May 20, 2013

Last Friday night’s annual Longman Awards was attended by a record 405 locals.

The crowd packed into Caboolture Memorial Hall, where Federal MP for Longman Wyatt Roy honoured 65 finalists before presenting the seven category winners with medallions.

A huge roar shot up when the crowning award, for Volunteer Achievement, went to “Top Hat” Tony Moroney.

His commitment to fundraising for HeartKids Queensland is the stuff of local legend. A colourful character, Tony, pictured right,  devotes almost every waking hour to the task – resplendent in his signature top hat.

Tony has now collected around $60,000 for programs to help support children with heart disease and their families.

Other winners were:

Seniors’ Achievement – May Norcott (first picture)

Sports Achievement – Jessica Bayliss

Small Business Achievement – Hans Electrical Services

Community Group Achievement – Bribie Island SES

Youth Achievement – Tegan Lather

Environmental Achievement – Warwick Hill

Mr Roy said the awards aimed to showcase high achievers who had also demonstrated a propensity to “give back”.

“They are our silent engine-room … often unrecognised heroes to whom we owe so much,” he said. “The Longman Awards are an opportunity to gather them and, well, make a bit of noise.

“This year’s event – supported by hundreds of friends and family members of finalists – was a truly spectacular celebration of our community.”

To browse the 2013 Longman Awards photo gallery, click here

May 15, 2013

Longman MP Wyatt Roy has slammed this year’s Federal Budget as a “dog’s breakfast”.

“At a time when Australians are desperately seeking stable and competent economic management, another Federal Labor Government budget is delivering more chaos, broken promises, debt and spin,” Mr Roy said.

“There’s nothing in the Budget to give hope that tomorrow is better than today. It’s a dog’s breakfast … nothing more than more debt and more taxes.”

Mr Roy said local families had been cast adrift by the Budget’s failure to deal with cost-of-living pressures, economic uncertainty and poor services.

“(Federal Treasurer) Wayne Swan says this Budget is about ‘jobs and growth’, but it actually forecasts an increase in unemployment (up to 5.75 per cent) and lower growth (down to 2.75 per cent),” Mr Roy said.

“In other words … fewer jobs and slower growth. And in our region, where higher unemployment already exists, this is intolerable.

“Last year, the Treasurer said, ‘Tonight, I announce four years of surpluses’. This year, he has a delivered a $19.4 billion deficit, and a projected deficit of $18 billion for 2013-14.

“Labor promised no carbon tax. And yet we have got a carbon tax, record deficits and in the Budget, the scrapping of tax cuts, family payments and the baby bonus.”

Mr Roy said other key modelling in the Budget was flawed.

“Labor is relying on the mining tax to prop up its bottom line,” he said. “This assumption is based on the terms of trade and royalties not being increased by the state governments – an implausible and untested proposition.

“This is a budget that should basically be written in pencil.”

Mr Roy said the Budget, if fully-implemented, would mean:

• total gross debt breaching the $300 billion debt ceiling in coming years

• no credible path back to surplus

• new borrowings of $49 million every day

• more than $25 billion in higher taxes over the next four years – with 99 per cent of these new taxes starting after the next election

“Families and businesses have to live within their means, but this Federal Labor Government doesn’t,” Mr Roy said.

“Only the Coalition has the plan, experience and discipline to return the Budget to sustainable surpluses, reduce debt and provide real support to Australian families to help them once again get ahead.”

Opinion Column

May 11, 2013

Wyatt Roy

RECOGNISING local government in the Australian Constitution is an important step.

It means not only putting beyond doubt the ability of the Commonwealth to make payments to regional councils, but acknowledging their vital place in our country.

The Roads to Recovery Program – established by the Howard Government in 2000 – is the perfect example of the modern approach of providing direct funding to councils beyond the scope of their limited resources.

And yet, without formal constitutional recognition of local government, the validity of payments could be open to a High Court challenge. It’s a loophole that must be sealed.

Despite our support, the Coalition understands referendums are notoriously difficult to secure. In fact, most fail (two previous referendums on local government recognition, in 1974 and 1988, were unsuccessful) because of the task. You require a majority vote in a majority of states – effectively bi-partisan support across the nation. In other words, everybody singing from the same hymn seat.

To have a chance, a triumvirate of elements must line up. There must be time to have the discussion, or “consultation”. You need consistency around where that discussion is headed.  And finally, legitimate negotiation with the states.

Sadly, in its snap announcement on Thursday, this Federal Labor Government has been caught well short on all three markers.

