Community News & Speeches

25 Feb | '2021

2032 Olympics is an Amazing Opportunity for the Gold Coast

I rise today absolutely thrilled that the $10 million investment that the Morrison government has made in the Olympics bid has pushed South-East Queensland one step further towards hosting the next Olympic Games. The 2032 Olympics is an amazing opportunity for the Gold Coast. Of course we have a rich history on the Gold Coast […]

24 Feb | '2021

Medicinal Cannabis Industry

The Narcotic Drugs Amendment (Medicinal Cannabis) Bill 2021 is relevant to Moncrieff on the Gold Coast not just because of the importance of the pharmaceutical needs of Australians but also because we have a medicinal cannabis facility operating at Southport in my electorate. It’s called the THC Global Group. The health minister visited Moncrieff back […]

24 Feb | '2021

Gold Coast Hungarian Senior Citizens Club

Moncrieff is a growing and thriving multicultural community, and the Gold Coast Hungarian Senior Citizens Club is one of the many community groups that enjoy the benefits of gathering together to do good work across our community. I acknowledge the president, Tamas Bozsik, and all of the members for the way they make our community […]

24 Feb | '2021

Global Polio Eradication Initiative

Let me start by commending the member for Higgins for her motion. I share her passion for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. I was thinking about this motion this morning and casting my mind back to any way that polio may have touched me personally during my life, and the only memory that I could […]

24 Feb | '2021

Vale Max Christmas AM

I rise today to pay a very special tribute to a Gold Coast legend, a dynamic man who served our city with forward vision. He epitomised the entrepreneurial spirit that the Gold Coast is known for today. Max Christmas AM was a legend who, right up until his passing on 18 December 2020 at the […]

22 Feb | '2021

Myanmar and Australia’s International Women’s Development Agency

The Australian sense of a fair-go for our neighbours extends to compassion for the plight of many people around the world. This is often demonstrated through Australian government aid, through private charities and through the work of Australian volunteers and NGOs abroad. Australia is, typically, measured in its approach to foreign affairs and sensitive to […]

22 Feb | '2021

COVID-19 Vaccination

I welcome the commencement of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout as the tremendously important milestone that it is for our nation. The Gold Coast University Hospital, in my central Gold Coast electorate of Moncrieff, is one of 16 national vaccination hubs with logistics capabilities necessary for the Pfizer vaccine. They’re starting off with about 300 vaccinations […]

22 Feb | '2021

Is the COVID Vaccine the Light at the End of the Tunnel for Tourism?

Gold Coast Bulletin 20/2/2021 The Gold Coast tourism sector had 120,009 people on JobKeeper 1.0 and dropped significantly to 49,222 on JobKeeper 2.0. A total difference of -59% (ATO). Whilst this is the third worst percentage in the country behind Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, due to lockdowns, and Cairns, due to international reliance, other tourism […]

22 Feb | '2021

Tourism Industry Support

I believe that everyone in this chamber understands and will be well aware that the tourism industry in this country, and indeed across Moncrieff, has suffered significant damage due to the pandemic. Job losses and business losses from that impact have been severe. It means that many families have been impacted and they’ve been less […]

18 Feb | '2021

Supporting Jobs and Economic Recovery

I would like to remind the member for Melbourne and those opposite that this bill is about urgent industrial relations reform. Like so much of the Morrison government’s work, it’s about protecting jobs and creating jobs. It’s about boosting wages and enhancing productivity. It’s about synergy for employees and employers. It’s about our national economic […]