Today isn't the first time I've mentioned Red Frogs here, and it certainly won't be the last. No, I'm not talking about my alleged chamber lolly stash! Last Thursday, I was delighted to have the Red Frogs founder, Andy Gourley, join me for another student leaders afternoon tea for over 60 primary and secondary captains from across my electorate. Students who attended last year's event got so much out of it that I had to do it again, and I had to bring Andy back.

Andy does such amazing work for young people across the country. He's a great mate of mine and a wonderful role model for young kids. Once again, he gave a great talk sharing his inspiring story and his personal thoughts on how to be a good leader. The students were once again terrific. They had some really thought-provoking questions for Andy, ranging from what inspired him to start Red Frogs to obstacles he's encountered, whether he had any regrets and how he has inspired others to get involved. Andy said that he had people come up and tell him that he had saved their lives and that parents had written to him and thanked him for his work. He told the students to trust their gut and that, through consistent work, they can transform small things into great things. I have no doubt the students learned a lot from Andy and from each other, and I wish them every success in the future.

The Small Business Expo has had a great run on the Gold Coast and in Logan over the last six years. Now for the first time the Expo will be coming to Brisbane on Friday, May 4th, and I’m thrilled to say the organisers have chosen the Hibiscus Sports Complex at Upper Mt Gravatt as its venue.

I asked organiser Paula Brand to bring the Expo to Upper Mt Gravatt and I’m thrilled she agreed. The Expo is a great opportunity for small businesses in the area, particularly those that don’t have a storefront, to book a trade table where they can showcase their products and services.

There’ll be over 200 trade tables on the day featuring businesses from across the region. Registrations for trade tables are open now and I invite Brisbane businesses to contact my office for further information.

Over 600 small business owners are expected to attend the Expo. It’s a great networking opportunity. Attendees will also be able to learn the latest business tips and industry insight to help bolster their business, with five speaker presentations from some of Australia’s leading business experts including local success story, Phillip Di Bella from Di Bella Coffee, and Glen Richards from Network Ten’s popular Shark Tank Show.

I’ve also secured a very special guest to open the Small Business Expo: the Minister for Small Business. I thank him for his support and I can’t wait to see everyone at the Expo in May.

Last week I spoke here on a much-needed infrastructure upgrade in my electorate, the dangerous Lindum Station Crossing intersection which I’m currently running a petition to fix. For years residents have called for a solution all while it’s been kicked around like a political football. Some people have asked why I’m bothering when fixes and funding have been promised many times before, all amounting to nothing.

There’s another major thoroughfare in my electorate that suffered from a lack of funding for years as well. Motorists were clamouring for a solution. Some local representatives put it in the too-hard basket, just as they have with the Lindum Crossing. They said it couldn’t be done. Well at the last election, I fought for and won Federal funding to go toward an upgrade of Green Camp Road between Manly Road and Rickertt Road at Wakerley.

This Federal commitment was matched by Brisbane City Council. Thanks to the efforts of Doboy Ward Councillor Ryan Murphy, Council also committed funding to upgrade the intersection of Green Camp and Tilley Road. Council then sought further Federal funding to upgrade the entire Green Camp Road Corridor. I was happy to help secure this funding, bringing the total Federal commitment to $10 million alongside Council’s $18 million investment.

Once complete, the corridor upgrade will improve safety for road users, improve the reliability of travel times, provide improved facilities for cyclists and pedestrians, and help cater for existing and future traffic demands. Green Camp Road will be widened between Manly Road and Rickertt Road, helping ease congestion at peak times.

Council are now planning and carrying out the project. Over the last year Council has carried out geotechnical investigations and land resumptions. Council is now finalising the detailed design for the project, and has invited construction tenders so that a contractor can be appointed. It’s expected that the successful contractor will be announced in the new few months. Construction is on track to start after the Commonwealth Games in mid-2018, and be completed in mid-2019, weather and construction conditions permitting.

Local residents, businesses and the broader community will be kept updated with more information as the project progresses. I will be providing more details on road closures and construction impacts that can be expected during works once they’re available. Locals can call the BCC Community Hotline on 1800 884 681 for the latest on the upgrade.

