6 Sep 2000 Legislative Assembly 2953 WEDNESDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER 2000 Lytton National Park, Quarantine Station From Mr Lucas (135 petitioners) requesting the House to take the necessary steps to have the Quarantine Station building Mr SPEAKER (Hon. R. K. Hollis, Redcliffe) moved back to the Lytton National Park and read prayers and took the chair at 9.30 a.m. that adequate funding be provided to make it available for heritage displays and performances for students, tourists and CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMISSION general public. Report Mr SPEAKER: I have to report that today Cairns-Atherton Tableland, Highway Link I received from the Chairperson of the Criminal From Mr Nelson (3,600 petitioners) Justice Commission a report titled "Allegations requesting the House to construct a highway of electoral fraud—Report on an advice by link between Cairns and the Atherton P. D. McMurdo, QC", and I table the said Tableland on the alignment identified as Route report. S7 by the Integrated Transport Study for the Hon. T. M. MACKENROTH (Chatsworth— Kuranda Range and known locally as the Lake ALP) (Leader of the House) (9.32 a.m.): I Morris/Davies Creek Road. move— "That the report be printed." Police Resources, Coolangatta Ordered to be printed. From Mr Quinn (1,060 petitioners) requesting the House to ensure that more police and resources are assigned to crime AUDITOR-GENERAL'S REPORT fighting in the Coolangatta area. Petitions received. Mr SPEAKER: I have to report that today I received from the Auditor-General a report titled "Audit report No. 6 1999-2000—Results MINISTERIAL STATEMENT of audits performed for 1998-99 as at 30 June Government Achievements 2000", and I table the said report. Hon. P. D. BEATTIE (Brisbane Central— ALP) (Premier) (9.34 a.m.), by leave: In recent MEMBERS' DAILY TRAVELLING weeks the people of Queensland have ALLOWANCE CLAIMS witnessed the stark contrast between my can- do, positive and progressive Government and Report the whingeing, whining, carping coalition. Mr SPEAKER: I lay upon the table of the While the Opposition Leader and the Leader House the annual report of daily travelling of the Liberal Party have been sinking into a allowance claims by members of the mire of misery and negativity, my Government Legislative Assembly for 1999-2000. has been delivering on our commitments. For example: the Native Title solution that will generate thousands of jobs in the mining PETITIONS industry, particularly for indigenous Queenslanders and all Queenslanders; the The Clerk announced the receipt of the vegetation management and RFA solutions following petitions— that will save hundreds of thousands of hectares of native vegetation, as well as protect the jobs of farmers and timber industry Orchestras workers; the successful launch of Virgin Blue From Mr Hegarty (51 petitioners) and Impulse Airlines services in Queensland requesting the House to keep the Queensland that will provide the biggest boost to our Symphony Orchestra and the Queensland tourism industry in more than a generation. On Philharmonic Orchestra separate so that both top of that, work is gathering pace at Roma can continue in their best suited pursuits and Street, and preparations for the Goodwill that the QPO continues with the chamber Games are well advanced. orchestra performances in rural Queensland In fact, I am pleased to inform honourable and that there is no reduction in the number of members that the ANZ Stadium will be a world- QPO players or of concerts given by the class athletics facility following a $2.6m orchestra as a separate entity. upgrade for the 2001 Goodwill Games in 2954 Legislative Assembly 6 Sep 2000 Brisbane. While the Sydney Olympics are Society, Lifeline and the Salvation Army, without doubt the highlight of the sports together with people such as Ian Brusasco calendar for this year, Brisbane will be the and former Lord Mayor Clem Jones, set out to place to be in 2001. It will be the biggest change that unacceptable situation. sporting event in the world in 2001. The ANZ Foodbank Queensland was established Stadium will certainly be among the hot spots with corporate support and a $250,000 for sports fans. ANZ will host the cream of the Queensland Government grant. During the world athletics crop at next year's Goodwill past two years it has distributed around 1.5 Games, which runs from 29 August to 9 million kilos of food through 180 agencies in September 2001. It is therefore appropriate Queensland. Until recently Foodbank had that this stadium should get an upgrade. In been operating out of a warehouse in my fact, it is the most significant upgrade to the electorate provided by Coca-Cola. With the stadium since the 1982 Commonwealth end of this arrangement, the State Games. Work will start in late September and Government provided funding of $1m to buy will be completed in February next year, in time land