we knew about it, it would include$220 million—now it is $1.2 billion—to fix the bungled Health payroll system. What about the money thatwas wisely spent on the $108 million clean coal ZeroGen program, which was another good capitalinvestment!

Mr Stevens: Traveston Dam. Mr NICHOLLS: Exactly. What about the $600 million wasted on the Traveston Dam? The poor

old then Deputy Premier had to go and sell it around the place. We had dams without pipes, we hadpipes without dams and we have debt going through the roof. An independent commission hascondemned the former government’s failure to manage the finances. We will fix it. Only the LNP can fixit. If it were left to the Labor Party, we would be in the red for a long time to come.

Hon. BS FLEGG (Moggill—LNP) (Minister for Housing and Public Works) (5.49 pm): When Iheard the Leader of Opposition Business move this motion this morning I shook my head and adjustedmy hearing aid. All I could see was the Seinfeld episode with George Costanza running across the livingroom with his pants down around his ankles saying, ‘Vandelay! Vandelay!’, not just because the Leaderof Opposition Business looked and sounded just that ridiculous but because George’s ‘Vandelay’ wasalso a complete and utter fabrication as is the assertion that the Leader of Opposition Business has putforward for us to debate today.

On 24 March the people of Queensland said that they did not want that lot as their latexsalesmen. I wonder what sort of loss it would take for the ALP team opposite—the remnant opposition—to learn and break the habit of defending the absolutely indefensible? They have ended up with sevenmembers. Would they have learnt if they had five members or four members? Even if they got to zerothey would only learn because they would not be here to say something as stupid as they have saidtoday.

It took a zero return for General Custer to learn what happened at the Little Big Horn, and this lotare no smarter. The history is writ and everybody in this state knows it except those seven individualssitting opposite. I am very pleased to second the amendment moved by the Treasurer.

Those opposite claim that they had a strategy. What happened when the drought broke? Theyhad no infrastructure. They had no budget strategy. What happened when the issue at BundabergHospital erupted? They had no budget strategy. They did not have the health infrastructure. Whathappened when we lost our AAA credit rating? Where was the budget strategy then?




There are records of proceedings in this parliament—and for their education I invite thoseopposite to have a look at a couple of entries—that show what I mean. On 16 July 2008 at the EstimatesCommittee B hearing I warned the then Treasurer, Mr Fraser, that there was a slowdown and that hewould need to deal with the loss of revenue. His answer was ‘no there is not’. On the same day, 16 July2008, I warned the then Treasurer that, from his own estimates, he was threatening the AAA creditrating. I asked him what level of debt his government could sustain without losing our AAA credit rating.Do you know what his answer was? It was—We believe that the ... program we have put forward is sustainable. More to the point, as I mentioned earlier, the budget is forecastto operate in surplus.

The piece de resistance was the year before on 10 July 2007 when the then Labor Treasurer wasnone other than Anna Bligh. I said to Anna Bligh in the estimates committee hearing that the general—

Mr Crandon: She’s left.Dr FLEGG: She got sacked; she has not left. I said that the general government sector borrowing

was set to rise from $3.2 billion in 2006-07 to $19 billion in 2010-11. This is before the GFC and beforethe natural disasters. I went on to say—That gives a combined borrowing of $51 billion. Minister Bligh, can you identify anything in your forward estimates where you planto repay any of these borrowings?

She was happy to receive the questions and said—For each and every one of the nine years we have been in government it has been the practice of the government to pay downdebt ...

But she went on to say—We have unashamedly borrowed to a level we think is responsible and we are able to service that debt. We are very comfortablewith that program.

The Commission of Audit interim report says it all: $100 billion in debt for a state government, nota federal government, with an annual budget of only $42 billion. They are an embarrassment.

Mrs MILLER (Bundamba—ALP) (5.54 pm): May I say that it is very difficult to follow the Ministerfor Housing when yesterday and today he has been sending out thousands of letters. He will go down inthe history of this parliament as the cruelest minister for housing we have ever had in this state. Tens ofthousands of pensioners and others in this state are crying because of your letters. You need toabsolutely apologise to the people.

Dr Flegg interjected. Mrs MILLER: You apologise. Madam SPEAKER: Order! Will the member resume her seat. I ask the member to refer to others

by their appropriate titles and not by the word ‘you’. I call the member. Mrs MILLER: I referred to the Minister for Housing and Public Works, the minister with a heart of

stone. I would now like to talk about Labor’s achievements in relation to health. It is not hard to find our

achievements in that document—Honourable members interjected.Madam SPEAKER: I call the member. Mrs MILLER: Thank you, Madam Speaker, for your protection from the unruly people over the

other side. The Commission of Audit in fact highlights Labor’s spending on increasing hospital bednumbers—tick; increasing wages and conditions substantially for doctors, nurses and clinical staff—tick;constructing and redeveloping hospitals, including on the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast and inBrisbane, Ipswich and Far North Queensland, to the tune of $1.9 billion—tick.

The report states at page 9 that ‘major infrastructure investment has occurred in the more bedsfor hospitals rebuilding and expansion program’—tick. The report also mentions that spending on healthhas more than tripled in 10 years to 2010-11—tick. Further, the report outlines that since June 2000almost half of the increase in Public Service growth of 28,633 was in Health—tick. There was a biggertick from patients in public hospitals who appreciate this increase in expenditure.

We in the Labor Party are proud of what we delivered in relation to health. We delivered 14,300additional nurses since 1998 which is equivalent to every man, woman and child in Nambour. Wecommenced construction of the Gold Coast University Hospital, the Queensland Children’s Hospital andearly works are underway at the Sunshine Coast Hospital. We are proud in the Labor Party—

Honourable members interjected. Madam SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume her seat. I call the member. Mrs MILLER: Thank you once again for your protection from those unruly members over there.

We are proud of delivering the 5,000 extra doctors, nurses and allied health professionals. We deliveredupgrades to the Cairns Hospital and secured an additional health service. We expanded the TownsvilleHospital, the Yeppoon Hospital which I visited last week, the Rockhampton Hospital which I visited last




week, the Bundaberg Hospital which I have visited regularly, the Prince Charles Hospital, the Mount IsaHospital, the Robina Hospital, the Princess Alexandra Hospital and the Ipswich Hospital. Labor alsodelivered the Goodna Health Centre in my electorate, school based nurses, the child health clinic atSpringfield and preventative health measures. We also hoped to have developed in the future theSpringfield Mater Hospital. Minister, I hope you will be able to deliver that in the future.

The government is the grim reaper of the economy. There they go—all gloom and doom. Look atthem. They have their black capes on and their hoods over their heads. The reaper is in their hands asthey slash Public Service jobs, cut services and throw out the most disadvantaged in housingcommission homes. How low can you go? Shame, shame, shame! Talking about TV episodes, do youknow what your TV show is? The Tudors. Off with their heads, as the reaper goes—off with their heads!

Madam SPEAKER: Order! Will the member resume her seat. I ask the member to direct hercomments through the chair and cease referring to others by the term ‘you’.

Mrs MILLER: Thank you, Madam Speaker. What I was going to say was that their particularknowledge about TV shows does not obviously extend to The Tudors. Can I also say that thegovernment members do not care. And do members know why they do not care? Because they haveprivate health insurance and they run off to the nearest private hospital. That is what they do. Instead ofhaving stethoscopes in hospitals, do members know what they do? They rip out their iPhone and theyget on the calculator. So instead of having stethoscopes, they have the calculators going or perhapsthey have an abacus instead of a syringe or a budget book instead of a thermometer—

Mr McArdle: Madam Speaker—

Madam SPEAKER: Order! The member’s time has expired.

Mrs MILLER: Shame, shame, shame!

Madam SPEAKER: Order! The member’s time has expired.

Mr McArdle: Madam Speaker, your protection, please.

Madam SPEAKER: I call the Minister for Energy and Water Supply.

Hon. MF McARDLE (Caloundra—LNP) (Minister for Energy and Water Supply) (6.00 pm): I amnot quite certain who is contesting the leadership over there, but I thought the member for Bundambawas putting on a very good show there for a couple of seconds. I start by making this one point: I thinkthe member raised the issue of the Sunshine Coast University Hospital. I am yet to see a brick on thatsite.


Mr McARDLE: They pulled the funding for that about four years ago. I think the member just said,‘Wait and see what happens.’ That is exactly right, because the health minister on this side of the Houseis going to deliver that hospital on time and on budget, and we are going to have the best health serviceright across the Sunshine State.

What a load of rubbish! We are now facing $100 billion worth of debt in this state because of thatmob over there—the remnants of a government that was bereft of any concept except to put it on thecredit card, put it on the tick, run it up, because they knew their time was coming. Now we have an LNPgovernment, and I tell the people of Queensland right now that the LNP is going to save this state andbuild for the future like no other government in this state has. It is about time the former Laborgovernment—the Labor rump, I should say—accepted the fact that it was liable and the membersopposite are now liable and will always be liable for the perilous state of our budget. Three of theirmembers sat around the cabinet table for a number of years making the decisions that drove this stateinto almighty debt.

Let us get down to tintacks. Between 2004-05 and 2011-12 the CPI increased by 21.2 per cent.Public transport costs went up by over 50 per cent in that same period—the management of a Laborgovernment. Electricity prices went up by 60 per cent—the management of a Labor government. Gaswent up by 67 per cent—the management of a Labor government. Motor vehicle registration went up bysomething like 70 per cent and state water charges increased by over 100 per cent. The CPI went up by21.2 per cent. And they claim they are proud of their record when they drove people to scrimp and saveto meet their daily living expenses.

Let us talk about water. We have a debt of over $9 billion on the water grid and the water itself—$9 billion on the tick. The LNP government is now working to make certain that we get out of this mire,that we get out of the mess delivered by the Labor government. It will take us a long time to do so, butwe are going to do it.

The debt on Energex, Ergon and Powerlink went from $6.1 billion in 2005-06 to $12.6 billion in2010-11. It has doubled. That is the legacy of a Labor government. That is the legacy of a governmentbereft of any planning, of any understanding of moving forward and making certain that we get not onlythe infrastructure we need but also the balance sheet to go with it. The interest paid on that debtbetween 2005-06 and 2010-11 jumped from $327.5 million to $807 million. That amounted to $252 per




customer right across this state. We are paying interest on the debt because this government could notget it under control. We will continue to pay the debt until we get in a position where that $100 billion isno longer of consequence and we can move forward together.

I make this other point very quickly as I know the health minister will touch upon the payrolldebacle. We touch upon the financial consideration that occurred because of the debacle, but the costto Queenslanders is also the emotional anguish of those doctors and nurses. This is more of the LaborParty strategy of not doing the basics—not even getting the basics right.

Honourable members interjected.Mr McARDLE: They drove people almost to bankruptcy because of sheer incompetence. Madam SPEAKER: Order! There are too many interjections across the chamber. Mr Cripps interjected. Madam SPEAKER: Order! I warn the member on my right. I call the minister. Mr McARDLE: We could spend all day debating the debacle of the Labor Party and still need

time for two more weeks of debate because it is so long, so extensive. At the end of the day the LNPgovernment will make it right, will make it better, and the ALP will be consigned to history.

(Time expired) Ms TRAD (South Brisbane—ALP) (6.06 pm): It gives me great pleasure to rise tonight and speak

in support of the opposition’s motion. It is particularly rewarding to follow the member for Caloundra,who was also the lead counsel, I understand, for Mal Brough in his legal deliberations currently.

I understand how infrastructure can transform communities. I understand this personally havingwatched South Brisbane be transformed throughout my lifetime—a community that has beenmodernised thanks to major infrastructure projects delivered by successive Labor governments. Fromthe construction of the Goodwill and Kurilpa bridges to our world-class busways that have modernisedpublic transport in the southern and northern suburbs of our city, from our nationally acclaimed culturaland recreational facilities including the Gallery of Modern Art and the State Library to the vibrant SouthBank precinct, Labor has transformed this city.

But beyond South Brisbane, in every corner of this state, Labor has commissioned, built anddelivered major infrastructure, connecting and strengthening regional communities. The Tugun bypass,the Sunshine Motorway, the Forgan Bridge project in Mackay, the cruise ship terminal in Cairns—allcommissioned, all built, all delivered by Labor.

Government members interjected. Madam SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume her seat. There are too many interjections

from the back of the chamber. I ask members to cease their interjections. I call the member. Ms TRAD: This type of investment is the hallmark of great Labor governments. Indeed, this is

what Labor does. During times of economic downturn, when people need us to keep the economygoing, we invest in major projects—projects built to serve Queenslanders generation in, generation out.Did this generate some debt? Absolutely. And was it fully disclosed? Absolutely.

Government members interjected.Ms TRAD: When you renovate your house, you borrow to build. This is certainly what councils

have done. Government members interjected. Madam SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume her seat. I call the member. Ms TRAD: This is also what councils have done across this state to build infrastructure. When

Queensland Labor Premier William Forgan Smith took office during the Great Depression in 1932, thenational unemployment rate was at a record high of 30 per cent. So what did Forgan Smith do? Did hecut spending? No. Did he slash jobs? No. This forward-thinking, determined Labor Premier embarkedon an ambitious capital works agenda, commissioning iconic projects including the construction of theStory Bridge, the upgrade of the Mackay Harbour and the development of Somerset Dam, just to namea few.

What was the result of these investments? In 1938, Smith was praised for delivering the lowestunemployment rate in Australia. So when the Labor government was faced with the biggest globalfinancial crisis since the Great Depression, Labor again made a choice—the choice to invest incommunities right across Queensland, to keep people in jobs and to keep local economies alive. Wecontinued to build bridges, hospitals, busways. We built for Queensland’s future. When Queenslandwas then hit by the worst natural disasters in our history, Labor again chose to build and employ—rebuilding roads, repairing our rail network. What the Costello political audit suggests is that we shouldhave cut jobs during the GFC—that we should have closed down building sites, that we should have notrecruited nurses, teachers and police officers—and that we should have left Queensland in the rubbleafter the worst natural disasters in our recorded history. I am proud to say that Labor did no such thing.