I couldn’t possibly have delivered a massive undertaking like this project on my own. Thanks must go to Council—Lord Mayor Quirk, Councillors Adrian Schrinner and Ryan Murphy—as well as my Federal colleagues, Minister for Urban Infrastructure as well as the Member for Bowman. The Commonwealth and Council have come together to make this upgrade a reality. It’s only a matter of time before this happens for the Lindum crossing as well. This is my current priority and I intend to follow through once again for my constituents.

I’m happy to report the first Bonner Seniors’ Expo I hosted late last year was a huge success! So many people have told me how much they enjoyed the Expo and how much useful information they got out of it. Over 300 locals from across my electorate came along to enjoy the free entertainment and free information sessions, and to have a chat with the 55 stallholders who took part on the day.

Stallholders included local activity groups, local small businesses, and local service providers including aged care providers from across my electorate. People said the best part of the Expo was the sheer number and variety of stallholders brought together under one roof.

There were also information sessions run by representatives from the Department of Health, Department of Human Services, South Queensland Police, Helloworld Travel Wynnum, Tyack Health and more, which many people found useful.

Lastly can I also thank: the wonderful folks at Waterloo Bay Leisure Centre; local stores Juicy Secrets and Bare Traps for their fashion show; students from the Guardian Angels choir for their beautiful performance; the EACH Zumba group for their entertaining dances and for being up for an encore when the crowd demanded it; and TransitCare for providing free bus trips for people living further away.

I’m humbled by the community’s support for the first Bonner Seniors’ Expo. I can’t wait to bring it back even bigger and better next year.

Just recently a young Manly West local, Nichola, wrote to me with a very upsetting story. She was out for a run on the local foreshore when she came across a dead hawksbill sea turtle. The turtle had died after eating a plastic bag. This is a common death for many turtles these days and it’s a horrible one.

The awful thing is that this turtle was just one of many dead marine animals Nichola has seen since she moved into the area only seven months ago. According to UNESCO, plastic debris kills over a million seabirds and over 100,000 marine animals every year. Meanwhile, according to Keep Queensland Beautiful data, there’s been an increase in litter around the bayside area. Clearly something must be done.

It heartens me to know so many locals who use their own time to go along the waterfront and pick up trash left behind by others. Local volunteer groups do regular litter clean-ups in the area. One constituent tells me he fills up bags of rubbish during daily walks, but when he returns the next day it’s all returned.

As Keep Queensland Beautiful CEO David Curtin said to me, if all we ever do is pick up after litterbugs, we will always be cleaning up—education is key. And there are already some fantastic education programs in place in my electorate.

The Moreton Bay Discovery Centre is a great educational resource for the community. I was happy to secure $450,000 for the Centre’s construction and fit-out. The Centre is an important tourism hub that will teach locals and visitors to the area how to help keep Moreton Bay healthy for local marine life. It will also run a Moreton Bay Discovers Children’s Programme when it opens. This is a great way to teach kids the importance of protecting the bay. Another great initiative in Bonner is the renowned Tangalooma EcoMarines program, which includes an Early Learning Centre program for pre-school children.

This Government supports moves by a number of states to phase out single-use plastic bags, including Queensland from July 1. We also welcome industry moves to do the same. Coles and Woolworths have announced they will no longer be using single-use plastic bags by the end of 2018. At the Manly Harbour Village Markets in my electorate, stallholders have reusable fabric shopping bags available for customers. The Manly Harbour Village Chamber of Commerce is also in discussions with the Village traders about using fabric shopping bags.

The Minister for Environment has said it’s inevitable that Australia will be free of single-use plastic bags over time. Until then, I intend to do my part. I will be launching a Clean Up the Bay initiative and working alongside local environmental groups to help keep the bayside beautiful and rubbish-free for marine life. I plan to get as many locals involved as possible. Together we can clean up our bay and teach and inspire others to do the same.

I want to talk about an issue that’s particularly important as the Christmas holidays draw near, with some families doing it especially tough, and that’s food wastage.

Can I first say I’m proud to have once again partnered with Foodbank Queensland for their annual Christmas Donation drive. My office will be taking donations of non-perishable goods until December 12. Every donation will be going out to people in need this Christmas. Last year my office was inundated with generous donations and I want to thank the Bonner community for giving so freely.  No doubt my constituents’ generosity will shine through again this time around.