It’s just another in a train-wreck of examples where Prime Minister Julia Gillard has ridden roughshod over democratic processes in pursuit of her own political agenda. Where she’s placed the media cycle, and self-interest, ahead of the national interest.

How else do you explain the Coalition’s shadow minister for regional development and local government Barnaby Joyce learning of the referendum on a morning news bulletin?

In his inimitable style, Barnaby summed up: “What I can’t for the life of me figure out is why at five minutes before midnight, with a Budget next week, with an election, with the chaos that abounds with the Government, why they have banged this on us now? You need bipartisan support to get a referendum up. Where are their formal words? What are we actually voting for? Has anyone asked them that?”

Inside this desert of due diligence, even the Electoral Commission has grave concerns over the practicalities of rolling out a referendum campaign at such a late point. It has warned that preparing referendum advertising to a “truncated or minimum” timeframe carries a “range of risks.”

When it comes to consistency, obviously the key destination is the proposed words to the referendum. If Gillard was serious, she would have had a mature, long-term discussion with the two other levels of government and stakeholders and arrived at a set of words. But with no formal question yet released, it’s a case of telling people they’re going to be voting on something but not what they’re going to be voting on.

That’s worse than putting the cart before the horse. In the context of problematic referendums, where success hinges on carrying the community with you, it’s reckless.

The bottom line is that this, like any referendum, must be iron-clad to withstand all scrutiny and get up.

Instead, the signs are that it is wrapped in Labor failure – and missed opportunity.

Wyatt Roy is the Federal LNP member for Longman

May 6, 2013

Ageism, government red tape, over-taxing and an underperforming Centrelink were among the issues raised at Wyatt Roy’s Seniors Community Forum today.

The federal MP for Longman and his guest Everald Compton fielded questions from a 140-strong audience at the Bribie Island RSL Club auditorium.

A long-time advocate for mature-age Australians, Mr Compton, 81, is a former chairman of National Seniors Australia and has recently taken up a role as chairman of the Federal Government’s Panel on Positive Ageing.

The conference drew several emotive speakers, including Angi Bennett.

“I’ve watched with absolute horror the way we are described as the ‘ageing population’, and (everybody) has to give all their money to us because we are absolutely useless,” Ms Bennett said.

“It’s wrong. We should be treated better and referred to with much more respect.”

Her feelings were echoed by Lorraine Blaney, 61, who said that after many years as a farm worker she went to Centrelink seeking re-training support.

“I was treated like crap,” she said. “Centrelink needs to look at the influx of people getting older and (the fact) that they need re-training and some compassion.”

Mr Compton acknowledged the reality of age discrimination. “But I’ve got to say that I don’t think it is quite as bad as (is made out),” he said. “We’ve just got to make up our minds that we’re going to enjoy our old age – and if there’s anybody who doesn’t like it, that’s their problem.”

John Fogarty, from Sandstone Point, questioned the proliferation of taxes in another name. “When is the Government going to get fair dinkum and start calling levies a tax?” he said.

Meantime, aged pensioners were upset over big drops in their social security payments when they worked – and confused over rules associated with reporting their income.

“Last year, I stopped driving,’’ said chauffeur Ian Rutledge, “because of the hassle you go through.”

Mr Roy said that if elected, a Coalition government would introduce a raft of measures to support seniors – including slashing red tape and compliance regulations. He said cost-of-living pressures would be reduced by bringing the Federal Labor Government’s debt of almost $300 billion under control and scrapping a carbon tax responsible for rising gas and electricity prices.

Mr Roy thanked attendees for helping him as their representative. “My job is about having two ears and one mouth and using them proportionally,” he said. “I got a real pulse for some (significant) issues … today was a real benefit.”

Mr Compton rallied the audience to stay active.

“Seniors are the greatest volunteers and the world is going to need more of them,” he said.

“What we’ve got to do is say to charities, “Look, we want to volunteer, but don’t just have us come along and makes cups of tea. We’re people with vast experience and let us get out to the coalface’.”

May 3, 2013

Three cub reporters from Mount Mee State School recently put federal MP for Longman Wyatt Roy under the microscope at Moreton Bay community radio 101.5FM.

As special guest on the kids’ live weekly show, Mr Roy faced questions about his annual Longman Youth Leadership Forum and the attributes of strong leaders.

Asked whose leadership qualities he particularly admired, he responded surprisingly.

“Probably the person I look up to the most is my father (Henry),” he said. “He’s one of the most hard-working people you’ll ever meet – he’s a strawberry farmer. He’s a very compassionate, genuine person. He’s very giving.