Those opposite have the gall to come into this House and complain about debt after the Premierand Treasurer left the Brisbane City Council with a revenue-to-debt ratio expected to peak at 150 percent. Even if we used the Commission of Audit’s absurdly negative forecast for Queensland, the state’srevenue-to-debt ratio peak is still lower than that of the Brisbane City Council.

Those opposite have the gall to come into this House and complain about debt after spendingyears lobbying successive Labor governments to build infrastructure or to fund council to buildinfrastructure. ‘Give council money to rebuild the CityCat terminals,’ the then Lord Mayor, now Premier,demanded. ‘Build me a stadium,’ the member for Kawana demanded. While we are on the subject ofsports infrastructure, let us revisit comments made by the member for Buderim earlier today in relationto the aerial ski facility. What the member for Buderim unwittingly revealed this morning is that it was theHoward-Costello government that originally pursued and approved the aerial ski facility—a factconfirmed in the Courier-Mail article at the time. I table the article for the benefit of the House. Tabled paper: Extract from The Courier-Mail, dated 3 December 2010, titled ‘Sleeman facilities ramped up for skiers’ [354].

So ‘old mate’ Costello would not put a cent into the Bruce Highway but he was happy toallocate millions to an aerial ski facility. I am proud to stand in this House as a member of the AustralianLabor Party—a party that has always built Queensland, a party that has always created jobs first.

(Time expired)

Hon. LJ SPRINGBORG (Southern Downs—LNP) (Minister for Health) (6.11 pm): For the last halfan hour or so we have heard all about this socialist nirvana—the socialist nirvana which the people ofQueensland rewarded the Labor Party for on 24 March by turfing it out of office because they did notbelieve it. They just did not believe its figures and they just did not believe in its failed history ofadministration in Queensland: the mere fact that the Labor Party when in office continued to spendbeyond its means, the mere fact that it continued to build up one of the biggest debts—indeed, thebiggest debt—of any Australian state in the history of this nation. As the Treasurer said earlier, it is fastapproaching and indeed set to go beyond the level of debt which was clocked up by Paul Keating. Thesimple reality is: you cannot live and spend beyond your means.

We have heard a lot from honourable members opposite about this socialist nirvana, which wemust have all missed—about what they did and how it was all because of the global financial crisis andall of those sorts of things. What we did not hear from honourable members opposite was that between2000 and 2008 the Labor government in Queensland got $33 billion in unforeseen revenue which it justfrittered away. What the shadow Treasurer did not tell us was that in 2008 Standard and Poor’s gaveevidence to the Senate financial affairs committee that Queensland was in danger of losing its AAAcredit rating if it did not contain its expenditure versus its income and its borrowings versus its assets.And guess what? It lost our AAA credit rating, and it was on the path to that well and truly before anyonehad even heard the term ‘global financial crisis’, which happened several months after that. Indeed, thecrossover point happened in 2005-06, when the mob opposite really broke the nexus betweenexpenditure and revenue. It does not matter how those opposite seek to reconstruct it, they cannot getaway from those facts.

Earlier we heard from the honourable member for Bundamba about this health utopia that Labordelivered for the people of Queensland. She was listing things and giving them ticks. What about thewaiting list to get on the waiting list? Cross! What about ambulance ramping? Cross! What about bedblock in our hospitals? Cross! What about hospital bypass? Cross! What about elective surgery waitinglists? Cross! What about the fake Tahitian prince? Cross! What about Dr Patel? Another cross! Whatabout Gordon Nuttall? Another cross! And that is before we get to the payroll debacle—$300 million inthe last 2½ years over and above what it should have cost.

Today we have heard lots of bleating from honourable members opposite about potential joblosses. That $300 million could have gone to employing 3,000 extra nurses. Guess how much will bespent on the Health payroll going forward? Another $800 million. With that we could employ another8,000 nurses in Queensland. This mob purports to be so prudent when it comes to financialmanagement, but 60 per cent of the future costs of running this payroll debacle in Queensland were noteven factored into the budget forward estimates. So we have to borrow money or find moneysomewhere else just to run the payroll—a bit more debt, but that is okay; we can have more debt!

Whilst we are talking about debt, let us look at the Queensland Children’s Hospital. Thehonourable member for Bundamba believes that expenditure equals services, that the more you spendthe better service you get. So let us budget just less than $1 billion for a Queensland Children’sHospital, but if we can deliver the same thing for a billion and a half, it must be a better hospital! Sothose opposite when in government budgeted less than $1 billion and now it will cost $1.5 billion. Therewill be no more beds, just more debt—just more costs. That is the legacy of Labor in Queensland overand over again.

Is it any wonder that the people of Queensland decided that they had had enough of this fakesocialist utopia—this health nirvana that never existed, that did not give them the benefit, that did notgive them their cataract operation on time, that did not fix their hip and so on? What about the winding





back of the Flying Obstetrician and Gynaecologist in Queensland under Labor? I have made a verystrong commitment on behalf of the LNP that we will not only double its hours from 400 to 800 but wewill take it to 1,000 hours. That is the difference between us and those opposite.

(Time expired)

Mr BYRNE (Rockhampton—ALP) (6.17 pm): I rise to support the motion moved by the Managerof Opposition Business. As someone with a bit of a thirst for military history, I am familiar with the sayingthat history is written by the victors, but after listening to tonight’s debate I can say that the LiberalNational Party has taken this to a whole new level. We have seen history being rewritten by theNewman government. If you listen to government members you may think that nothing good happenedduring the period of recent Labor governments. But as all sensible people know, that is patently untrue.When you look at the major state responsibilities such as education, transport and community services,you see that the previous Labor government had a strong record of delivering improved services andvital infrastructure.

Labor’s policies helped provide and protect jobs during the most challenging of economic times.The GFC never happened, if you believe the LNP. And what would they have done if they had been ingovernment at the time, when private sector confidence had virtually collapsed? One thing is for sure:they would not have kept Queensland working. The workers of this state have been able to retain theirjobs and provide for their families because of the tough decisions that were made by Laborgovernments in recent years.

And unlike the new government, previous Labor governments were not focused solely on South-East Queensland. We made sure the regions were looked after as well. Let us take this financial year’sCapital Works Program for example. In my area of Central Queensland the average capital expenditureper person in 2011-12 is $4,585—well above South-East Queensland’s average of $2,849. In North andFar North Queensland the average spend per person is more than $3,700 in each region—again, morethan in the south-east—while in the north-west the average is $6,139.

But in case there are claims of pork-barrelling, let us look at the two areas representedpredominantly by LNP members in this chamber—central-western Queensland and south-westernQueensland. In the central west the average spend is more than $10,000 per person while in the south-west it is over $11,000. In fact, more than 58 per cent of all infrastructure spending this year—thefunding planned before the LNP started cutting projects and jobs—was due to be spent outside theBrisbane statistical division. Labor has always supported our regions, and Central Queensland is noexception. It was Labor that laid the groundwork for the LNG industry which is now proceeding atsubstantial pace on Curtis Island at Gladstone. This industry is developing because Labor governmentsput in place the appropriate policies and legislation to allow it to thrive. This is an industry that will delivera new era of prosperity for Queensland, delivering 18,000 new jobs, $45 billion worth of new privateinvestment and $750 million each and every year in new revenues for this state.

There has been plenty of other new infrastructure built in Central Queensland over the last 14years, and I pay tribute to the hard work and the representation of the previous members forRockhampton, Keppel and Fitzroy in securing these projects. The list is long but includes theredevelopment of the Rockhampton Hospital, the construction of the Yeppoon Hospital, theredevelopment of the Rockhampton river bank, the upgrade of facilities at Rockhampton Showgrounds,the construction of new aquatic centres in Rockhampton and of course significant upgrades to schoolsthroughout the entire region.

Labor’s support for the regions extends beyond my patch in Central Queensland. Labor deliverednumerous infrastructure and transport projects throughout regional Queensland in recent years such asthe new bridge at Innisfail, the upgrades of Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville, new traffic bridges inMackay, the Bundaberg ring-road, the Darra to Springfield rail line and upgrades to both the PacificMotorway and rail infrastructure on the Gold Coast. And then there is the extra social infrastructure thatLabor has delivered. Labor added an extra year of schooling, providing all teachers with the classroomsneeded to deliver prep year, and improved education in Queensland schools. Labor provided a massiveboost to the support provided for people with disabilities and their families. We had started rolling out, inconjunction with the federal government, the plan to provide every Queensland child with access to akindergarten. Every time Queenslanders drive over a new bridge built by Labor or receive in-homesupport for their disabled child or their aged relative or send their child to school, they will be remindedof the extra services provided by Labor governments. The LNP’s constant blame game is wearing thinand it shows that it is more interested in gloating than governing.

Hon. JW SEENEY (Callide—LNP) (Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development,Infrastructure and Planning) (6.22 pm): For the best part of the last hour the parliament has been treatedto one of the greatest displays of self-delusion that anyone in Queensland politics has ever seen. Thepower of the human mind to self-delude is unlimited, especially if you are an ALP member inQueensland politics today. In face of all of the evidence from all of the sources, the ALP—the LaborParty remnant—can still come into this parliament and seek to indulge in self-delusion. The report thatwas delivered by the Commission of Audit is profound in the message that it delivers to every






Queenslander, and that message cannot be ignored. But that is not the only source of information that isavailable to Queenslanders who want to consider this question. When the LNP was elected andreceived briefing notes from Treasury, the first thing that the Treasury briefing note said was that thestate’s financial situation was unsustainable—eerily similar to the words that were used by theCommission of Audit when it examined the situation.

But the greatest message of all was delivered by the people of Queensland—the people ofQueensland who had the chance to vote, who took their water bills and their power bills with them to theballot box and who voted in that great democratic tradition to pass their judgement on the sustainabilityof the financial management of the former Labor government. Despite that massive landslide—thebiggest landslide in Australia’s political history—the message is still denied by those who sit opposite.They still deny the reality. I said on the first day this parliament met that if members of the Labor Partywanted to regain any credibility the first thing they should do is come in here, stand up and apologise tothe people of Queensland—acknowledge the extent of their failures and apologise to the people whowould bear the burden of those failures not just for a day or a week or a year but for generations tocome. Generations of Queenslanders will bear the brunt of the crazy financial management that theformer government indulged in.

Tonight we heard from the member for South Brisbane the sort of nonsense socialist philosophythat drove that government—the sort of socialist philosophy that says that all you have to do is spendand run up debt and that is a good thing. There are a couple of things that we on this side of theHouse—that we on this side of politics—know inherently and instinctively that the Labor Party has neverlearned. Firstly, if you want to spend money, you have to earn it. You have to earn it first. The other thingthat it has never learned is that if you incur debt sooner or later you have to pay it back. That is whatdebt is. It is a responsibility to pay it back. Those two concepts were completely missing from theprevious Labor government, completely missing from any financial management that it applied to theassets of Queenslanders and completely missing from any contribution that we heard in the parliamenthere tonight.

The people of Queensland know full well the record of the Labor government, and no self-deluded debate in this parliament will change that record. The legacy that the former Labor governmentleft will be long remembered, and it should be long remembered. Generations of students who studypublic administration will study the Beattie-Bligh government’s record as a record of failure—a record offailure that has been recognised by everybody in Queensland and everyone who has looked at thefinancial situation, a record of failure that has been recognised by everybody but the small group ofpeople who come into this parliament tonight with this self-delusional motion. What a shame it is to seethis parliament reduced to this—to see this parliament reduced to debating such a nonsense motion.Given all of the challenges that face Queenslanders, this self-delusion is the best that those oppositecan do!

(Time expired)

Division: Question put—That the amendment be agreed to.

AYES, 75—Barton, Bennett, Berry, Bleijie, Boothman, Cavallucci, Choat, Costigan, Cox, Crandon, Cripps, Crisafulli, Cunningham,Davies, T Davis, Dempsey, Dickson, Dillaway, Dowling, Driscoll, Elmes, Emerson, Flegg, France, Frecklington, Gibson, Grant,Grimwade, Gulley, Hart, Hathaway, Hobbs, Holswich, Johnson, Judge, Kaye, Kempton, King, Knuth, Krause, Langbroek, Latter,Maddern, Malone, Mander, McArdle, McVeigh, Millard, Minnikin, Molhoek, Newman, Nicholls, Ostapovitch, Pucci, Rice, Rickuss,Robinson, Ruthenberg, Seeney, Shorten, Shuttleworth, Sorensen, Springborg, Stevens, Stewart, Stuckey, Symes, Trout, Walker,Watts, Wellington, Woodforth, Young. Tellers: Menkens, Smith

NOES, 7—Byrne, Mulherin, Palaszczuk, Pitt, Trad. Tellers: Miller, Scott

Resolved in the affirmative.

Madam SPEAKER: For any future divisions on this issue, the bells will ring for one minute.

Division: Question put—That the motion, as amended, be agreed to.

AYES, 75—Barton, Bennett, Berry, Bleijie, Boothman, Cavallucci, Choat, Costigan, Cox, Crandon, Cripps, Crisafulli, Cunningham,Davies, T Davis, Dempsey, Dickson, Dillaway, Dowling, Driscoll, Elmes, Emerson, Flegg, France, Frecklington, Gibson, Grant,Grimwade, Gulley, Hart, Hathaway, Hobbs, Holswich, Johnson, Judge, Kaye, Kempton, King, Knuth, Krause, Langbroek, Latter,Maddern, Malone, Mander, McArdle, McVeigh, Millard, Minnikin, Molhoek, Newman, Nicholls, Ostapovitch, Pucci, Rice, Rickuss,Robinson, Ruthenberg, Seeney, Shorten, Shuttleworth, Sorensen, Springborg, Stevens, Stewart, Stuckey, Symes, Trout, Walker,Watts, Wellington, Woodforth, Young. Tellers: Menkens, Smith

NOES, 7—Byrne, Mulherin, Palaszczuk, Pitt, Trad. Tellers: Miller, Scott

Resolved in the affirmative.