People can donate anything from canned vegetables, pasta sauce, rice, jams and spreads, tinned fruit, long life products and other non-perishable food items. 

It’s staggering that over 600,000 people in Australia—one third of them children—seek food relief from charities every month, while Australia produces enough food to feed 60 million people a year. Food wastage costs Australia $20 billion a year and seriously harms our environment.

That’s why this Government is developing a National Food Waste Strategy with the goal of halving food waste by 2030. I commend Foodbank for taking a leading role in the development of this National Food Waste Strategy. The Government is convening a National Food Waste summit next month and I look forward to some great outcomes from that.

I wanted to share an exciting event coming up in my electorate. Next month I’m going to be holding the very first Bonner Seniors’ Expo at Waterloo Bay Leisure Centre. It’ll be on from 10am to 4pm on the 22nd of November, and what a day it’s going to be.

The Expo will be a fantastic event for seniors with free entry, free entertainment, a lucky door prize, complimentary afternoon tea, and free bus transport for the whole day. There’ll be key note speakers from various government departments and community organisations who’ll be on hand to answer people’s questions. And there’ll also be several local small businesses set up on the day for people to browse and discover.

I’ve found many of my senior constituents often don’t know about all the services and programs that are available in the community to help them. So I’ve invited representatives from the Department of Health, Department of Human Services, NBN Co, South Queensland Police, Hearing Well Australia, FSG Australia, Carers Queensland, Metro South Health and more to come along and let people know what they have access to.

I’ve also invited a number of local aged care providers who’ll be providing lots of great information about seniors’ care options in the community. This includes Janoah Gardens, Nazareth Care Wynnum, Regis Wynnum, Anglicare Southern Queensland, Mackenzie Aged Care, Aveo Manly Gardens and more.

There’ll also be stalls for Wynnum Manly Meals on Wheels, Wynnum Bowls Club, Manly Bowls Club, Sailability Bayside, Mt Gravatt Mens’ Shed, Port of Brisbane Rotary and many more local groups. Tyack Health from Manly West will be holding a session on how seniors can stay active and healthy. Helloworld Travel Wynnum will be providing travel advice for people thinking of taking a trip for the holidays.

All up there’ll be over 40 stalls, but that’s not all. There’ll be a bunch of entertainment on over the course of the day. First up is a fashion show showcasing all the latest designs from local clothes shop Juicy Secrets and local shoe outlet Bare Traps. Next is a performance from the Zumba dance group from the EACH Social Activity Club, who I’ve spoken about before here. And finally students from the Guardian Angels choir will be singing during afternoon tea.

It’s going to be a fantastic day and thanks to everyone in the community who’s helped me make the Bonner Seniors’ Expo a reality. Special thanks goes to TransitCare and Community Flyer for providing free bus trips for people attending! I can’t wait to see everyone on the day and I’m proud to support the local seniors’ community with this very special event.

Today I want to focus on young high achievers I’ve met recently from my electorate of Bonner.

I recently had the pleasure of presenting young sports stars from my electorate with their Local Sporting Champions awards. The Local Sporting Champions program is an Australian Government initiative that provides $500 grants to young sportsmen and women aged 12 to 18 to help them cover the costs of attending state, national, and international sports championships.

There were 35 successful applicants from Bonner for the latest Local Sporting Champions round. Five of these sports stars attended my presentation ceremony last week:

• Ella O’Grady from Wynnum North, representing Metropolitan East School at the Football State Championships. Ella one day hopes to play for the Matildas;

• Luisa Gauci from Chandler, representing Queensland at the Youth Women’s Nationals baseball championship. Luisa is the first Brisbane girl to compete in the national Kookaburras team, and was recently in Korea representing Australia;

• Mitchell Torrens from Manly West, participating at the BMX QLD State Championships at the junior elite level;

• Ethan Bennetts from Carindale, representing Queensland Athletics at the Australian Athletics Championships. Ethan is a gold medallist in the hammer throw event and intends to represent Australia at the Olympics one day;

• Erin Hopgood from Wynnum West, representing Redlands City Gym Sports at the TRP State Age Championships.

The Government is proud to support our talented young sports stars and help them achieve their sporting dreams. Good luck to our Local Sporting Champions at their upcoming championships! I encourage other eligible sportsmen and women in Bonner to apply online.