“But probably the best thing about him is he never takes himself too seriously. He’s quite happy to have a joke and a laugh and enjoy life. If I can be a little bit more like him, then I think I’d be a pretty good person.”

Mr Roy’s interviewers were Annabelle Hinchey, 11, Hamish McLean, 10 and Aleasha Duncan, 10.

The presenting duties are shared each week among an alternating line-up of Mt Mee’s Year 6 and 7 students.

Mr Roy’s segment finished with “10 fast facts”, where listeners discovered his favourite actor (Russell Crowe), holiday spot (Moreton Island) and TV show (the former Seven Network comedy Fast Forward).

He nominated Virgin Group founder Richard Branson as somebody he’d love to invite to dinner.

May 6, 2013

After an intensive weekend of self-development, 42 local teenagers were unanimous: the Longman Youth Leadership Forum had changed their lives.

“The biggest lesson for me was that every day truly is yours – every day is a gift. Every day you have the opportunity to make a difference in the world,” said Sabrina Wills, 16, from Caboolture’s Grace Lutheran College.

“I now have a lot more energy and enthusiasm for the rest of my life.”

Another Year 11 student, Aaron Palmer, said after his initial reticence with strangers at the forum, he had conquered social barriers.

“(What I discovered) is just how quickly you can become close to someone when you’re open and honest with yourself and them,’’ said Aaron, who attends Bribie Island State High School.

“I’ll use this in my life and to my advantage in (future) leadership positions.”

Aaron’s Bribie classmate Stephanie Cromar, 15, said she had been suffering “confidence issues.”

“Now, they’re basically gone,” she said. “I’ve learnt that you’re always going to get people who don’t like you – and what they say doesn’t really matter.”

The Longman Youth Leadership Forum is the brainchild of local federal MP Wyatt Roy. This year’s May 4-5 event – promoting leadership, values, self-worth and life skills for Year 10 to 12 students – attracted double the participants at last year’s inaugural forum.

Elected the nation’s youngest-ever parliamentarian in 2010, Mr Roy delivered two inspirational addresses to the group. However, he had invited Brisbane-based youth leadership and development organisation Global Immersion (Gi) to once again facilitate the program.

Gi is headed by charismatic youth mentor Bernie Kelly. “I attended a program in high school held by Bernie and came away with great memories and a yearning to build my leadership skills,” Mr Roy said.

“He did another fantastic job this year. His energy is boundless and his enthusiasm infectious. Most of all, he knows how to cut through to young people. They learn about self-acceptance and courage, and begin to understand that with commitment, anything is possible.’’

Based at Brisbane North Institute of TAFE’s Caboolture campus, the forum included a tree-planting excursion at Burpengary’s Caboolture Region Environmental Education Centre.

“The planting of Australian native trees was an exercise in giving back to the community,” Mr Roy said. “It’s extremely important: we’ve lost probably 85 per cent of our native forest in the Moreton Bay regional area.”

Mr Roy thanked almost 30 local businesses and individual sponsors for backing the forum.

“I am determined to keep seeing this opportunity provided free, so that no aspiring young person is denied,’’ Mr Roy said. “But that means the weekend would not be possible without these generous sponsors.

“I am deeply grateful for their belief and faith in our young people … and their willingness to invest in that conviction.”

Opinion column

Published: November 22, 2012

Wyatt Roy

TRADITIONALLY, bullying would stop at the school gate. Now, when you leave the school gate, it often begins.

It’s a 24/7 invasive action, with anonymity for those who do it.

Put simply, social media has made bullying easier to perpetrate and you end up having more of it.

In January, I joined the Coalition’s Online Safety Working Group as its Queensland representative. As a member of Generation Y, I wanted to give a first-hand perspective on the challenges of social media and felt I might especially relate to young people.

Our group conducted many forums in capital cities and the regions. And I’m sorry to say we frequently heard disturbing stories, particularly from school students and sometimes their parents.

We were told how individuals had used social networks to co-ordinate attacks on other students – and then gone out and beat them up in person

We talked about how, if a child was bullied in the school yard, two or three people would see it. Whereas on Facebook, thousands of people see it – you have a sort of viral humiliation.

In today’s digital economy, fuelled by smartphones, tablets and computers, 90 per cent of high school students are on Facebook.

We heard how one 12-year-old girl would go to bed with her phone under her pillow and get abusive Facebook and text messages at 2am or 3am.