Motion, as agreed—

That this House acknowledges the budget strategies of Queensland state governments from 1998 to February 2012 havejeopardised the financial position of the State and this House note the Commission of Audit’s Interim Report and itsrecommendations.


COMMITTEE OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

Portfolio Committees, Reporting Dates

Mr STEVENS (Mermaid Beach—LNP) (Manager of Government Business) (6.38 pm), by leave: Iadvise the House that the Committee of the Legislative Assembly has today, in accordance withstanding order 136(2), agreed that committee reports in respect of the Criminal Law (False EvidenceBefore Parliament) Amendment Bill and the Animal Care and Protection and Other LegislationAmendment Bill are to be tabled by the committees considering those bills by 2 July 2012.

Sitting suspended from 6.38 pm to 7.40 pm.


Second Reading

Resumed from p. 771, on motion of Mr Nicholls—That the bill be now read a second time.

Mr RUTHENBERG (Kallangur—LNP) (7.40 pm), continuing: This bill will go a long way towardshelping the people I spoke about. The reinstatement of the transfer duty home concession for familyhomes will help real estate agencies in my electorate as people will again consider upgrading ordowngrading their homes. That will go right throughout the economy. It will go right throughout the localeconomy. It will be good for tradies and for local business.

The extension of the payroll tax threshold by $100,000 per year for six years to a cap of$1.6 million will provide an incentive to many businesses to again consider growth strategies. Onebusiness in my electorate has told me that this has been an issue for him. Due to the cutthroat nature ofhis business, the income possibility that could be generated with extra positions simply was not there toconsider expanding to take a whack on payroll tax. He is now considering his strategic plan with an eyeto slowly expand as the threshold increases. As I previously explained, in my electorate there is not anawful lot of employment, and this extension of the payroll tax would be great for my electorate. Thiswould be a great incentive to give to small and medium-sized businesses an opportunity to grow withouthitting their bottom line. That money goes straight back into the business and straight back into the localeconomy. This is good news as we strive to provide the economic platform that businesses need toensure their current positions are secure and their future growth plans can again be considered infavourable conditions.

A strong consideration for me in supporting this bill was the impact of the provision to freeze theregulated standard residential retail electrical tariff—tariff 11—at 2011-12 prices for one year from 1 July2012. Do honourable members remember the baker I spoke about earlier in my speech who had storesthat had been in operation for 20-plus years and who ended up having to shut one of those down andpeople lost their jobs? Do they know why this provision would be good for that organisation? It would begood because when times are tough and people need to tighten their household budgets they cannot goout to restaurants or buy fancy stuff anymore. Typically they would go past a service station and theywould pick up some chocolate bars. When they go to pick up the bread from the baker in the morningthey would buy a hot cross bun, a doughnut or a cream bun. That baker found that those things were notbeing bought anymore because there just was not any money in the budget. Now, those families mightjust consider buying a cream bun again, and the economy goes around and the local jobs aremaintained and the businesses are back in business. Maybe this little reprieve in the household budgetwill go some way towards giving those family budgets a little bit of space.

That is the theory. With the federal government pushing ahead with the introduction of the carbontax at a per tonne rate that is almost double the highest rates in Europe, the impact on my electorate willbe devastating. Any gains we can get for families from this bill will be swallowed up by the recklessabandon of the Labor federal government in introducing this insidious tax. Yet again Labor is turning itsback on the working family. Yet again the working family has to rely on the LNP to dig them out ofLabor’s hole. I call on the Prime Minister to do the right thing and rescind the legislation—what moreaccurately should have been called the ‘economic wrecking ball bill’. It seems that Labor’s DNA doesnot allow for middle-of-the-road solutions or policies. It also seems that the current federal governmentis more interested in appearing to be green than actually delivering sustainable green solutions. TheLabor government cannot put money into the green economy if it does not have a reasonable businessbase from which it gets that money. In my electorate businesses are bracing for further tightening andhard times. I fully expect that, without any sort of common sense coming from the federal government,more businesses will close. It is for this reason that I am glad that this bill will result in the cost of thecarbon tax being shown on electricity bills. Let us let the community judge this. Let us let the communitytalk. Let us let the community see what this insidious tax will actually deliver to the folks, which isabsolutely nothing. It will wreck our economy. It will drive jobs overseas and it will do nothing for oureconomy.






A focus on the reduction of the red tape and endless forms that business is required to use and fillin is most welcome and overdue, and I congratulate the Treasurer. Many business owners I visited saidthe same thing when I asked them, ‘What is the one thing you would change if the LNP was ingovernment?’ Almost every time the reply was, ‘Let us get on with business and get out of our road andstop making us deal with red tape.’ I have a developer in my electorate who has been fighting red tapefor seven years. For every year longer that he hangs on to that property it costs him more to get thatproperty on the market. Red tape is killing us.

I welcome efforts to achieve a streamlined regulatory and legislative framework that allowsrelevant and up-to-date outcomes while allowing innovation and measured risk by businesses for ananticipated and fair reward for the risk they have taken. This bill is part of our commitment to the peopleof Queensland and, as promised, we are delivering. This bill will continue to help the working familiesand the businesses employing them and it will continue the journey we have started to get Queenslandback on track.

Hon. MF McARDLE (Caloundra—LNP) (Minister for Energy and Water Supply) (7.46 pm): I wantto make a short contribution to the debate on the bill before the House, the Treasury (Cost of Living) andOther Legislation Amendment Bill. When the shadow Treasurer stood in the House about a fortnight agohe made a comment that the bill had not been before a committee for assessment. I remind the memberthat this bill actually comprised a package of cost-of-living initiatives that we put to the biggestcommittee in this state and that is the state electorate. We put it to two to three million people and theyhad had weeks and months to scrutinise the content of the package to ascertain whether it was right forthem or whether they were going to support it. Perhaps if the Labor Party had spent more time incompiling a similar package as opposed to slinging the dirtiest, filthiest campaign in this state’s history,they would have had a better chance of achieving something more than seven seats in this House.

I think I am right in that the Labor Party did put one item on the agenda and that, I believe, wasthe registration of motor vehicles. However, they never took the time to consider the impact of what theyhad done over 12 years to the lives of Queenslanders. They had never considered the cost-of-livinginitiatives that we put together to try to assist the mums and dads, the children and grandchildren to gaina better outcome on a day-to-day basis. They sat in the mud and the filth and they made that theirmantra. On 24 March the Queensland electorate endorsed our cost-of-living initiatives. That committeesaid, ‘This is the way we want to go,’ and there was no doubt that they said to the LNP government andto the Treasurer and the Premier, ‘Put this through the House as quickly as possible to give us somerelief from the incredible burden we were under from the Labor government.’

That is why we did it. Queensland wanted it. Queensland rejected the Labor government. In fact,they said to the Labor government, ‘Enough is enough. We have had enough. It is time for you to go’. Itis intriguing in regard to the issue of power that when one goes back to September 2005 I can recallPeter Beattie sitting where the Treasurer is sitting now making comments, followed soon after by AnnaBligh, about full retail competition in the electricity industry. Premier Beattie made this statement inHansard on that day—We estimate that the vast majority will be better off, with greater competition driving down prices. It is anticipated that the billsaving for most households could be $150 or more a year.

They were predicting back in 2005 that there would be a household saving of $150 per year. Hethen goes on to make this statement—The evidence shows that no Queenslanders will be worse off with full retail competition in the domestic electricity market.

The sad thing is that I think he believed that statement. I think he honestly believed that that wasgoing to be the case. It is an unmitigated disaster that unfolded right across this state before the peopleof Queensland. On the same day Anna Bligh made this statement—Today’s changes will allow many domestic customers to make savings on their energy bills.

She then said—Reliable, affordable and sustainable energy services are critical to Queensland’s economic and social wellbeing. Most importantly,it does not matter where you live, nobody—not one Queenslander—will be worse off under the government’s proposal.

In 2005 both Premier Beattie and the future Premier Bligh, one hand on heart, one on Bible, saidthere would be savings; that this would be a bonus to every Queensland household. But let us look atthe history of this matter. In 2007-08 power prices were up 11.6 per cent; in 2008-09 they were up5.83 per cent; in 2009-10 they were up 13.29 per cent; and in 2011-12 they were up 6.6 per cent. Overfive years that is an increase of 59.49 per cent in power bills. By my calculation that does not quiteequate to a saving of $150. Everybody in this chamber knows families, including their own, who arefinding it harder every day to make ends meet with power prices going up on a regular basis. Whatastounds me is that when we sat in this House and the now Deputy Premier used to quiz MinisterRobertson about the QCA and the cost-of-living increases by way of power, he would try to wash hishands of it, a bit like Pontius Pilate, and say, ‘No, it is all their fault, all their problem. We are clean. Wehave given the QCA the power to make a determination.’ We in the LNP did not accept that as anexcuse. We did not accept the fact that the QCA had total and almighty power to make a determinationas to what should be the future direction of power in this state. Without detracting from the men who





comprise the QCA, the Newman government, almost immediately upon gaining power, put in place aninterdepartmental committee to make certain that we were going to get a future direction in power pricesin Queensland that would result in better and fairer returns for the people in this state who work day inand day out. Equally, we put in place an independent review panel comprised of Messrs Faulkner,Rennie and Bellas to oversee the network charges component of the cost levers driving up power. For12 years this Labor government had done nothing across a range of initiatives. For five years, whenthey had the power to look after the people in this state on the issue of electricity, they did nothing. TheNewman government was elected on 24 March 2012 and within a matter of weeks we had put in train aprocess that was going to look holus-bolus at every component of the industry in this state on electricityand report to the government by January 2013 on how we could make it fairer and better. Moreimportantly, we did one thing that the Labor government never did: we froze tariff 11. We made acommitment to the people of this state that we were going to freeze tariff 11. The distinction betweenourselves and the Labor Party is that we actually kept our promise. There are those in this House whocan remember 2009 when the asset sale promise was broken by the Labor government. That is thedistinction that allowed the people of Queensland on 24 March to say, ‘You have got to go’.

Mr Langbroek: What year was it? Mr McARDLE: 2012, my good friend. In 2012 they put in place a government that was going to

deliver for them. The member for Woodridge made the comment in her contribution that she believedfreezing tariff 11 was a temporary reprieve. Of course it is, but we have also made a commitment that wewould do more than that, and we are going to do more than that, as opposed to sitting on our hands likethe last Labor government did. It did absolutely nothing. She also made the comment that they wantedlong-lasting reform. What worries me is that the member sat for many years in this House under a Laborgovernment that did nothing to assist the battlers in Woodridge, the battlers in Bundamba, the battlersright across the state in trying to help them balance their budget and meet ongoing costs. I think that theworst betrayal is how the Labor government and the Labor rump opposition can sit in this House andsupport the carbon tax after doing nothing for years and never once raising a voice, a murmur, a dissent,an octave to indicate that they opposed the carbon tax.

Mr Johnson: People did in the election, though. Mr McARDLE: Quite right, member for Gregory. I will take the interjection. The people in this

state had had enough. They know that the carbon tax will increase the cost of their power bills. Theyknow it will increase the cost of every consumable across this state. The Labor rump should hang theirheads in shame in 2012 and years beyond and apologise for that. There is perhaps one thing that theLNP should have done better. I cannot rationalise how we can fund 22 support staff for seven Labormembers. It is the most over-funded opposition I have ever heard of, matched only by the laziness withwhich they conduct their business. The laziest, most over-funded, over-staffed opposition in the historyof this state—a ratio of three to one. What a mob of bludgers.

In January 2013 a report will be delivered to the government that will drive a new path for thedelivery of electricity prices in this state, something the Labor government did not have the intestinalfortitude to do, nor did they have the commonsense to realise that they are on a slippery slope todestruction. The LNP government will get this state back on track.

Mr STEVENS (Mermaid Beach—LNP) (7.58 pm): Mr Deputy Speaker, I recognise your verycompetent adjudication of this House and I acknowledge your wonderful expertise as a former presidentof the Queensland Law Society. You give a wonderfully balanced position on these matters. Having saidall of those wonderful and friendly things to you, I rise to speak to the Treasury (Cost of Living) andOther Legislation Amendment Bill 2012.

Mr Nicholls interjected. Mr STEVENS: I take the interjection from the Treasurer, who mentioned that I was seeking

support from the chair because I am unashamed of the fact that we believe it is very important that wediscuss all of the matters of vital interest to the electorate stemming from the fact that the previous Laborgovernment let down the people of Queensland enormously. It will take a long time for this governmentto resurrect our AAA credit rating. In terms of the cost of living, we need to look after pensioners, theworking class, the families—the people who the Labor Party forgot, even though it purports to representthem—so that they can afford to pay their bills for everything from electricity and fuel through to water. Itdoes not matter where we look, the Labor Party imposed a terrible regime on the state. In the yearsahead it will be up to the LNP government to right that wrong. That will take quite a few years. Probablyit will not be done completely in the first term of this government. We will need more terms to addressthe very sad situation, which the Treasurer has taken great pains to outline through the auditcommission’s report, of $100 billion worth of debt. As the member for Caloundra correctly says, it is$100,000 million worth of debt.