I also recently got to meet some outstanding language students from Mansfield State High School. Eight of these students have received scholarships to travel to Kobe, Japan this month. I also wished bon voyage to French language students heading off to Rouen on exchange. Congratulations to these excellent students, I was happy to present them with Aussie flags and other goodies they can take with them on their trip.

I want to talk about an issue that, without fail, tops the list of concerns of my constituents. At my regular mobile offices, in my community surveys, and when I’m out and about in the community, people continue to raise with me one issue above all else. I’m sure it’s the same for most of my colleagues. That issue, of course, is cost of living.

Residents are telling me it’s getting harder to pay the bills. Small business owners are struggling with rising power prices. Families are finding it harder to cope with childcare fees. And there’s the often debilitating cost of housing—parents and even grandparents are coming to me worried about their children’s ability to afford their first home.

The Coalition went to the last election with a promise to tackle cost of living pressures for households, families, and businesses. We’re continuing to deliver on this commitment and I’m pleased to say this is being reflected in the feedback I’ve been getting from people in the community.

Take power prices. Recent figures from the Australian Energy Regulator show over 460 Queenslanders a week are having their electricity disconnected, a huge jump from last year. And it’s no wonder, with record increases in wholesale electricity prices under the state Labor government flowing through to households and businesses.

At one of my recent community forums, a local from Carindale, Michael Sinitsky, told me that ahead of all the other issues dominating the headlines at the moment, the cost of power is the number one problem that needs addressing. When he’s chatting with friends, family, neighbours and others in the community about issues the government should be focussing on, it’s power prices that dominate the conversation.

It’s great to be able tell Michael and other locals about how the Turnbull Coalition Government has taken decisive action to put downward pressure on power bills. We’re getting on with the job of building Snowy Hydro 2.0. We’ve announced tough new regulations ensuring the gas sector will put Australian businesses and consumers first when it comes to our gas supply. And we’ve delivered the Energy Assistance Payment that will benefit over 21,000 people in Bonner.

More recently, we’ve secured the agreement of our largest energy retailers to implement a number of immediate and ongoing changes. Thanks to this Government’s efforts, the retailers have committed to contacting up to two million Australian households to let them know how they can get better, cheaper deals on their power bills.

We’ve also promoted the Australian Energy Regulator’s comparison website, Energy Made Easy. This site lets households plug in their relevant data to find a better power deal for themselves. Over 300,000 Australians have used Energy Made Easy to check that they're on the best energy plan available to them, potentially saving themselves hundreds of dollars a year.

We’ve also presented legislation to stop electricity networks from gaming the system to boost their profits. It’s a shame that instead of supporting these measures in the Senate that will give families relief from rising power prices, Labor has instead chosen to play politics and referred the legislation to a Senate committee.

The Coalition’s energy policies will benefit not only householders but small businesses as well. It’s so important to support the engine room of our economy—small business employs more than half the Australian workforce after all. As a former small business owner, I know how every dollar counts toward the bottom line. The skyrocketing power prices Queensland’s seen under Labor has meant that instead of being able to employ extra staff or invest in new equipment, small business owners have had to spend more and more to cover their power bills.

Now I’m glad to say our energy policies are paying off for small business. I’m also hearing from more business owners about how our measures designed to back small business are helping them with their day-to-day expenses.

Take Little Gnome, located in the heart of Wynnum CBD. Little Gnome is a bookshop and café run by mother and son duo, Bel and Jack Ellis. It’s a great example of a small business that has taken advantage of the Coalition Government’s small business incentives and programs to their full benefit.

Bel tells me our cut to the small business company tax rate was a welcome sight. It allowed Little Gnome to reinvest in new equipment and technologies. She says it’s also helped them employ extra staff when needed. And she’s just one of many local business owners who’ve told me the small business tax rate reduction has helped them expand and hire more people.

Bel also praised our decision to extend the $20,000 instant asset-write off threshold. Small businesses with a turnover of less than $10 million can now claim a deduction for the business portion of each new or second-hand asset they purchase costing less than $20,000 until June 30th next year—an added bonus to our small business tax cuts, as Bel calls it!

