Address-In-Reply 397

8 Mar 2018 Address-in-Reply 397 ADDRESS-IN-REPLY Resumed from 15 February (see p. 114). Hon. MC de BRENNI (Springwood—ALP) (Minister for Housing and Public Works, Minister for Digital Technology and Minister for Sport) (12.45 pm): Let me begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we are gathered today, the Jagera and Turrbal people. I also acknowledge the many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who, for more than 3,000 generations, have been the traditional custodians of the lands and waters of this great state. I pay my respects to their elders past, their elders of the present day and those elders emerging who will lead us into the future. Today is also International Women’s Day and I want to pay tribute to the women of Queensland. I am proud to be part of a government which takes equality seriously and which is led by some of the most accomplished and fearless women I have had the privilege of working with. Most of all, I want to pay tribute to my wife, Kristie de Brenni, the most incredible woman that I know. Just yesterday Kristie was appointed permanently as Principal of Queensland Pathways State College, which I believe—and many share this view—is the most innovative state school program in the state. She educates and supports young Queenslanders who have been written off by the rest of the system, and I could not be prouder of Kristie and all that she has achieved. I could not do what I do without her unfailing support and advice. His Excellency the Governor said in his opening address— It is from this House that Members of Parliament make laws and decisions on behalf of the people of Queensland that impact on them in their homes, their workplaces and their communities. This is a profound responsibility that we all share, and it is a great privilege to have the trust of my community as the member for Springwood. I pledge to consult with my community, to listen carefully and to continue the work that I began in 2015 to deliver on key projects in the electorate of Springwood—to deliver jobs, in particular, like the 130 construction jobs that will be supported by the $10.5 million housing project at Springwood delivered through the Brisbane Housing Company; to deliver better education, with $10 million for Springwood State High School to upgrade classrooms and $13 million for safety upgrades on roads around Mount Cotton State School. To deliver better health, we will employ 510 new nurses, 156 extra health practitioners and 188 doctors across the metro south health region. We will deliver a $281 million upgrade to Logan Hospital and a water birthing suite for Redland mums—a great achievement—a $9 million sports facility at Underwood Park so that every kid in the community I am privileged to represent can have a go at sport and active recreation; and a $3.3 million upgrade to Daisy Hill state forest completed just in time for the Commonwealth Games. I would like to acknowledge the leadership of our Premier in delivering not only for the community I represent but also for the entire state of Queensland. I would also like to acknowledge the leadership of our Deputy Premier and offer my congratulations to her on her appointment as Treasurer. I look forward to working as part of a great Labor team to deliver on our election commitments to put Queenslanders first. Ms Jones: And we love working with you, Mick. Mr de BRENNI: I take the interjection. Across my portfolios, that means: completing the implementation of our Buy Queensland policy; delivering security of payment for our building and construction industry; delivering safe, secure and affordable housing and growing Queensland jobs through our Housing Construction Jobs Program; developing a sports and recreation strategy for Queensland; and becoming a truly digitally capable and responsive government. In 2015, we came to government committed to building confidence, security, prosperity and fairness in Queensland. In our first term, this Labor government introduced significant reforms to this House to deliver on those commitments. His Excellency the Governor said in his opening address to parliament— The availability of secure, fairly paid jobs is central to the wellbeing and future of every Queenslander. He went on to say— Business confidence in Queensland is the highest in Australia and consumer confidence is now the second highest. 398 Address-in-Reply 8 Mar 2018 I believe that decent, secure, quality jobs are the foundation of a prosperous society. That is why I have always been a member of a union and I will always stand up for the unions of workers in our community. I want to take a moment to reflect on our jobs record which sees Queensland industry operating in the right climate, delivering 152,400 jobs since January 2015. It is the fastest jobs growth of any state in this nation. This Labor government is building a society, not just an economy. We believe that government plays an important role in providing the economic framework, infrastructure and services our society needs to build a prosperous future and help create those jobs. This is at the heart of our Buy Queensland procurement policy. Sadly, those opposite do not hold the same view. In September last year the member for Burnett said of our Buy Queensland policy— This policy is a fake policy providing false hope in trying to re-engineer our society and trying to use government procurement to cure social issues along the way. When a government puts local businesses at the heart of its procurement practices, Queenslanders have every reason to feel hopeful. Despite what the opposition might say, we can tackle social ills through properly directed government spending. In fact, I believe we have a collective responsibility to do exactly that. With every single dollar the government spends on behalf of Queenslanders, we have an opportunity to build local jobs, reduce inequality and create better and fairer communities. Last month, I was in Maryborough to reopen the refurbished Queensland government offices— now named the Moira Hansen Queensland Government Offices. That building was constructed in 1940 under a government policy that fostered a pipeline of construction work to counter the effects of the Great Depression. Now, almost 80 years later, it is still a sound policy. This Palaszczuk Labor government will be sophisticated in extracting value from the use of taxpayers’ money for the benefit of all Queenslanders. We will continue to prioritise Queensland jobs and Queensland small businesses. While those opposite stand by the Turnbull government’s $65 billion in tax cuts to big businesses, I can assure the House that the money those businesses will be saving under that regime will not be spent on Queenslanders. Those opposite are silent. They say nothing to object to our share of GST being shovelled off to Western Australia. That money should be spent on Queensland schools. That money should be spent here in Queensland on Queensland hospitals. That money should be spent here on Queensland roads. It is money that belongs to Queenslanders. Last term we gave a commitment to Queensland subcontractors that we would deliver security of payment to the building and construction industry in this state. We stared down the big end of town. It is a fundamental policy principle for the Labor Party and this Labor government that Queenslanders receive a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. At this point, I want to reflect on an important construct— that project bank accounts on their own cannot deliver on my ambition to ensure fairness in the industry. These reforms will succeed only as part of a suite of measures. I will not rest until the remainder of the building industry fairness act reforms are implemented in full. I realised soon after becoming Minister for Housing and Public Works that buildings are fundamentally about people. The building industry fairness act was developed with this in mind, as was the rest of the Queensland Building Plan. We believe that full participation in public life is a fundamental human right, but for adults who have a profound physical disability, it is a right that is too often denied. Unfortunately, it is often our public buildings—the spaces that are ironically designed for people to meet and gather in—that deny people with a disability that right. One reform that I am determined to see through is the provision of accessible public toilet facilities with a hoist or swing rails and continence bins. I raised this issue last year at the national Building Ministers Forum, and I won the agreement of the ministers to consider reforms to the National Construction Code that would make accessible change facilities mandatory in new public buildings. Without access to facilities like public toilets with a hoist or swing rails, or larger change rooms for carers and people with a disability, too often carers have to resort to changing their loved ones on toilet floors. The result is worse than that. Often those Queenslanders and their families and carers simply stay at home. They do not go out and gather in those public spaces. It is completely unacceptable in 2018 that there are Queenslanders who are afraid to leave their homes because they cannot find an accessible toilet or change facility. I think we would all agree that we can do better and we should do better. That is why today I am announcing that my department will concurrently progress the development of a Queensland development code that fully meets the standards that Queenslanders with disabilities deserve.

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