Mr Nicholls: How much? Mr STEVENS: It is $100,000 million. None of us can comprehend that figure. Because of that,

unfortunately, there will be hard times ahead for us as a government in trying to deliver an economy thatcan give back to Queenslanders their entitlement to the best way of life in Australia. We are the best




state. I have no doubt that our tourism, our resources, our agriculture and our construction industries—the pillars driving the economic forces of Queensland—are the best in Australia. That is why I live here.Happily, in my view I live in the best corner of Queensland, on the Gold Coast. That is my personal viewon the matter. The member for Clayfield is shaking his head. I understand why he shakes his head.Within the Clayfield electorate there are two magnificent racecourses and I relate greatly—

Mr Nicholls: Three with Albion Park. Mr STEVENS: I take that interjection; Clayfield has three racecourses. We have a big job ahead

of us. This cost-of-living bill is a major step forward in taking us, as a state and a governmentresponsible for the direction of the state, forward to right the wrongs of the past—that is, at least since1998, although most would say since 1989. Later in my speech I will delve further into 1989. Since1989, Labor engaged in its profligate spending ways with its bankcard mentality of ‘don’t worry about thedownside; just keep putting it on the bankcard and we’ll worry about the rest of it later’. That caught upwith them in March this year. Queenslanders said, ‘Hey, we don’t want you and your financialirrationality anymore. We don’t want you spending our money with no capacity whatsoever to plan forthe future. We don’t want all of our money going into interest repayments like a high interest ratebankcard.’ The Treasurer will tell us that he does not want to pay those high interest rates, but he isforced to because of the actions of the previous Labor governments. No-one—not even those on theother side—would argue with the fact that the Treasurer has to pay those very high interest ratesbecause of the actions of the previous Labor governments. That is unfair, because Queenslanders donot deserve that sort of financial irresponsibility.

We had the best GST receipts, through the mining industry we had the best resource receipts andwe had the best property industry receipts. We had a wonderful boom from 2001 right through to theGFC in 2008. But those guys opposite blew it all. Earlier, the health minister mentioned a figure of$33 billion of extra money, above and beyond what was normally expected, generated through thosemagnificent booms, but it was blown as though it was easy money. They took the attitude, ‘I have wonlotto and I will spend it plus some more.’ However, the state is not broke. That would be anoverstatement of the worst kind and it would send the worst message that the liquidators were inQueensland. That is not correct.

We own the best state. All 4.5 million Queenslanders own the best state and we will go forwardwith the proper manipulation of policies that are financially prudent and that will put us back on track tobeing the best place in Australia to live. That is how it was for many years under the National Party andLiberal Party coalition, but then the mob on that side of the House took us down the typical Labor trackof financial irresponsibility. That is in its DNA. It has happened in all the states. I remember it well inVictoria. In Western Australia, Carmen Lawrence presided over that situation. At the federal level wehad the Keating years and everything that led to them. We have seen a terrible scenario of financialirresponsibility by Labor governments and it was repeated in Queensland because it is part of Labor’sDNA.

Our state was led by a very charismatic character, Peter Beattie. Prior to him we had WayneGoss. After Peter Beattie we had Anna Bligh, who led us down the horrible path of debt on debt on debt.In March this year we reached the situation where the people of Queensland said, ‘We’ve had enough ofdebt on debt on debt.’ They rejected the Labor government to the embarrassing point the membersopposite now find themselves in. I find it very sad to look across the House and see a netball team ofseven members of the once-proud Labor Party, which has its roots in Barcaldine where the Tree ofKnowledge stood so proudly. In this House there are seven Labor Party members left. That is anembarrassment to the Labor Party. I find it difficult to believe that the members opposite do not find itembarrassing. I know that the father of the Leader of the Opposition, the wing attack for the netballteam, would be very disappointed that there are only seven Labor members in this House because thestate was led into oblivion by a Labor Party confused, lost in direction and financially irresponsible,which is what led to the asset sales. This is all about Labor’s financial irresponsibility, which led it tomake moves that were unacceptable to its own constituency. That is why we have only seven‘netballers’ leading the attack against the government. An opposition is an important part of theWestminster system. It is this paucity of members that leads the opposition to the government, but thatis what the people of Queensland said was appropriate.

There is no arguing with the decision-making process that occurred at the March election. Thepeople said, ‘We are over Labor completely.’ I think a ‘sorry day’ would be appropriate for the LaborParty. We need a day where they can say ‘sorry’ for bankrupting Queensland, ‘sorry’ for losing our AAAcredit rating, ‘sorry’ for this incredible burden of $18,000 for every child born in 2001—I think that wasthe figure that was mentioned today. When those children are 18, they will not be able to afford to buy abeer. That is the poor scenario that the Labor government has led our state into.

I would like to move to some particular areas of the cost-of-living bill that try to redress thesituation that the Labor Party led us to. Queenslanders are crying out for leadership and the CampbellNewman-led LNP is providing that leadership to lead us out of the abyss that is their financial mess. Inthat way we can go forward and their children and their children’s children will not have to live with thisincredible debt.


I hark back to previous Labor experiences in the federal parliament. If we go back and look atfinancial mismanagement we have the wonderful Keating-Hawke years that led to $96 billion in debt forAustralia. It took John Howard, a conservative Prime Minister, 10 years to pay off that $96 billion of debt.I have a question for our Treasurer. I ask the Treasurer: how many years will it be before we can pay offQueensland’s $100 billion worth of debt? This Queensland debt is greater than what Hawke andKeating accumulated for the whole of Australia back in the horrible years to 1996.

It is a total embarrassment particularly when we consider that we have probably been throughQueensland’s best years in the last 50 years when it comes to the resource and property booms andGST income. I come from the Gold Coast and the member for Surfers Paradise would know that I haveseen a few booms on the Gold Coast. But I have never seen a boom last longer than the sevenwonderful years we had on the Gold Coast from 2001 to 2008.

The results of those boom years just evaporated. We now have a problem. I have a disabledpensioner brother who has complained to me about his water bill, which I will mention in a moment. Hehas an air conditioner because he has a very hot house, but he will not turn his air conditioner on otherthan during the very hottest times of the day—he will not turn it on at night—because of his power bills.The power bills that he pays as a disabled pensioner are solely due to the bad planning of the mob onthe other side of the House. They had the illustrious crew of Goss, Beattie and Bligh. The initials areGBB. I have just remembered that that is a horrible drug.


Mr STEVENS: I was close. Thank you very much, member for Bundamba, I was close. I knew itwas a horrible drug that people in the electorate got addicted to for the best part of 20 years. We are ridof that horrible dependency on those irresponsible financial operators. Now we are down to the hardyards for the Campbell Newman government of restoring some reality.

I do not believe it is all doom and gloom as the member for Bundamba painted in her speechearlier. I believe that the Campbell Newman led government, ably assisted by the Treasurer, will makethat transition. We are not paying it all off in one night. The financial position of this wonderful state willgradually be restored and we will regain our AAA credit rating. We probably will not get it back in thethree years prior to the next period of judgement by the people of Queensland, but I would assume thatwithin six years the Treasurer will have no excuse not to have us back with a AAA credit rating. I amtotally confident that within six years the Treasurer will have us back as a AAA credit rated state andfinancial entity and therefore our borrowings in the markets throughout the world will be at a level wecan afford.

The matters that affect people like my pensioner brother and the battlers that those on the otherside of the House are supposed to represent are important. Electricity prices have gone through theroof. The promises from former Premier Beattie that there would be the replacement of ageinginfrastructure and all of the rest of it were not delivered. We have heard in countless speeches membersrefer to the promise that nobody would be disadvantaged by privatisation. We cannot say lies in thisHouse but we can say total deceit. We cannot say they were lies because it is not parliamentarylanguage but we can say there was total deceit. There was total deceit of this House. They inflicted thepain on the battlers of Queensland—the people they claim to represent, which is a furphy.

Electricity bills, gas bills and all major unavoidable bills went through the roof under Labor. Thoseissues are at the very heart of why there is only a netball team left representing the Labor Party—theonce famous Labor Party that is now almost an irrelevance. The Katter party has two members andthere are two Independents which makes four members. That is over 50 per cent of the Labor Partymembers left in this House. That is an absolute disgrace to the Labor Party, their forebears and thepeople they represent.

I take the wind-up from the Leader of the Opposition. She is indicating that this diatribe of mine isvery painful for them to hear. They would not like to hear any further how they have misled the people ofQueensland and they have sold out on their constituency. Water charges are one of the main pains thatthey inflicted on the people of Queensland.

I was very well aware of water issues through my experience in local government. What the Laborgovernment did as far back as a good fellow called Wayne Goss, who had a wonderful advisor calledKevin Rudd, who had a great assistant called John Mickel, was get rid of the Wolffdene Dam project. Itwas in the Albert shire which is an area I represented many years ago. The decision was made forpurely political expedience. It had nothing to do with good planning or nothing to do with financialresponsibility. It was all about getting Fred James up in the seat of Beaudesert. It was Kev Lingard’sseat and he won the seat anyway. The fact is that we lost the Wolffdene Dam because of the LaborParty’s poor planning.

I have a little bit of history about Wolffdene Dam. It was on target to be built before WivenhoeDam. The 1974 flood—I cannot remember it, I was too young; some of my peers tell me—was a very bigflood. The fact was that the government at the time wisely decided to build Wivenhoe before WolffdeneDam to cater for the rapidly growing South-East Queensland population. We had 15,000 people a year


moving into the Gold Coast area and that resulted in a huge demand for water. It was as obvious as thenose on your face that that demand would not stop. We are talking about the 1970s. It has not stoppedand now it is 2012. We still have mass migration to the Gold Coast and the south-east region. We haveseen Logan grow like Topsy.

The terrible planning of the previous government in relation to water and all the other costimplications for the average person out there has led to the situation where we have major financialhurdles to address. The Treasurer will do that. More importantly, it has led to the fact that there areseven pitiful members of the Labor Party left in this House.

Ms PALASZCZUK (Inala—ALP) (Leader of the Opposition) (8.18 pm): I rise to support theposition on the bill as set out by the Manager of Opposition Business. When the global financial crisishit, Labor took the tough decision but the right decision to stand up for jobs and continue ourinfrastructure program. While jobs were being lost in record numbers around the world, we stood up forlocal workers and continued our investment. In the face of the worst economic crisis since the GreatDepression and in the wake of the worst natural disasters in our history, Labor continued to invest in ourbuilding program—that supported jobs and created infrastructure that will benefit our communities andsupport economic growth for years to come.

But we can always do more for people, and the Labor opposition is interested in supporting realsupport for Queenslanders. When I look at the title of this bill, we note that it is the cost-of-living bill. Thiswas a very important issue, an issue that the government went to the election on and championed thatthey would improve the cost of living for Queenslanders. But what they did not do when they went to theelection was tell Queenslanders that thousands upon thousands of jobs were going to be cut—thousands of jobs were going to be axed.

What we heard today in this House was very clear. When questioned, the Premier saidcategorically that around 20,000 jobs are going to go. We also heard today—we finally found out—fromthe Premier the breakdown of the jobs in the Public Service. Let us go through them briefly. There are37,374 temporary jobs in the Public Service. My challenge to the government tonight is: is thegovernment going to keep these 37,000 temporary jobs? And where are the majority of these jobs?13,774 are in Education and Training and 14,000 are in Health. Not only do we have temporary jobs; wehave casual jobs. Over 18,000 casual jobs are listed here—18,000. So when you talk about priorities,when you talk about promises, no-one in Queensland heard before the election that these jobs—people’s jobs—were on the chopping block. No-one heard this.

Mr Choat interjected.

Ms PALASZCZUK: No. You went to the election and you did not say you were going to costpeople their jobs. So it is going to be very hard for people to pay their bills, put fuel in their car, pay fortheir mortgage, to do all these other things if you do not have a job. There is nothing more important topeople than jobs. We are starting to see it. People are coming up to us day after day, week after week,telling us that they are concerned about their jobs.


Ms PALASZCZUK: You are laughing and you are dismissing it, but they will be coming to yourelectorate offices and they will be confronting you about this. There is nothing more important than a jobto a person. What will the Labor Party stand up for? I will tell you what the seven members of the LaborParty will stand up for in this place—jobs, jobs and jobs. That is our commitment. We will stand up forjobs.


Ms PALASZCZUK: You can laugh about it, and I see the Deputy Premier over there smirking,smirking like Peter Costello. There is nothing more important to a family than to have a family memberwith a job. You will hear it. You will see them marching in the streets. The teachers are coming heretomorrow. They will be here at Parliament House and they are not happy.

Unfortunately, my voice is going on me tonight but I have a lot more to say. I seek leave to havethe remainder of my speech incorporated in the Record of Proceedings and my office has provided acopy to the Speaker.

Leave granted. Opposition will support this Bill

The Opposition supports moves to assist families with the cost of living.

But the LNP’s design of these changes and the forced lack of Committee scrutiny of the legislation means that many families willbe left short-changed.

Key issues raised in debate:

The Leader of Opposition Business set out a range of areas where the design of the package raised more questions than itanswered and where some people will actually be left worse off.

We have seen throughout this debate, several important elements of this legislation discussed.




Electricity:

The issue of the government’s approach to electricity costs is the clearest example of where examination of this legislation byCommittee would have been beneficial.

The commitment of the LNP Government to address electricity prices for Queenslanders was very clear—they promised “savingsof around $120 a year on power bills compared with Labor”.

Despite this clear commitment, the Opposition is seriously concerned that the decision announced by the Government will notdeliver this outcome.

In freezing Tariff 11 for 12 months, the Government has not made comparisons with the pricing reforms that were set to be in placefor the new financial year under the previous Government.

What this means is that for many average families they will not receive the benefits that the LNP promised and, in fact, somefamilies may well be worse off.

These issues have been raised in the public debate and in this House and;

I ask the Minister to table comparisons between the Government’s decision and the pricing reforms that he shelved.

I ask the Minister to clearly explain who will be better off and who will be harmed.

It is particularly important that the Minister table this information in the House, as the legislation was not referred to the Committeefor proper analysis and scrutiny.

I also ask the Minister to explain what will occur after the 12 month period and what guarantees can he make that the so calledsavings this year will not simply be recouped the following years?

In addition, I ask the Minister to explain the cost increases for many in south-east Queensland, particularly those with electric hotwater systems or swimming pools.

Stamp Duty Changes

Another aspect of this decision that has not been fully explored is its impact on the housing construction sector.

As we know, the construction industry is struggling, not only in Queensland, but across the nation.