and construct a new warehouse. We for other international events, including the have also given Foodbank Queensland a long- Australian Track and Field Open and Under 20 term lease at a peppercorn rate because we Championships in March and the World recognise the enormity of the work undertaken Veterans Athletics Championships in July. The and this organisation's dedication to its cause. upgrade will include: $2.25m in State Government funding for a new athletics track, I was also honoured to last week officially timing and sports equipment; and $375,000 in open another building, this time the world joint State Government/Brisbane City Council headquarters in Brisbane of Australia's largest funding for lighting, communications and software company, Mincom. There can be few scoreboard. better advertisements for the Smart State than The Brisbane Goodwill Games—and they a company such as Mincom deciding that the involve more than just Brisbane; they include most suitable place in the world for its world the Gold Coast and all of Queensland—will be headquarters is Brisbane. Mincom has an the most prestigious event on the world's annual turnover of more than $200m and sporting calendar in 2001 and will have a huge employs 1,100 staff in 30 offices in 18 impact on Queensland in terms of exposure countries across North America, South on an international scale and business here at America, South-East Asia, Africa, the United home. In fact, it is unprecedented. When the Kingdom and Europe. In June it was the Games are beamed to more than 450 million Australian Technology Awards Winner for households around the world next year, we Excellence in the Development of Data want to showcase our capital city and parts of Management. It is a past winner of the Queensland and its sporting venues in the Exporter of the Year award from Austrade. It best possible way. The State Government is had won the Premier's Export Award three working in close partnership with the Brisbane times in the past decade and a range of City Council and will announce further industry awards. upgrades to other venues in the near future. Mincom exemplifies the enterprise and Another major initiative that I am pleased expertise Queensland has to offer the rest of to detail today is the State Government's the world, demonstrating our can-do ability and continuing support for Foodbank Queensland. how well we can do it. My Government has set A number of Ministers joined me yesterday for out to make Queensland the Smart State and the opening of its new facility. This magnificent has been successful in attracting a large initiative helps to feed 20,000 needy number of IT companies to establish a Queensland families a year, and I was presence here. Go-ahead companies like honoured to yesterday open the charity's new Mincom are helping to make Queensland $1.4m warehouse at Colmslie, along with a stronger, smarter and more competitive in the number of Ministers and the local member. As world's marketplace. honourable members would be aware, Recently on a visit to Indonesia I visited its Foodbank Queensland distributes food and Indonesian office in Jakarta. Little more than grocery items supplied by manufacturers and two decades since it began in 1979, Mincom suppliers that might have damaged has become a big winner, an innovative packaging, a limited shelf life left or be a computer software company with its eye on discontinued line. Before Foodbank, this food the future and its feet firmly planted in had to be dumped while families in crisis went Queensland with its world headquarters here. I hungry. But in 1995 a number of charitable congratulate Mincom management and its bodies, headed by the St Vincent de Paul employees on their achievements. 6 Sep 2000 Ministerial Statement 2955 As I said, those are just a few examples business as usual. This can-do Government of my Government's recent initiatives and will continue to deliver for the people of involvement in building a stronger and better Queensland. The Borbidge Government put Queensland, a smarter Queensland, and that Government on hold and made no meaningful is the result of a can-do Government. decisions during the whole of the Carruthers and Connolly inquiries. We have been busy in turning Queensland into the Smart State and MINISTERIAL STATEMENT we will not be sidetracked. More than 100 new Electoral Fraud; CJC Inquiry jobs have been created every day, seven days Hon. P. D. BEATTIE (Brisbane Central— a week, since we formed Government in June ALP) (Premier) (9.40 a.m.), by leave: On 15 1998 and we will continue to focus on jobs. August the Attorney-General, following We will continue to deliver. consultation with me, referred the Ehrmann It is essential that if there are allegations to the Electoral Commissioner to recommendations that the law needs to be ensure proper investigation of alleged changed, they should be made prior to the breaches of the Electoral Act.