Leaving the bullying aside, there’s a clinical term for the habit she had developed – FOMO, or Fear of Missing Out. Thousands of children are reporting disturbed sleep patterns and compromised functionality in their daily lives because of a refusal to give their computers and phones – and their minds and bodies – a break.

The fear is that if all your friends are participating in something on Facebook and you don’t see that, then you’re missing out on the social interaction and may even lose touch with your entire friendship circle.

It becomes an addiction that creates constant anxiety, stress and discomfort. It makes sufferers less likely to cope with the challenges of life. It makes them less likely to reach out and be a confident, well-rounded individual.

Last Friday, our working group released a discussion paper on enhancing online safety for children. We’re proud of our efforts and are now inviting the community to comment on key proposals to make the Australian cyber-sphere safer and healthier.

A major issue is the lack of a co-ordinated approach across schools and jurisdictions. Instituting a Children’s E-Safety Commissioner would create a central agency to manage upskilling of students, teachers, parents and carers in strategies to meet cyber-bullying, online predatory behaviour and the dangers of age-inappropriate content.

The commissioner would also have a role in requesting a social media service provider rapidly remove material that is likely to cause harm to an Australian child.

A co-operative, regulatory model is sought, but legislation requiring large media outlets to participate in the scheme remains an option.

This is not about censorship of the internet. It’s about empowering individuals and ensuring our children have a safe environment in which they can operate.

We had a mother tell us her child couldn’t yet read, but was using her iPad, including entering a password.

I think that shows you how quickly our world is changing. And why our young people need protecting.

Wyatt Roy is the Federal MP for Longman

To read the column online at The Courier-Mail, click here

April 29, 2013

This weekend’s Longman Youth leadership Forum has attracted 59 participants and a phenomenal response from local sponsors, says Federal member for Longman Wyatt Roy.

Mr Roy said the intensive program – which he established last year – aimed to inspire and support the next wave of leaders in the region.

“The forum promotes leadership, values, self-worth and life skills for students in Years 10 to 12,” he said. “Last year’s inaugural program drew rave reviews and changed the lives of many of our local young people.”

The 2013 Longman Youth Leadership Forum – at Brisbane North Institute of TAFE’s Caboolture campus (co-located with QUT) – will again be run by Bernie Kelly, founder of pioneering youth leadership and development organisation Global Immersion.

Last year’s inaugural “LYLers” heard from invigorating speakers and worked on major community projects.

“I attended a program in high school held by Bernie and came away with great memories and a yearning to build my leadership skills,” said Mr Roy, who as a 20-year-old was elected Australia’s youngest MP in 2010.

Mr Roy thanked almost 30 local businesses and individual sponsors for backing the event.

“I am determined to see this opportunity delivered free, so that no aspiring young person is denied,’’ Mr Roy said. “But that means the weekend would not be possible without these generous sponsors.

“I am deeply grateful for their belief and faith in our young people … and their willingness to invest in that conviction.”

Opinion Blog

Published March 1, 2013

Australia’s youngest ever MP, Wyatt Roy, explains why the ongoing march of social media can make or break a politician. He shares his experience while reflecting on the pros and perils of instant messages, facebook and twitter.

Social media grants the modern politician extraordinary reach. The exemplar is Barack Obama: at the height of his re-election campaign last year, 98 per cent of the American facebook population was friends with somebody who “liked” the US President. Undoubtedly, the contagion that was Obama’s Facebook page blunted the penetration and influence of the traditional media’s campaign coverage.

It may not possess the rigour of The Wall Street Journal or The New York Times – in fact, its only virtue may be as a brand recognition tool. But, especially in a climate of declining newspaper sales and weakening broadcast ratings, social media has the great prize of politics in its grasp. Social media has the people.

Today’s voters are far more at home sending an MP – or sharing with their friends – a facebook message, tweet or email about a matter of political interest, than picking up the telephone, writing a letter or arranging a direct meeting with their elected representative. It’s seen as more direct, and less demanding on one’s time. Perhaps it removes the nervous tension in meeting face-to-face with a politician, too. Sometimes people may think the issue they’re taking to their MP is embarrassingly insignificant, or alternatively, they’re worked up over something and ready to rip the local pollie to pieces.

So social media smoothes and improves access for correspondents, while politicians are able to reply and react to issues of constituency in a much more timely way. And from a platform like facebook, where I’ve got several thousand subscribers, I am able to project my message further. It’s like speaking with a bigger microphone.