And housing construction, in particular, was hard hit by the international economic downturn and is still facing further challenges.

That is why the former Labor government introduced the Building Boost—to help stimulate activity in housing construction.

The Building Boost helped save jobs in the construction sector by stimulating building activity.

It was targeted at the construction of houses, not merely the sale of houses. In Labor tradition, it was targeted to supportconstruction jobs.

In fact, the NSW Liberal Government acknowledged the importance of targeting construction of new homes. The NSWannounced—just last week in their budget speech—a building boost program that contained the targeting of construction of newhomes, similar to the Queensland scheme.

The new Queensland Government should join their NSW colleagues and recognise that the targeting of the building boost to theconstruction of new homes was the correct priority for the previous Government.

3rd Party support:

The Building Boost was supported by stakeholders such as the Housing Industry Association, the Property Council and the MasterBuilders Association—as they all knew, first-hand, what impact the economic downturn was having on their industry.

For example, Master Builders Association made the statement on 14 June 2011 that:

“A new $140 million ‘Building Boost’ grant scheme, announced today as part of the state government’s 2011-2012 State Budget, isa kick start measure desperately needed by Queensland’s building industry, according to Master Builders, Queensland’s peakbody for housing and construction.

Master Builders Executive Director, Graham Cuthbert, said Master Builders welcomes the decision to introduce a $10,000incentive for all consumers building a new home in Queensland.

“By announcing this new grant as part of the 2011-2012 State Budget, the government is recognising the vital role the buildingindustry plays as a key driver of Queensland’s economy.” [end quote]

Madam Speaker, the LNP Government has unfortunately not allowed this important bill to go to Committee. The LNP has deniedproper review of the legislation by the Parliament and has denied community and industry stakeholders a voice in the review.

So in the absence of a Committee hearing, that should be part of the legislative process, the Opposition undertook to provide anavenue for stakeholders and the community to have input.

The view of the industry from when the Building Boost was introduced has been reinforced in the past few weeks by the HousingIndustry Association as part of the Opposition’s consultations on this Bill.

The HIA advised that:

“The home building industry in Queensland is in a parlous state with activity down around 40% from pre-GFC levels and little signof improvement in the short term.

“It was against this background that HIA strongly supported the Bligh Government’s Building Boost.

“While HIA would have preferred to see stimulus measures continuing only for new home building, we do support the restorationof the principal place of residence stamp duty concessions in the belief that it might encourage more activity in the establishedhousing market with a positive spin-off for new home building among trade-up buyers.”

As the HIA points out, the reintroduction of this concession is hoped to have some positive impacts on the established housingmarket.

The Opposition has concerns though, that this could result in negative impacts on the number of new homes being built.

So I have some further questions for the Treasurer:

Has the government done any modelling on the impact of this policy on the number of new homes that will be built in Queensland?

What modelling has been done on the budget costs of these changes?


Will he release the modelling on these questions to this House?

What support is the government providing to workers and businesses in the housing construction sector?

There is a very real prospect that as a result of these changes to the stamp duty concession, people are more likely to move intoestablished homes than they are into new homes.

This could potentially have a devastating impact on housing construction at a time when it is already struggling.

I am sure the industry would appreciate the government’s explanation about the impacts of these changes on this sector, andwhether it has fully thought through the longer-term repercussions of this move.

No Scrutiny:

The Premier, Treasurer and the Government have a particular responsibility to table in the House their modelling and budgetcalculations in this debate because they have denied this legislation the proper scrutiny and the appropriate consideration.

Declaring the bill urgent and refusing to send it to Committee was a tactic to deny proper scrutiny and deny the public the chanceto contribute through public debate.

This bill was introduced and declared urgent on the first real sitting day of this Parliament—over a month ago.

In that time, Committees have met, considered a wide variety of legislation, held public hearings and delivered Committee reportsto try to improve legislation.

But not this Bill. The LNP refused to allow scrutiny, even though it could have been sent to a Committee and back again by now.

Even more troubling for the LNP’s approach to the House and legislative scrutiny, is that this Bill is yet to be completed.

The LNP had an entire week of Parliament when the Bill could have come on for debate—but they held it back.

Then we had a second full sitting week where the LNP chose to shelve this Bill, choosing instead to prioritise drastic changes toIndustrial Relations.

How ironic that the ‘urgent’ Cost of Living bill was sidelined by legislation that will deny workers’ pay and conditions. That doesnothing but increase the cost of living pressures on working Queenslanders and their families.

In Conclusion:

As we have set out, the Opposition supports moves to assist with the cost of living, but we have concerns that particular elementsof the proposed changes will end up hurting the very people this Bill intends to support.

I have summarised a range of areas where the Opposition are concerned about the effect the Government’s changes could haveon Queenslanders—especially the changes to stamp duty and the particularities of the proposed changes to electricity tariffs.

Underlying all the Government’s rhetoric about improving the cost of living for Queenslanders is one, crucial question that the LNPrefuse to answer … How does it help workers to meet the cost of living by taking away their jobs?

This Government has no credibility on cost of living when:

They are already breaking election commitments that affect cost of living

They are threatening the livelihoods of thousands of workers in the public sector.

If the Government was serious about reducing cost of living, they would use all the available resources of this Parliament toensure the best possible legislation and the best outcomes for Queenslanders.

I urge them to do so in the future.

Mr KING (Cairns—LNP) (8.23 pm): What an honour it is to follow the cool, calm and collecteddelivery of the member for Mermaid Beach! If any electorate in Queensland is in desperate need of therelief that the Treasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 will provide, it isCairns. The unemployment rate across Far North Queensland is hovering at one of the state’s highest at9.1 per cent. Small businesses in particular are struggling to stay afloat, or are closing down. And so it iswith strong conviction that I fully support the Treasurer’s bill because it delivers on our pledge to reducethe financial burden on families and businesses in Cairns.

Those Labor members opposite are in denial about their woeful financial legacy. So I take thisopportunity to remind them what advice our government received on the Sunday morning after theelection on 24 March. The Premier, the Deputy Premier and the Treasurer sat down at a boardroomtable in the government’s Executive Building on George Street to receive a detailed briefing about theQueensland economy from senior Treasury officials. The Treasurer recalled in parliament that he turnedto the very first page of the document he was handed, prepared for the incoming government by thoseindependent Treasury officials. The Treasurer read the following sentence at the top of the first page—Queensland’s fiscal position and outlook is unsustainable and restoration is an urgent priority for this term of government.

Those are not our words. That is not political spin to shift blame. That was the fiscal position of our stateas identified by independent Treasury officials.

Mr Choat: Appointed by Labor.

Mr KING: I take the interjection—appointed by Labor. I stand here bemused but not surprisedthat those Labor members opposite are still incapable—they are incapable—of accepting blame for themess that they have left this state in. It is clear that Labor lost their way and, like characters in Alice inWonderland, they have yet to resurface from their fall down the rabbit hole.

With apologies to Ronald Reagan, the former Labor government’s view of the economy could besummed up in a few short phrases: ‘If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving it, regulate it. And if it stopsmoving, subsidise it.’ The Newman government on the other hand is determined to steer Queenslandaway from the path of financial oblivion and back on track to becoming this nation’s economic




powerhouse, a place where people want to live and invest, to start businesses and raise their families. Itis my sincere belief that Cairns and Far North Queensland can and will play a leading role in achievingthis exciting objective.

On the very first full day of normal business in this House, we took action to ease the cost-of-livingpressures on Queensland families, and today I am proud to stand up in parliament to talk about thepositive impacts that this bill will have on the people of Cairns and Far North Queensland. But first, toprovide a contrast, I must make mention of the member for Mulgrave’s attitude to the cost-of-livingpressures on Far North Queensland families. It is a slight disappointment that the member for Mulgraveis not in the House at this time but—

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Berry): Order! As I understand, you cannot refer in your speech towhether somebody is absent.

Mr KING: The Labor Party are on record as supporting the building of a $240 million Cairnsentertainment precinct. The Labor Party supported a $240 million white elephant in Cairns, rivalling onlythe magnificent but thankfully scrapped ski jump in its ridiculousness. To prove just how delusional theLabor Party’s attitude to the cost of living and the economy really is—

Opposition members interjected. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Member for Cairns. Mr KING: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. The Labor Party’s attitude to the cost of living can be

summed up by what one of their members had to say in this House about this $240 million monolith. InJune 2010, at the height of the Cairns economy’s pain, the Labor Party said that the proposed$240 million cultural precinct could be big and grand enough to house a concert from the world’s biggestband, U2. This was a 1,000-seat theatre but still the Labor Party insisted that it was a fantastic thing thatcould house U2. The Labor Party said in this House—Maybe we will see headline Australian bands like AC/DC or international artists such as U2 or Pink ... hold a major concert inCairns as well.

What was the very dry response from the Cairns Convention Centre manager to this claim by theLabor Party to their excuse and support for spending $240 million? The owner of the convention centresaid, ‘It’s quite obvious that U2 won’t play at a 1,000-seat venue.’

Mrs Frecklington: That’s common sense. Mr KING: That is the type of twisted logic that those opposite once used to run this state, and still

they use it in this House in their pitiful defence of their shameful record. Despite the Labor Party’s bizarre claims and support for this $240 million white elephant, the

former Labor government promised to fund one-third of the cost, supposedly and magically by sellingthe old Supreme Court site in Brisbane. With Cairns Regional Council expected to fund its own third ofthis $240 million project, the fact is that this would have contributed to a minimum six per cent councilrate rise—six per cent as a minimum at a time when the people of Cairns are struggling more than thosein any other city in Queensland. But that is, of course, the Labor way. That is what the Labor Partyoffered up as economic salvation to the people of Cairns. It offered up a minimum six per cent rate risefor ratepayers in Cairns.

It is clear from what we saw on 24 March that the Labor Party failed to recognise the financialpressure that its failed attempt at government brought to so many families. Those of us on this side ofthe House see it differently. We know that families are hurting and businesses are struggling. We knowthat you cannot keep spending and spending while borrowing and borrowing just to pay wages andkeep the lights on. We know that the measures in this bill will bring cost-of-living relief to the residents ofCairns and other areas of Queensland who have suffered for so long from endless rising taxes, fees,charges and regulation under the former Labor government.

The freeze on the domestic electricity supply tariff—tariff 11—will put a cap on soaring electricitybills for struggling families. The LNP will also deliver on our commitment to show the full impact offederal Labor’s toxic carbon tax on people’s electricity bills. The people of Queensland have a right toknow exactly what the real cost of living will be as a result of this toxic tax.

This bill reinstates the transfer duty home concession, which will help families save up to $7,000on the cost of their home. This bill also gives Queenslanders a fair go by providing working families ahand up to bring their dreams of owning their own home closer. Homebuyers will also benefit from thescrapping of the cost burden and inconvenience of sustainability declarations. I am particularly keen tosee the positive flow-on effect of this aspect of the legislation in terms of the struggling property sector inthe Cairns region.

In terms of small business, this bill marks the beginning of our six-year plan to ease the burden ofpayroll tax, one of the biggest gripes that I received during the election campaign from small businessowners. These measures will help 1,200 employers across Queensland in the first year alone.Thousands more employers will benefit in years to come, by the time we lift that exemption to$1.6 million. This is particularly exciting and relevant to businesses in Far North Queensland. Smallbusiness owners have been on their knees for a number of years under the former Labor government,


and this bill delivers on our commitment to reduce the cost to them of employing staff. During a visit to aCairns paint shop during the election campaign, the Premier and I met with the owner, who said that ourpolicy to reduce the burden of payroll tax would enable him to employ two extra staff members. Thismove to ease the burden of payroll tax provides tangible positive outcomes for the people of Cairns andall of Queensland.

Easing the cost of living for families is a key part of our commitment to bring much neededconfidence back to the Cairns and Queensland economies. I commend the bill to the House.

Hon. TJ NICHOLLS (Clayfield—LNP) (Treasurer and Minister for Trade) (8.33 pm), in reply: Ithank all members of the House for their contribution to the debate since this bill was introduced. Iparticularly acknowledge those members on this side of the House who have made their contributions insupport of the bill.

Mr Seeney: You have enjoyed the debate. Mr NICHOLLS: I have enjoyed the debate. I have listened to parts of it; I have not been able to

listen to all of it. I guess the enthusiasm shown by members on this side to speak in support of the billreflects their concern for their constituents and highlights the work they did in the lead-up to beingelected to this place. Some of the comments made by members were very interesting.

The member for Mount Coot-tha made comments in relation to real estate agents, of whom onesaid in relation to the principal place of residence concession, ‘We need encouragement from thegovernment, not discouragement. To a person or family buying their own home, this is a hugedisadvantage.’ Another real estate agent said, ‘It won’t bring the state government more money. It willbring in less. It will slow down the market, result in fewer transactions and, therefore, increase thebudget deficit rather than decrease it.’

The member for Mundingburra, the Minister for Local Government, talked about people in hiselectorate struggling to pay the bills—from truck drivers to nurses to double-income families with grown-up children. Across-the-board, he heard heartbreaking comments such as, ‘We don’t make ends meetanymore,’ and, ‘We eat less meat to pay the electricity bills.’ And as he said, most memorably, there wasthe elderly widow who told him that she does not turn on her lights at night because of her electricitycost.

The member for Beaudesert spoke about the Dennis family in his electorate whose electricity billincreased from approximately $10,000 to $16,000 a quarter. We heard about the vegetable processorwhose electricity bill went to $25,000 a month, increasing costs and coming straight out of the bottomline of the business—a business that employs people in that part of the world.

The member for Broadwater retold the story of speaking with a lady who lives in Labrador. Herhusband works two jobs and she works full time as they try to raise their three kids. The lady was nearlyin tears talking about the sacrifices that she and her husband have made in order to bring up those threekids and meet the costs being imposed on them.