When Little Gnome was starting out, Bel tells me the most valuable tool they had at their disposal was the Federal Government’s small business information portal at business.gov.au. It answered many of their obscure questions on finance, tax, GST, and more.

The Government has also made available to small business owners low-cost business advice through our Australian Small Business Advisory Services Programme. The local provider in my electorate is the Greater Brisbane Small Business Advisory Services—can I just say Alice Langford, Tony Curl, and the rest of the GBSBAS are doing a fantastic job.

The Coalition will always have the back of small business to find and achieve savings wherever possible. We understand that when small businesses are given room to grow, employ more people and pay them better wages, we all benefit.

This is plain to see in the latest National Accounts data. Business conditions have risen to their highest level in almost a decade. Over 240,000 jobs were created in the last financial year alone, the strongest financial year jobs growth since the GFC. And wages are showing a modest but steady rise.

The Coalition is also supporting Australian families, not just with keeping their power bills down, but also with dealing with other cost of living pressures including housing affordability and childcare.

We’ve introduced legislation that lets young Australians save for their first home by building a deposit inside their superannuation. We’ve also boosted the availability of rental accommodation on the market with our foreign resident vacancy tax. And we’ve legislated the Jobs for Families Child Care Package, which is delivering more affordable and more accessible child care for over 10,200 families in Bonner alone.

For people in my electorate like Michael in Carindale, and Bel and Jack from Little Gnome, the Turnbull Coalition Government’s economic plan means better days ahead. Our plan is helping secure small business while creating more and better paying jobs. Most importantly, our plan is putting downward pressure on rising living costs. These are the issues my constituents care about most, and I’m proud to say this Government is delivering for them.

To watch my speech please click here

I want to thank the honourable member for Fowler for moving this motion today to recognise the upcoming National Police Remembrance Day. I've been moved by the speeches already given on this very important day and I appreciate the opportunity to share the vital work police officers are doing in my electorate. I would also like to talk about my own experiences, seeing firsthand the difference that local police make every day.

I would first like to acknowledge Senior Constable Brett Forte of the Queensland Police Service who was so senselessly and tragically taken from us earlier this year. It was a stark reminder of the very real risk that police officers face while on the job. The outpouring of love and support from the community in the aftermath of this tragedy has been heartening. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones. Last month the Queensland Police Service Rugby League Association hosted a charity rugby league game in my electorate to raise funds for the Brett Forte Remembrance Fund. There was a great turnout by the public. This event's success is just one of the examples of the strong support my constituents have for our local police, and deservedly so.

In life before politics I was a small business owner, and I enjoyed a close relationship with local law enforcement. There was no issue that they couldn't help me with. To this day I've been fortunate to maintain this good relationship. I can't speak highly enough about the great help they've been in addressing local crime and safety concerns for my constituents. Just recently, a number of my constituents had contacted me, worried about crime in the electorate—particularly in the Gumdale-Wakerley area. I conducted a community safety survey to find out more, and the results showed that the main issues of concern were break-and-enters and hooning. I set up a meeting with Acting Inspector Mark Norrish and Acting Senior Sergeant Carolyn Cox from the Wynnum-Manly police service to discuss these concerns. I then hosted a 'coffee with a cop' in Manly West to give residents the opportunity to get to know their local police officers, to discuss with them their experiences with crime and to seek advice on protecting their homes and properties from lawbreakers.

It's been a pleasure working with local police on this pressing local issue, and I continue to be impressed by the genuine care that they put into their work. I look forward to working more with law enforcement in my electorate to improve safety in the community. Mark Norrish, especially, is doing an outstanding job.

On a side note, I want to thank the state member for Chatsworth, the Hon. Steve Minnikin, for also taking up the issue of crime and safety in the Gumdale and Wakerley area. It was great to attend his crime forum last week alongside hardworking members of the Wynnum/Manly district crime prevention unit. I've heard some eye-opening stories from local police over the years. My sister Pauline works in police intelligence and my brother-in-law Scott is a detective, while my brother and father were prosecutors. They have given me insight into the dangers police officers encounter every day. It is very important to recognise their sacrifices. I'm proud that we have set aside a day to observe the work of our nation's officers and to honour those who have been killed in the line of duty. I'm proud to support our local police, and I must say that they are doing a terrific job under very, very difficult circumstances.