But for all of this, I believe the jury’s out on the question of social media ultimately advancing – or eroding – the Australian political process. And here’s why…

Social media raises the expectations of those who treat it as a conduit to politicians, but at the same time, it limits the elected representative’s ability to effectively respond to any concerns. If you were an MP 20 years ago, you’d walk to the post office in the morning, retrieve your letters, return to your office, read the letters, call up the appropriate ministers or public servants or community individuals and develop a workable response, and write your letters back to the constituents – who’d allow a week or so for that reply to arrive.

These days, that’s a small part of our work. Instead, I get 300 emails a day. And if someone sends me an email at 6.30am and they haven’t had a detailed answer by 8.30am, they’re frustrated.

If somebody sends me a tweet asking about a policy area, they’re upset if I don’t have a detailed response. Yet a tweet is limited to 140 characters. How can you fit a meaningful response into 140 characters? The inherent risk is of the debate being dumbed down.

Another troubling trend is the organised email campaign. When, for example, the live cattle export controversy flared, my office had thousands of emails in hours. Most were created on generic forms from one or two of the leading activists’ sites, and yet, the people who happily filled those forms and clicked and flicked, were often irritated when they didn’t receive a detailed, personalised response.

But the point is, when people haven’t personally invested their own thought into what is, after all, a bulk email, it limits our ability to respond.

The other problem social media presents is its hair-trigger capability. One errant keystroke or a few ill-conceived thoughts from a politician into the “twittersphere” can ruin a career, or perhaps more importantly, take down a good policy.

Wariness results, which again can act as a brake on your instinct to give deeper, more customised answers to queries or concerns.

Scrutiny is fine. But social media, unlike traditional media outlets and the growing band of professional online news sites and blogs, is inclined to be hostage to the loose-lipped and conspiracy theorists. There is no old-style editor keeping the gate of balance and objectivity.

The next wave of MPs will be exposed for all their flaws and scars, and the next generation of voters is going to have to accept them regardless. However, I fear very good people will be scared away from coming into Parliament. They aren’t going to want to throw themselves, their families and their friends under that sort of examination.

If we’re not careful, the ongoing march of social media will see politicians engaging more with the people, but getting fewer things done. There’ll be more contact, but less political conviction … and fewer solutions.

What we need, therefore, are strong-willed politicians to rise above the noise.

Wyatt Roy is the Federal Member of Parliament for Longman, south-east Queensland. In 2010, he won preselection for the seat as the Liberal National Party candidate, and at the August 21 election a few months later, he defeated the incumbent Labor Party member. Aged just 20, he became the youngest member of any parliament in Australia’s history. A political science student, his university life was curtailed by his electoral success. Since, the demands of public office – and his natural enthusiasm for the job – have not permitted a return to study. But he’s determined to get those last few subjects completed in the near future. Wyatt likes to spend his rare moments of leisure boating on Queensland’s beautiful Moreton Bay.

To see the online blog at openforum.com.au, click here

March 6, 2013

Federal MP for Longman Wyatt Roy has kicked off Purple Month – a global effort dedicated to epilepsy awareness – with a successful “Cupcakes on the Terrace” event at Caboolture Hub.

More than 40 local residents and business people enjoyed cup cakes, as Mr Roy told them that epilepsy had touched him personally.

“Growing up with a mate who has epilepsy, I saw first-hand its impact – and the ripple effect on families and friends,’’ he said.

“It’s the world’s most common serious brain disorder and affects more than 225,000 Australians … including many members of our local community. Purple is the internationally-recognised colour for epilepsy, and I urge people, throughout March, to give generously.

“Funds raised will go to Epilepsy Queensland to boost education and support services for those living with epilepsy and their families.’’

Mr Roy was joined at the launch by Epilepsy Queensland’s mascot, Little Poss.

According to the organisation, about 10 per cent of the population will experience a brain seizure. One in 50 will go on to be diagnosed with epilepsy.

Epilepsy Queensland has set a fund-raising target of $91,000 across Purple Month, representing $1 for every Queensland child and adult living with the disorder.

“For many people with epilepsy, the biggest (issue) is dealing with the attitudes of others in a world where ignorance, stigma, discrimination and fear are still major problems,’’ Epilepsy Queensland chair Louise Foley said.

“March is all about demystifying the disorder and spreading the word that having epilepsy does not necessarily prevent people from becoming high achievers, or from leading active, fulfilling lives.

“Many people would be surprised to know that famous people, including artist Vincent Van Gogh, writer Oscar Wilde and cricketer Tony Greig, had epilepsy.”

Rugby League’s Wally Lewis – another former sports star who has battled epilepsy – is patron of Epilepsy Queensland.

The month-long awareness campaign will culminate in Purple Day on March 26.