The member for Chatsworth paid visits to many small and medium-sized businesses throughouthis electorate, around Tingalpa and many other industrial and small manufacturing areas—talking topeople at Uncle Bobs Bakery at Belmont, Fancee Fruit at Carindale, the WineGum Cafe at Gumdaleand Brisbane Metal Products at the Tingalpa light industrial precinct—and spoke about the benefits theysaw coming as a result of the work we are putting in through this cost-of-living bill.

The member for Currumbin made it abundantly clear in her contribution that the biggest issuehitting households across her electorate and the No. 1 issue of concern to the residents of Currumbinwas the cost of living. That was highlighted in a survey she carried out across her electorate in 2010. Iremember that survey and I remember the work that the member for Currumbin did in making sure thather residents’ views and feelings were well known as a result of taking that survey across her wholeelectorate.

I mention the member for Morayfield, whom I campaigned with and who is himself a smallbusiness person. We spent some time in his electorate and I met a number of his constituents—smallbusiness people who were doing it tough, families who were doing it tough. These were people whogenerally did not look for a hand-out from government, who really did not want anything to do withgovernment most of the time; they just want to be able to get on and lead their lives, raise their familiesand do what Queenslanders do with minimal interference from the dead hand of government. He told astory about doorknocking the electorate and approaching a house whose door was opened by a middle-aged lady who was stunned to see him standing there. It was the first time in 20 years that she had beencanvassed by someone, asking for her vote and asking to represent her in that seat.

The member for Nanango earlier this afternoon indicated what would happen to small businessesin her electorate as a result of the introduction of the cost-of-living bill. I listened with interest to thedissertation of the member for Mermaid Beach a little while ago and heard about some of the impactsthe bill will have on the people of Mermaid Beach. So I have listened to speeches by members fromacross the state. I just heard the member for Cairns mention the impacts of changes in the cost of livingin his electorate, which has been doing it tough for some years as a result of the downturn in the tourismindustry.




I thank all of those members who went out and did the hard yards—who were not hard-hearted,who did not close their ears to the concerns of their constituents, who went out and campaigned andbrought information back to the LNP parliamentary team and who were part of the success that occurredon 24 March as a result of that hard work, as a result of talking to people, as a result of not losing touchwith their constituents and making sure they knew what the major issues were.

We also heard from members of the opposition. Some of them spoke about how they have nowfelt sorry for people in their electorates and how they were really doing the right thing, but not once didwe hear the words, ‘We’re sorry for what we did to you.’ Not once did we hear them say, ‘We’re sorry wetook the fuel subsidy away from you and didn’t tell you about it.’ Not once did we hear them say, ‘We’resorry we got it wrong on the electricity rationalisation program and we mucked it up which led toincreasing electricity costs.’

Mrs Miller: Are you sorry you’re going to sack all the public servants? When are you going to saysorry for sacking public servants—and you didn’t tell them, either?

Mr NICHOLLS: Not once did we hear them say to the people of South-East Queensland, ‘We’resorry your water bill has gone through the roof and that things are getting more expensive.’

Mrs Miller: No, he’s never said sorry. No, you didn’t tell them, either.Mr NICHOLLS: Not once did we hear from the members opposite, ‘We’re sorry about the ever-

increasing cost of public transport’—the thing that makes a difference to people, whether it is getting towork or going to a job interview or going to school. Not once did we hear them say sorry about thosesorts of things that occurred on the former Labor government’s watch, while it was in charge and while ithad the decision-making power. Not once did we hear one word that says, ‘We got it wrong all the waythrough.’

Mrs Miller: Say sorry for sacking the temporary public servants. Go on! While you’re at it, go on!Say sorry.

Mr NICHOLLS: All we heard was a litany of excuses—a litany of excuses and a litany ofcomplaint.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Berry): Order! Members, if you are going to interject, please return toyour proper seat.

Mr NICHOLLS: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I have heard those opposite talk aboutemployment and about jobs. What did they achieve in that period of time when debt flew through theceiling, when all of those expenses were added to the cost burden of ordinary families to pay for theirfailed employment programs? What was their promise before the last election? It was for 100,000breadwinners’ jobs. What did they deliver over that period of time? They did not deliver 100,000breadwinners’ jobs; they delivered only 50,000 of those jobs over three years—less than the averageannual rate of growth that had occurred each year in the prior 10 years. They got nothing more than wasalready going to happen anyway in terms of jobs growth. And where did most of that growth take place?It all took place here in the Queensland Public Service, and that is the great shame of what they did.They ploughed more and more people into the public sector. We on this side know that a real job is inthe private sector—a sustainable job based on the hard work and thrift of small and medium-sizedbusinesses that are the backbone of Queensland, not ongoing jobs in the public sector that cannot beafforded over time. That is the cruel hoax of what those opposite have done—

Mrs Miller: Yeah, you sack them!Mr NICHOLLS:—because they made a promise yet again—another promise that cannot be kept,

because those people the now opposition and the then government put on cannot continue to be paidby the taxpayers of Queensland. They did their best. They got rid of the fuel subsidy. They sold theassets. They got rid of Queensland Motorways and the Gateway Bridge. They put on more and moretaxes. Four years ago they increased by 0.5 per cent a temporary levy on land tax which is still sittingthere. They got rid of the principal place of residence concession. So they whacked on as many taxes asthey could. But, as Margaret Thatcher says, the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out ofother people’s money, and they ran out of it. Having run out of it—that was not enough for them—theywent out and borrowed! They borrowed more money to keep doing it! They only need to look at thisreport—and I take members to chapter 6 of the report—to see exactly the impact on Public Serviceemployment.

Mrs Miller: Oh, yeah—the new bible.Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I was fairly clear: if you are going to interject, return to your own

seat. Are you prepared to return to your own chair?Mrs Miller: I will in due course.Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: All right. You have been warned. The member for Bundamba is now

warned pursuant to—Mrs Miller: Yeah, you better find the right standing order!Government members interjected.


Mr NICHOLLS: Mr Deputy Speaker, I move that the House do eject the member for Bundamba.Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member has been warned. I will take advice from the clerks at the

table. Member for Bundamba, you have been warned under standing order 253A. I call the Treasurer.Mr NICHOLLS: As I was saying, the problem with the other side and the problem with socialism

is that eventually you run out of other people’s money, and the other side ran out of other people’smoney. Having run out of other people’s money—having increased fees, taxes and charges; having puttheir hands in the pockets of long-suffering Queenslanders, and they were long-suffering for a longperiod of time—they went out and continued to borrow even more. What was the result of thatborrowing? It was more and more debt. As a result, the state of Queensland is fronting a potential$100 billion debt by 2018-19 and a $5.3 billion interest payment.

Who pays that bill? Who pays that $5.3 billion? Is it the good comrades over at the trades andlabour hall who racked it all up? Are they the ones putting their hands in their pockets? Is it the membersof the Health Services Union who are paid $280,000 a year to drive around in their Mercedes? Is thatwhat they are talking about? Is it the members of the union movement who got appointed to all of thoseboards and sat on them for so long and enjoyed the good life lying around the place? Is it any of themwho are going to be paying that bill? No. The people who under Labor were going to be paying the billwere ordinary taxpayers and ordinary businesses struggling to earn a buck—no friends of favour, noTammany Hall mates, no special deals done, just people out there working hard every day trying to dothe right thing. That is why this bill is so important and that is why we on this side, unlike those on theother side, are keeping our promise to deliver on cost-of-living savings.

I heard members say, ‘What can you do about jobs?’ The first thing we can do about jobs—ifmembers opposite had looked at the bill they would know—is reduce the rate of payroll tax. So what arewe doing? We are reducing the rate of payroll tax. It will now be the case that 90 per cent of businessesin Queensland will not be paying payroll tax. That is how people go about getting a job—not by using theold Labor socialist way of sticking your hand into businesspeople’s pockets all of the time and making itharder to employ people but by making it easier to employ people. By doing that, a business thatemploys 18 people will now be able to employ 20 people without paying additional payroll tax. That is apretty good result. We talk about how we can make it better. We talk about not having the stifling hand ofstupid regulation. Who came up with the sustainability declaration? Who came up with that genius idea?

Government members: Stirling Hinchliffe!

Mr NICHOLLS: Who?

Government members: Stirling Hinchliffe!

Mr NICHOLLS: ‘The ghost of Stafford past’ came up with the sustainability declaration. Wouldthat have got through an Office of Best Practice Regulation? What do members think? No way! We aregoing to stop the Labor geniuses who turned up with sustainability declarations—a form that, firstly, no-one could read and, secondly, no-one wanted to fill in and, thirdly, no-one paid any attention to anyway!It sounds like an ad put together by the member for South Brisbane in an election campaign: no-onewants to read it, no-one cares about it and it does not work anyway! That is what we are going to do.

We are going to restore confidence for families and households. How are we doing that? TheMinister for Energy and Water Supply showed how we are going to do that. We are going to freeze tariff11 for the first time. We will stop the bills going through the roof for 2012-13 and then we will look at theprocess and ask, ‘How can we have a process that delivers a better outcome for consumers in thefuture?’ We are not going to stand up here as former Premier Beattie and former Deputy Premier Blighdid and say, ‘We guarantee this will happen to you,’ without any explanation. We are going to look at it.We are going to do it sensibly and in the meantime we will give people cost-of-living relief through theirelectricity bills.

Importantly, how else are we going to restore confidence? What is the single biggest investmentthat most people make? It is an investment in their own home. We are going to make that easier byreinstating the principal place of residence concession. All night tonight I have been signing letters topeople who have been asking me, ‘What a fantastic thing. When are you going to do it?’, and I havebeen saying to them, ‘On 1 July it is coming back in. Get ready to go.’ That is the thing that families arelooking for; that is the thing that real estate agents and that vendors are looking for—that sign of hope, asign that this is not a government that always puts its hands ever deeper in their pocket, because that isall they got from 20 long years of Labor. We have heard another couple of well known and tried whingesby—

Mr Stevens: Professional.

Mr NICHOLLS:—the professional over there from South Brisbane whose stock in trade is towhinge and discombobulate. We had the member for South Brisbane regaling us with her version of‘Labornomics’ about how things were good. The ‘Labornomics’ member for South Brisbane camethrough with some things. First of all she thinks the carbon tax is good. She thinks the carbon tax is notgoing to add more than $2.44 to the cost of living and that everyone should go down on bended knee toher comrades in Canberra and say, ‘Thank you very much. Thank you very much for the carbon tax.’ I


have news for the member for South Brisbane. The carbon tax is coming and so are the voters ofQueensland. Anthony Chisholm is ringing the member for South Brisbane and saying, ‘Gee, you didsuch a great job in the state campaign. How about coming and giving us a bit of a hand on the federalcampaign?’

Mr Stevens: Please do! Make a recommendation!

Mr NICHOLLS: Let me get the phone number. I am going to hand it over. Tell us how well thatworks. Soon we will have the old team back together—Bruce Hawker, Anthony Chisholm and themember for South Brisbane. Where is the Minister for Sport and Racing? I want to get some money onthis action! This is good stuff!

I ask the member for South Brisbane: what is this carbon tax really going to mean to the people ofQueensland? Again, she should have a look at this report because it details it. The Treasury said$1.4 billion to $1.6 billion. The best case scenario is another $200 million worse and the worst casescenario is another $1.4 billion worse. That is $3 billion more as a result of her mates in Canberraputting in a carbon tax that they promised not to introduce. In another example of ‘Labornomics’ shesays, ‘It doesn’t matter. It’s only going on to businesses. They’ll be able to pay for it.’ What anemployment prospect that would be! Let’s put more costs and more expenses on businesses so theycan employ more people! That is more ‘Labornomics’ from the member for South Brisbane.

I turn to another comment from the member for South Brisbane that any attempt to reduce thecost of living must be well thought out and considered. I have to ask how would they know because wehave not actually ever seen one. Whether it would be well thought out and well considered by the formergovernment is unknown to anyone. It is a comment the truth of which we cannot tell because they nevereven tried it. The only thing that happened in the last election was that, belatedly, those oppositethought, ‘We’ll try and cut the cost of car registration.’ Who came up with that idea first? Did we come upwith that idea first? Did we go out and say it? Of course we did and then they came along and said, ‘Nowwe’re going to try to do it as well.’ There were no costings around it and no idea where it was going tocome from.

The only cost saving—I am struggling to even think of one cost saving that the other side cameup with. I suppose there is fewer of them; that is a cost saving somewhere along the line. Here we havethe member for South Brisbane again—there was something good to come out of it; I knew there wouldbe—saying, ‘The economy this LNP government inherited indeed had a level of debt.’ There we go,hallelujah! That is a blinding glimpse of the obvious from the member for South Brisbane. She went on,‘But this debt kept our heads above water during the worst global financial crisis in 80 years and it madesure that we could recover from the worst natural disasters in Queensland’s recorded history.’ It isinconceivable that the member could actually believe that the rapid accumulation of debt at the rate thatthey accumulated it was as a result simply of the natural disasters and the global financial crisis and notas a result of their poor financial management. When we see that employee expenses grew at anaverage of nearly nine per cent per annum in the decade from 2000 to 2011 it puts a lie to the statementmade by the member for South Brisbane. It was not just in the last couple of—

Mr PITT: I rise to a point of order. That language is unparliamentary—using the word ‘lie’.

Mr NICHOLLS: I will withdraw. The fact that employee expenses grew at an average of 8.7 percent between 2000—

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Berry): Order! The member for Mulgrave—the honourable theTreasurer will just take a seat for the moment—had you finished?

Mr PITT: Yes.

Mr NICHOLLS: If it is worth listening to I will respond to it, but most of it has not been.

Employee expenses grew at an average of nine per cent per annum between 2000 and 2010 andthat bells the cat in terms of what those opposite are saying about it being attributable to either the GFCor the floods and cyclones. We saw a 170 per cent increase in the capital spending beforeQueensland’s credit downgrade. They do not understand that it was their spending before the creditdowngrade that led to the credit downgrade. That is exactly what occurred. That occurred well beforethe floods and the cyclones. In 2011-12, 96 per cent of that capital spending is financed by debt, not byfree cash flows as it had been in the first half of the decade and as it had been traditionally byQueensland under the fiscal principles that had been in place.

