Address in reply

_{03 June, 2009}

Address in reply

3 June 2009

Ms JARRATT (Whitsunday—ALP) (4.56 pm): It is my great honour to rise to speak in this address-in-reply in this my fourth term as the member for Whitsunday. Following the redistribution of electoral boundaries, the seat of Whitsunday became a more compact electorate with the loss of Bowen and the inclusion of several new suburbs in Mackay, including Glenella and Mount Pleasant.

Mr Fraser: And had a more compact margin.

Ms JARRATT: My margin also became more compact—and I am reading the Treasurer’s mind— being reduced to less than one per cent. So it is with a great deal of gratitude to my constituents and my ALP friends and supporters in Whitsunday that I stand here today as part of the Bligh government, tasked with a clear mandate to continue our record-making infrastructure program and to create 100,000 jobs in this term of government.

I believe this clear and unequivocal message of the Bligh government’s commitment to supporting Queenslanders through what we know will be very difficult times resonated with my constituents and was at least partly responsible for the positive outcome in my seat.

Whitsunday is home to many of the region’s mineworkers who have faced the front-edge consequences of the global financial crisis as well as many people who work in the tourism and hospitality sector who will inevitably bear the brunt of any downturn in the economy.

There is no doubt that the Mackay-Whitsunday region has reaped many benefits from the sound economic management of successive Labor governments during the boom years. The region bristles with cranes on the skyline, building both public and private infrastructure, and unemployment has remained at historically low levels, providing opportunity and financial security for those who have made the region home.

Government funded infrastructure programs such as the Hospital Bridge replacement, the duplication of Mackay-Bucasia Road and the redevelopment of the Mackay Base Hospital are examples of just how the Bligh government has rolled up its sleeves to ensure that the Mackay region has modern infrastructure befitting the important role that it plays in the continued growth of the state.

In addition, these projects will continue to provide all-important employment, taking up some of the slack as the mining industry faces up to the consequences of falling coal prices and a global credit squeeze.

Times are changing quickly and it is understood that this is the time to step up public spending, to stimulate employment opportunity and to commit to the future of our region and our state by having a clear plan for job retention, job creation and support mechanisms such as the rapid response teams that provide much-needed practical support for those who face retrenchment or redundancy.

In addition, the Bligh government went to the election with a funded commitment to support our critical tourism industry which, as a sector, is most vulnerable to the global economic vagaries.

While government funded promotional campaigns like The Best Job in the World have ensured that tourism businesses in my electorate, from the fabulous island resorts to the smallest souvenir shop, have hope for the future, there is no doubt that now is the time to work together to focus on our future. In that regard, the future of the Whitsunday coast airport is central to the ongoing viability of tourism on the mainland.

With that in mind, I put on record my thanks to the Premier for her decisive action during the election campaign that put to bed the eight-year-old issue of the location of the airport. This issue represents a long and divisive thread that has haunted my three terms as local member. While I could devote the entire contents of this speech to the intrigue that has surrounded the issue over the years, I will spare members that pain. I would just say that we are now on track to delivering on our commitment to give the existing airport facility a $4 million facelift.

The real work of rebuilding airline confidence in the Whitsundays as a destination remains ahead, but it is the single most important issue facing the future of tourism in the Whitsundays. Therefore, I will join with the council and local stakeholders in being part of the solution to this issue.

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