Many things have been said in relation to this bill by the member for South Brisbane and I havecertainly outlined some of those. There are a couple of other comments made by the member for SouthBrisbane about infrastructure that I do want to mention. She talks about infrastructure and says that sheis proud to stand here and say that it was the Bligh-Fraser government that produced the biggestinfrastructure program in this nation year in, year out. What did it deliver? The Queensland Children’sHospital at an estimated cost of $1.5 billion, more than double the initial cost estimate of $690 million.Members might be interested to know that the incremental benefit from this project is 83 new beds at acost of $17.7 million each. That is good spending! Well done! Cost benefit analysis: $17.7 million and all


they can do is continue to throw money at it. They do not ask, ‘How can we deliver it smarter?’, or, ‘Howcan we deliver the service better?’ The old Labor socialist measure is, ‘How much of other people’smoney can we spend to deliver the service?’

Opposition members interjected. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Members on my left! Mr NICHOLLS: Rather than saying, ‘Well, at $17.7 million a bed we would be better off getting

maybe five or six more beds out of it,’ they just want to keep spending more and more and more. Thereis also the land bank at Traveston Dam that the Deputy Premier is now having to deal with, WyaralongDam which is not connected to the grid and a spending trend which, if left unchecked, would haveresulted in $19.7 billion worth of deficit under this government.

There were a number of questions raised by a number of people, and I want to deal with a coupleof them. I will deal firstly with questions from the member for Gladstone. I listened to her speech and hercomments quite carefully in the last sitting week and I have had a quick word with her. She asked acouple of good questions about tariff 11 and what happens after the freeze. I think that is a very sensiblequestion. Member for Gladstone, we have formed an interdepartmental committee made up of the chiefexecutives of both Treasury and the Department of Energy and Water Supply and some other people asthe minister has indicated to view the price path for electricity going forward. We are giving immediaterelief to families now, as we promised, and we are putting in place a review process that ensures we donot slavishly adopt what comes out of either the companies themselves or any other recommendations.The results of that process will be made known once that interdepartmental committee—made up ofpeople who have experience in government and in electricity generation, transmission and retail—hasprovided that to us. We will be working our way through that.

The member for Gladstone quite sensibly asked about the Office of Best Practice Regulationbeing part of the QCA and whether this another process. Yes, it is another process, but it is a processthat is designed to stop bad regulations coming through. It is modelled on a process in Victoria and atthe Commonwealth level that aims to act as a gatekeeper to stop bad regulations getting through in thefirst place. It will not slow down the process of legislation and the resolution of matters, but it will stopbad regulation like the sustainability declaration and it will also clearly identify the costs of newregulations when they are brought in. The idea is not to have no regulation; the idea is to have goodregulation. That is what the Office of Best Practice Regulation will do.

The member for Gladstone also asked about Energex network charges and how that would gothrough. Under this legislation, the minister has been given the power to give a direction to Energex inrelation to the network charges. Whilst we freeze tariffs here, we also have to give a direction to Energexfurther back down the line as they put their costs through to the retailers. That information has beenprovided to retailers and that is how we will go about making those changes all the way through. I hopethat answers the questions of the member for Gladstone, which I thought were quite proper andsensible questions to ask in the debate. I note her concern about some of the people in her electoratewho are struggling in that very variable economy that we see in regional Queensland.

There were a number of questions from the member for Mulgrave in relation to the PPRconcession, payroll tax and others. A couple were raised by the member for Rockhampton and by themembers for Bundamba and Mackay. In terms of some of those things, I inform the member forMulgrave that the cost of the commitment in relation to the reinstatement of the PPR concession wasactually completely detailed in our statement of costings. It is laid out there in black and white for him toread. The cost was estimated at $247 million in 2012-13, $260 million in 2013-14 and $272 million in2014-15. It is variable. It depends on the revenue receipts in that year. That is the costing that has beenput in place. That was the costing we went to the election with and that is the costing that we will betaking through.

The member for Mulgrave also asked what impact the reinstatement of the concession will haveon the housing construction sector. I would have to say to him that the reinstatement of a $7,000concession in the housing sector will have an immediate benefit for people who are buying houses andthen seeking to renovate them or for those people wanting to buy a new home. It adds to activity in themarket which adds to those sorts of issues.

In relation to the payroll tax, the member for Mulgrave asked about the number of people affected.Ninety per cent of employers will not be liable to pay payroll tax once this bill is passed. He asked anumber of other questions in terms of employment. Treasury modelling is that the initiative will be apositive for employment, and we estimate that it will be worth $40 million in 2012-13 in terms ofemployment prospects all the way through. Many of the other questions the member for Mulgrave askedare answered in the costings document that we put out.

In relation to the Queensland Competition Authority proposals, obviously the QueenslandCompetition Authority made recommendations. Some went up, some were below the margin on the waythrough. No-one will be worse off with a freeze. Obviously a freeze is just that. If it were not for thecarbon tax, people would have been better off by about $190.

Mr Pitt: The Household Assistance Package has to be taken into consideration.

19 Jun 2012 Adjournment 795

Mr NICHOLLS: Member for Mulgrave, we are talking about the cost of something. If theCommonwealth government wants to impose a tax and then give someone some money for a tax sothey do not have to pay it, that is its responsibility. Our responsibility is to make it clear how much peopleget. Not everyone gets the Household Assistance Package but everyone pays the carbon tax.

In conclusion, I thank everyone for their contribution to the debate. I think it has been a worthwhiledebate. I am very pleased to be introducing the first bill of the Newman LNP government. I conclude bysaying that I am sorry I forgot to thank my family in my address-in-reply. Ever since I have paid a pricethat is very high! I record my thanks to my wife, my mum and dad and my kids for all their help during theelection campaign.

Question put—That the bill be now read a second time.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Consideration in Detail

Clauses 1 to 57, as read, agreed to.

Third Reading

Hon. TJ NICHOLLS (Clayfield—LNP) (Treasurer and Minister for Trade) (9.06 pm): I move—That the bill be now read a third time.

Question put—That the bill be now read a third time.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a third time.

Long Title

Hon. TJ NICHOLLS (Clayfield—LNP) (Treasurer and Minister for Trade) (9.07 pm): I move—That the long title of the bill be agreed to.

Question put—That the long title of the bill be agreed to.

Motion agreed to.

MOTION

Yeerongpilly Transit Oriented Development

Hon. JW SEENEY (Callide—LNP) (Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development,Infrastructure and Planning) (9.07 pm), by leave, without notice: I move—That under section 66 of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 the House ratify the State Planning Regulatory Provisions of theYeerongpilly Transit Oriented Development that was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on 13 December 2011.

This is a procedural motion. The State Planning Regulatory Provision was tabled in the House bythe previous government but was required to be ratified. It was not ratified. I seek to correct that errortonight and I commend the motion to the House.

Question put—That the motion be agreed to.

Motion agreed to.

ADJOURNMENT

Mr STEVENS (Mermaid Beach—LNP) (Manager of Government Business) (9.09 pm): I move—That the House do now adjourn.

Fitzroy River, Water Sports

Mr BYRNE (Rockhampton—ALP) (9.09 pm): I rise to bring to the attention of the House theexistence of an incredible watercraft venue located in Rockhampton above the Fitzroy River barrage.Without question, the Fitzroy River provides one of the most spectacular locations for still-water watersports in Queensland. In recent years the location has hosted many events. The Fitzroy River playedhost to both the Australian and Canadian rowing teams, which used the river as preparatory training formajor competitions. The New Zealand and Australian kayak teams have also used the location fortraining.










796 Adjournment 19 Jun 2012

Last Christmas I received the T-shirt; stencilled across the back was the term ‘Boat Bitch’. As ayoung woman my bride was a national champion and an Australian rowing representative. In recentyears she has returned to the sport as both a masters competitor and a coach, hence my T-shirtreflecting her and her crew’s expectations of my support. On the weekend of 23 and 24 June, the Fitzroywill host the Central Queensland Schools Championship Regatta. Approximately 340 students willcompete. They come from many central Queensland schools such as the Cathedral College,Rockhampton Grammar School, Rockhampton Girls Grammar, Emmaus College and NorthRockhampton State High School. Within the sport the male to female ratio is 50 to 50. All told, 21schools from across the state are expected to compete.

In recent years the Fitzroy has hosted major regattas, including the Australian Masters RowingChampionships in 2005 and 2009 as well as the Queensland Schools Rowing Championships in 2006,2008 and 2011. The Fitzroy is a unique location boasting excellent still-water rowing conditions and theability to row upstream for at least 40 kilometres. If any members of this House are interested in a quick80-kilometre row, just give me a call.

The Central Queensland Schools Championship will be run entirely by members and supportersof the Rockhampton Fitzroy Rowing Club, which was formed only in September 2006. In CentralQueensland, interest in rowing is growing rapidly. On 23 and 24 June I will be there, with my T-shirt, andI invite all members to visit Central Queensland and join me at this fantastic youth sporting event.

Gold Coast, Light Rail

Mr STEVENS (Mermaid Beach—LNP) (9.11 pm): I rise to speak on the light rail proposal thatterminates in my electorate of Mermaid Beach, just in front of Pacific Fair Shopping Centre atBroadbeach. I have been inundated with senior community members demanding that the project beaborted. I am here to confirm that the birth of the light rail will be on time and on budget and it will havea pain-free delivery. The pain will start after the birth, when taxpayers are forced to stump up the extrafunds that will be required to support this public transport option.

The history of the light rail goes back a long way to the mayoral days of Gary Baildon, when theGold Coast City senior planner of transport, Mr Rodney Grose, drove this project, in company with theCEO of the Gold Coast Bulletin, Mr Roy Miller. They put the light rail option on the agenda. The federalHoward government funded a $1.25 million dollar study that was supported by the federal Gold Coastmembers for the electorates of Moncrieff and Mcpherson, to see how the light rail would address theissues of public transport on the Gold Coast.

I have never supported this option as the most financially prudent option for public transport onthe Gold Coast. Quite clearly, this option was very limited in terms of movement numbers, it was verylimited in terms of the number of people it would serve and it was what the Labor Party called an ‘iconicproject’ to try to gain votes on the Gold Coast. However, on the Gold Coast the LNP achieved a perfectscore. We have 10 out of 10 LNP members representing the Gold Coast, so their strategy around thelight rail project did not work.

We have written the contracts, we have written the cheques and there is no going back from theGold Coast light rail as a major project. It is a $1.6 billion project on the Gold Coast. There is noopportunity to revisit the matter. We look forward to the opening of the light rail to provide transport fromthe Gold Coast University Hospital and the university itself down to Pacific Fair at Broadbeach, which isthe end point of the rail line. I assure people that any long-term proposal for extending the light rail willbe extremely limited. We have to live with the project that we now have on our back doorstep. We willenjoy it to the best of our capacities and we will utilise it to the best of our capacities.

Out of the Box Festival; Pine Rivers, Performing Arts

Mr HOLSWICH (Pine Rivers—LNP) (9.14 pm): Tonight I rise to talk about two fantastic eventsthat I was privileged to attend last week. Last Tuesday at QPAC I was honoured to represent theMinister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts at the launch of the Out of the BoxFestival for children. The festival is a unique event and is the only festival in Australia that is dedicated tochildren under the age of eight. This year marked the 20th year of the festival and the program for theyear was built on the key principles of literary, artistic and cultural literacy. As a parent of primary schoolaged children, I have a personal appreciation of events such as this that open up opportunities for ourchildren to experience the arts in an age-appropriate manner. Last Thursday I was at Dayboro StateSchool when the children and teachers returned from an excursion to the festival. Both students andteachers were glowing in their assessments of the festival.

On a more local level, last Saturday I attended the annual Seniors Concert of the Pine RiversBrass Band. As someone who first picked up a trombone at the age of eight and for many years was amember of brass bands, it was a pleasure to hear such good quality brass band music in my ownelectorate and to see this band continuing to provide good quality concerts for some very appreciative






local seniors. Like the Out of the Box Festival, this year the Pine Rivers Brass Band celebrates 20 years.I congratulate President Ruth Voysey and the band on 20 years of service through music to ourcommunity.

I make no secret of my passion for the arts and, in particular, for local community performing artsorganisations. Having grown up performing in bands, in choirs and in some very amateur musicaltheatre productions, I have a deep appreciation of the value of those activities, particularly for ourchildren and youth. That is why I am pleased to support great local organisations in my electorate suchas the Pine Rivers Brass Band, Act 1 Theatre and the Pine Rivers Musical Association. I cannot wait tosee what superstars in the making are performing in the Pine Rivers Musical Association’s production ofOliver later this year.

These small, local organisations and activities provide a great opportunity for our children todevelop their confidence and self-esteem and provide great opportunities for performers to developstrong friendships and networks with like-minded people. They give great opportunities for buddingsuperstars to learn their trade. I am proud to be part of a government that is encouraging and resourcingthe arts at a grassroots level, knowing that this will ultimately lay an even stronger platform fordeveloping world-class performers, performances and exhibitions well into Queensland’s future.

Gladstone Harbour, Water Quality

Mrs CUNNINGHAM (Gladstone—Ind) (9.17 pm): Last week the James Cook University releaseda study that, in part, plotted the dredging plume from harbour dredging. That report concluded the plumeran up to 35 kilometres and not the one or two kilometres claimed by the dredging proponent. The reporthas reignited community comment in Gladstone. Fuelling the fire are comments in an article in theMorning Bulletin of 8 June, attributed to the former chair of the Gladstone Ports Corporation in reply tostatements made by the Premier.

On 7 June this year in parliament the Premier stated—After meeting with the fishermen in Gladstone, I am very concerned about what has gone on there and the way the wholeenvironment issue has been handled.

The former chairman is said to have pointed the finger at gas and coal companies, suggesting they wereresponsible for environmental mismanagement in the region. The quote attributed to the former chair isthis—If you want to see if there has been environmental mismanagement in the harbour, you should speak to the coal and gascompanies.

My question is this: has the port or other entities been aware of mismanagement and covered upthat mismanagement? In reality, the Gladstone Ports Corporation has been the entity carrying out thevast majority of the activity in the harbour. They sanction it, they carry it out or they are involved in theapproval process for it.

Has there been a cover-up by any entities in relation to damage to the harbour, whether it is fromdredging or previously? If the LNG or coal industries have mismanaged the harbour, how long has itbeen going on for? Coal has been exported out of Gladstone for donkey’s years and yet we have thechairman of the board saying, ‘If you want to see whether there has been environmentalmismanagement in the harbour, not on Curtis Island and not on mainland, you should speak to the coaland gas companies.’

Mr Brusasco may not be the chairman of the board anymore, but if he or others have informationabout Gladstone harbour that is contrary to all of the rhetoric by the former government that it was beinghandled appropriately, environmentally sustainably, well, responsibly, openly and accountably then itmust be made public. The people of my community and indeed the people of Queensland need to knowbecause it has been held up as a bastion of environmental management. If there is mismanagement,own up!

St Paul’s Anglican Men’s Society

Mr BERRY (Ipswich—LNP) (9.20 pm): On Saturday, 9 June 2012 I had the privilege of attendingthe St Paul’s Anglican Men’s Society’s quarterly breakfast at the St Paul’s Parish Centre in Ipswich. Itwas great for me to meet with local church members to tell my story and tell them a little about myself. Ican assure members here today that I did that with humility. I am told that St Paul’s Anglican Church isthe second oldest Anglican Church in Queensland and is home to the first pipe organ to ever arrive inQueensland from London. It was installed in 1860.

However, it is the work of the Anglican Men’s Society, like many community groups in myelectorate, that does our city of Ipswich proud. The St Paul’s Anglican Men’s Society is a strong branchof members of the St Paul’s parish. It aims to allow parishioners to practise their faith and contribute tothe community through brotherhood. Parishioners donated heavily their time, money and clothing duringthe dreaded 2011 Queensland floods under the guidance of the Reverend Mathew Jones. It plays anactive role in all support networks for members in the Ipswich community.





798 Adjournment 19 Jun 2012

The Anglican Men’s Society also has strong links with local schools, in particular the WestMoreton Anglican College in Karrabin. The Anglican Men’s Society has an extensive and strong historyof supporting not only the local Ipswich community but also the broader Australian community.

During the Second World War the Anglican Men’s Society established a hostel for local servicepersonnel and troops in transit, and also provided meals and entertainment to the servicemen. In fact,parishioner Mavis Parkinson, a great Queenslander from St Paul’s, served as a missionary to PapuaNew Guinea from 1937 to 1942. Mavis Parkinson was killed by invading Japanese forces in 1942 and isto this day remembered throughout Ipswich and the local community.

I would like to personally acknowledge and thank the current chairman of the Anglican Men’sSociety, York McFadzean, and secretary Andy Brodersen for giving me the warmest of welcomes. I lookforward to attending another St Paul’s Anglican Men’s Society function in the very near future.

Fort Lytton National Park

Mr SYMES (Lytton—LNP) The (9.23 pm): I rise tonight to speak about a great piece ofQueensland history in Brisbane. Fort Lytton National Park is a great showcase of Queensland’s greatmilitary history. The site was used in the past for army training, as a defence point during World War IIand obviously as a fort. I had the pleasure on the Queen’s birthday long weekend to attend the cannonfiring and the History Alive event with local councillor for the Doboy ward, Ryan Murphy. The siteincludes the original cannon, which supposedly dates back to the battle of Waterloo. That is why theWynnum foreshore is now called Waterloo Bay. It is a great bay.

I urge all Queenslanders and fellow MPs to check out this great piece of Queensland history. Iwant to thank the organiser of the event, Brian Rough, for a great event to mark the Queen’s birthdaycelebrations. I look forward to being in attendance next year.

Port of Bundaberg

Mr BENNETT (Burnett—LNP) (9.24 pm): I rise to share with the House the opportunities for theBurnett electorate with the future expansion of the port of Bundaberg. I thank the member forBundaberg, Jack Dempsey, for his continued support and advocacy for this great asset in theBundaberg area.

The port of Bundaberg, located at the head of the Burnett River, plays an important role in theprosperity of the Wide Bay region and has done so for over 50 years. It is essential in linking theregionally significant sugar industry to export and domestic markets. The port of Bundaberg ispositioned to play an even greater role with the potential expansion in export and import trades and thefurther expansion of the marine industry and world-class marina, tourist and residential developments.

The port is strategically located with potentially significant export mineral and timber resourceswithin its immediate hinterland. Its close proximity to significant LNG and coal expansion projects inSouth-East Queensland also make it a good proposition for the import of bulk goods such as LNGpipelines, large machine components and fuel, which could be stored at the port’s currently mothballedbulk fuel storage facility.

Being south of the cyclone belt and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, with safe and easyaccess to Australia’s shipping channels, as well as the availability of large areas of land and quay linesfor port facilities, the port of Bundaberg offers a great opportunity to expand and increase the prosperityof the Wide Bay region and Queensland as a whole. The port of Bundaberg is also ideally positioned tobecome a major hub for the marine industry. The port of Gladstone’s proximity to the Gladstone port, theavailability of large areas of land with easy access to deepwater berths and port channel infrastructureat very competitive prices make it highly attractive to boat-building and maintenance industries. TheBundaberg region has traditionally provided a strong manufacturing and trade based labour force, andthe development of the marine industry in Bundaberg would be a good fit. The development of themarine industry could also facilitate the development of a naval presence in Bundaberg.

The port of Bundaberg has been the most popular first port of call for international yachts foralmost a decade. It offers safe and easy access by sea to first-class marina and boat harbour facilities,beautiful river and ocean outlooks and a pristine marine environment on the doorstep of the GreatBarrier Reef and Fraser Island. These are some of the reasons the port of Bundaberg’s plans for afuture marina and commercial, tourist and residential development are likely to attract significantinvestment and employment opportunities to the region. In 2009 the port of Bundaberg became part ofthe Gladstone Ports Corporation Ltd, and it is looking to maximise its operations as a port.

The people of the Burnett and Bundaberg are looking forward to the continued expansion andexpanded opportunities with the new board of the Gladstone Ports Corporation Ltd and its chair. Ireiterate to the board that the Bundaberg port is now open and ready for business. We have the room,we have the location and we are the first deepwater port north of Brisbane.







Great Barrier Reef

Ms TRAD (South Brisbane—ALP) (9.27 pm): The Great Barrier Reef is one of the great wondersof nature. The benefits that flow from the inheritance of such an important international natural asset arenot only environmental but economic as well. Two million tourists visit each year, generating in excess of$5 billion annually and around 50,000 Queensland jobs in tourism alone.

As members would know, the recently released UNESCO draft monitoring report raised seriousconcerns about the future of the reef. The report did, however, commend the previous Laborgovernment’s Reef Water Quality Protection Plan for making real progress towards reducing chemicalrun-off. UNESCO even went as far as to recommend that funding for the plan be maintained.

This call for action fell on deaf ears, with the Treasurer last week announcing that included in his$186.5 million of spending cuts was an item within the Department of Premier and Cabinet titled ‘ReefWater Quality’. These three simple words translate to a half a million dollar cut to the Reef Water QualityProtection Plan secretariat, which prepares the annual ‘report card’ on the reef’s health and provides thecoordination and leadership necessary to protect its World Heritage status.

Only two weeks ago, both the Premier and the environment minister stood up in this House andapplauded the water quality plan as a success, assuring UNESCO and the people of Queensland that itwould continue. All the while, behind the scenes, away from the cameras, they were slashing fundingand cutting resources. The Premier has since defended his decision by claiming the cut was actually anunderspend. Whatever way you spin it, the decision still means fewer resources are available to protectthe Great Barrier Reef.

One would think that, with the massive expansion of development occurring in Far NorthQueensland and Central Queensland, those opposite would understand that the Great Barrier Reefneeds more resources and protection, not less. Sadly, this LNP government has a habit of cuttingfunding without consideration and without looking at any of the necessary evidence, although ignoringscientific evidence is not a surprising move coming from a government with a climate change sceptic asan environment minister.

Queenslanders and the rest of the world are right to ask if this Newman government has anyinterest whatsoever in protecting the Great Barrier Reef. The truth is that those opposite talk up theircommitment but their actions show that they cannot be trusted to safeguard the reef for Queenslanderstoday and into the future.

Nambour RSL Community Grants; Sunshine Coast Show

Mr WELLINGTON (Nicklin—Ind) (9.30 pm): Last week my wife and I had the pleasure ofattending the Nambour RSL community benefit grants presentation where the club handed over$50,000 to community organisations. I understand this grant brought the club’s total gifts to ourcommunity for this year to over $350,000. This is in addition to the $200,000 that the club has providedto the state government for its distribution during the year through the government’s community benefitgrants scheme.

The grant funds were divided between the following 19 organisations: the Nambour StateEmergency Service Support Group Association, $1,785; the Nambour Little Athletics Centre, $3,127;SCAIP, a community arts organisation, $4,986; the Sonshine Sanctuary Association, $2,355; thePalmwoods State School P&C Association, $4,785; the Sunshine Coast Railway Modellers Society,$5,000; the Sunshine Coast Christian Broadcasters Association, $1,100; the Yandina Rugby LeagueClub, $4,973; the Palmwoods Cricket Club, $4,290; the Nambour Special School P&C, $5,000; thePalmwoods Community Kindergarten and Pre-School Association, $4,500; Suncoast Christian Care,$4,935; Maroochy Waterwatch, $1,573; the Nambour Community Preschool and Kindergarten, $2,530;2nd Nambour Scout Group, $2,260; the Sunshine Coast Darts Club, $1,000; the Nambour BadmintonClub, $405; the Mapleton Community Library, $1,400; and the Yandina State School P&C, $1,693. Onbehalf of all of the people who have benefited from the Nambour RSL grants, not just this year but inprevious years, I say thank you to the Nambour RSL for caring for our community.

Other members may not be aware that Madam Speaker officially opened the 107th SunshineCoast show last Friday. Well done, Madam Speaker. We were very proud of your official opening andyour speech. I just say to everyone who was involved in organising the show that we are very proud oftheir efforts, especially Councillor Jenny McKay, who has been chairman of the Sunshine Coast showcommittee for quite some time. We believe that she does a wonderful job, not just as a local councillorbut also as chairman of this committee. To her and her volunteers, well done and I wish them all the bestfor next year.





800 Attendance 19 Jun 2012

Kingaroy State High School, Business Lunch

Mrs FRECKLINGTON (Nanango—LNP) (9.32 pm): On Friday, 1 June I had the pleasure ofattending the Kingaroy State High School annual ‘business lunch’. The lunch has been held each yearfor the past 10 years to mark Education Week and provides a great opportunity to showcase the schooland the achievements of the students, staff and partners of the school to the broader Kingaroycommunity. It is also an opportunity for the school community to thank local businesses for their ongoingsupport of the school. In particular, I would like to mention Ken Mills of Ken Mills Toyota for his support ofthe school’s instrumental music program and Swickers, pork processors, for their donation over a periodof three years of $10,000, enabling the school to purchase new sports uniforms.

There were more than 30 participants at the lunch and they were all thanked for their support. Theservice was of a very high quality. The food was amazing and absolutely delicious. It was prepared bythe catering operations students and served by the students studying hospitality studies. There wereover 30 students involved in the preparation of the lunch. This event enables the students to beassessed for their vocational education role in the school.

During the lunch, we learnt of many of the recent school highlights. One of which was that stage 1of the Performing Arts Complex is nearing completion. This has been a long-term project for the schooland the community and one which has required the building of important partnerships between the P&C,the South Burnett Regional Council and the education department. This will be a remarkable venue, notjust for the students of Kingaroy State High School but for the entire community. We were also told onthe day that 76.4 per cent of the students achieved an overall position of 1 to 15, which is well above thestate average. Seventy students are involved in the Active Citizens Program this year, and students andstaff have an opportunity of visiting Japan during the upcoming June-July school holidays. The schoolhas secured regional arts development funding for visiting author James Moloney, a popular author ofteen fiction, to work with our year 8s and year 11s on creative writing.

I would also like to mention that a member of this House was a previous past student. StevenDavies, the member for Capalaba, is a previous student of this school. I commend the Kingaroy StateHigh School for providing the opportunity for the broader community to learn more about the school. It isthrough events such as these that we truly do encourage and strengthen community links to ensure thatour young people are cared for, nurtured and encouraged throughout their time at school and wellbeyond.

Question put—That the House do now adjourn.

Motion agreed to.

The House adjourned at 9.35 pm.

ATTENDANCE

Barton, Bennett, Berry, Bleijie, Boothman, Byrne, Cavallucci, Choat, Costigan, Cox, Crandon,Cripps, Crisafulli, Cunningham, Davies, C. Davis, T. Davis, Dempsey, Dickson, Dillaway, Douglas,Dowling, Driscoll, Elmes, Emerson, Flegg, France, Frecklington, Gibson, Grant, Grimwade, Gulley, Hart,Hathaway, Hobbs, Holswich, Johnson, Judge, Katter, Kaye, Kempton, King, Knuth, Krause, Langbroek,Latter, Maddern, Malone, Mander, McArdle, McVeigh, Menkens, Millard, Miller, Minnikin, Molhoek,Mulherin, Newman, Nicholls, Ostapovitch, Palaszczuk, Pitt, Powell, Pucci, Rickuss, Rice, Robinson,Ruthenberg, Scott, Seeney, Shorten, Shuttleworth, Simpson, Smith, Sorensen, Springborg, Stevens,Stewart, Stuckey, Symes, Trad, Trout, Walker, Watts, Wellington, Woodforth, Young



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