“I am humbled to have been chosen to be part of this working group into cyber bullying,” said Mr Roy.

“Cyber bullying is an insidious and crippling issue that is impacting not only young people and their mental health, but also entire families and school communities.

“I have seen horrible evidence of the damage it is doing, even in my own community.”

Mr Roy is calling on members of the public to consult with the working group, particularly key technology, education and cyber safety leaders, parents and young people.

Mr Roy said the Coalition is taking the issue of cyber bullying seriously, and will be breaking down the secretive nature of cyber bullying, looking at the issue more broadly than previous investigations have.

“As the first Parliamentarian who is a digital native, having grown up with cyber technology as a way of life, I look forward to contributing my unique point of view to this working group.

“We need to raise understanding and awareness of this important issue,” said Mr Roy, “bringing this issue out in the open.”

The working group will consider the risks to young people online, including the risk to exposure to illegal or inappropriate content, social media as a tool for bullying and the risk of exposure to online predators.

Wyatt Roy MP, Federal Member for Longman

The Hon. Greg Hunt MP, Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage

7 December 2011

The Coalition today announced its first Community Environment Ambassador to work with local groups and support grassroots projects to address climate change and deliver long term environmental benefits.

Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage, Greg Hunt, said “There is enormous work occurring at a local level in improving our environment and addressing climate change.  We want to encourage those projects which are in line with our Direct Action policy.”

“I am pleased to announce the Member for Longman, Wyatt Roy, as our first Community Environment Ambassador.  He is passionate about the environment and supporting local groups who are making a real difference to their community.”

The launch was marked with the planting of the first of 200,000 trees in the Longman electorate by the Narangba Lions Club.

This will be supported by the 20 million trees nationally which the Coalition is committed to planting in urban areas as part of its Direct Action Policy.

“I have always believed that local people are best placed to decide what projects are needed and to deliver them.  We should encourage grassroots environmental work and our Direct Action Policy will provide that essential support,” Mr Roy said.

A Community Environment Ambassador from the Coalition parliamentary team will be announced in each state over the coming months.

The Coalition’s Direct Action policy will deliver long term environmental benefits through investment in solar, increased tree plantations, establishment of a 15,000 Green Army and a once in a hundred year replenishment of our soils.

Federal Member for Longman, Wyatt Roy, today presented a group of local sporting champions with grants for their sporting achievements.

Twelve young athletes were awarded grants of $500 and one sporting team was awarded a grant of $3000 under the Local Sporting Champions Program.

The Longman Local Sporting Champion Grant recipients are:

• U16 Caboolture Suns Basketball Team
• Aaron and David Patterson (Family Grant): Touch Football
• Cory Parker: Touch Football
• Bo Gibson: Touch Football
• Anne Archer-Scott: Touch Football
• Chloe Crotty: Touch Football
• Taylor McKeown: Swimming
• Breeana Copeland: Skating
• Madison MacArthur: Surf Life Saving
• Sarah Keleher: Atheletics
• Liam Roberts: Volleyball
• Jeremiah Wray: Basketball
• Matthew Balfe: Indoor Cricket

 Mr Roy said that the Local Sporting Champions Grants were a chance to support young athletes in the electorate.

 “Participating in sports can be a very big financial drain on families.  Many families are struggling to afford to send their children to sporting competitions,” said Mr Roy.

 “These grants are designed to provide assistance so that our promising athletes have every opportunity to excel.

 “These young people and their families have shown great commitment to their sports.  I’m pleased to be able to help these young athletes continue to compete,” said Mr Roy.

 Local Sporting Champions Grants are open to athletes from 12 to 18 years of age, and applications can be made for the next round of grants via http://www.ausport.gov.au/participating/schools_and_juniors/get_involved/local_sporting_champions .

Mr Roy is encouraging all young athletes to take the opportunity to apply for the next round of Local Sporting Champions Grants.

Students Share their “Favourite Christmas”

Wyatt Roy, Federal Member for Longman yesterday announced the winners of the 2011 Longman Christmas Card Competition.

The theme for students’ entries was “My Favourite Christmas”.

Art designs from local primary schools students were judged by a panel of local media representatives.

The 2011 Longman Christmas Card Competition Winners are:
• Katie Moore – Elimbah State School
• Riley Lane – Burpengary State School
• Dela Mousavifard – St Paul’s Lutheran College
• Codie Lewis – Morayfield State School
• Stephanie Borrill – Delaneys Creek State School
• Taylah Scott-Buchanan – Elimbah State School
• Keyali Graham – Morayfield State School

Mr Roy will be presenting the winning students with a certificate and a framed copy of the Christmas Cards in the coming weeks.

The winning designs from this year’s competition:

Federal Member for Longman, Wyatt Roy, is seeking community input on gambling reform after the release of the Federal Coalition’s Policy Discussion Paper on Gambling Reform.

 The discussion paper covers all types of gambling, including online gambling, and presents policy options on which the Coalition is inviting comment.

 “I invite community members to participate in the debate on this important issue, by reading the discussion paper and giving me their feedback,” said Mr Roy.

 “I understand that gambling is a major problem.”

 “The Labor-Wilkie pre-commitment reforms will have a detrimental effect on our clubs and consequently the local community, which is supported by local clubs.

 “This industry employs over 150,000 people throughout Australia including many people in our local community.  For example, we know that the Bribie Island RSL is the largest employer on the Island,” Mr Roy said.

 Kelvin Patch, Secretary Manager of the Caboolture Sports Club highlighted the valuable contribution that clubs make to the Longman community.

“Last year the Caboolture Sports Club contributed over $1m into local sporting clubs, community organisations and sporting individuals.  Additionally over $5.5 million was injected back into the local economy through direct wages.  The future of this community contribution will be threatened by mandatory pre-commitment,” Mr Patch said.

“The challenge for governments is balancing the legitimate right of adult Australians to gamble responsibly with the establishment of appropriate protections and support for the small number of people for whom gambling can have tragic personal and financial consequences.”

 “The Coalition’s approach to problem gambling is about addressing the social, economic and policy challenges of gambling reform.  The Gillard Government and its mandatory pre-commitment scheme is about responding to the politics of minority government.”

 “I’m not persuaded that mandatory pre-commitment will address problem gambling.  My concern is the significant flow-on impacts on employment and on our local community,” said Mr Roy.

 Copies of the discussion paper can be downloaded here and are also available from Mr Roy’s office at 260 Morayfield Road.

 Written submissions are being received until the 31 January 2012.

“Many people are rightly upset that after 30 years the ABC it has decided to dump its programming of lawn bowls,” Mr Roy said.

“Participation in bowls as a sport, and viewership of the broadcasting were strong.  The ABC’s own charter demands its inclusion in the ABC programming schedule,” said Mr Roy.

Nationally the petition has been initiated by Kelly O’Dwyer, Federal Member for Higgins and director of Bowls Australia, together with the Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP, Shadow Minister for Seniors, and Joe Aarons OAM, Chairman of Bowls Australia.

Mr Roy said that already 200 people had signed the petition to voice their opposition to the axing of the bowls from the ABC.

The ABC has a Charter set out in section 6 of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 that states it should broadcast programs that contribute to a sense of national identity and inform and entertain, and reflect the cultural diversity of the Australian community and further requires it to provide a balance between wide appeal and specialised broadcasting programs.

Mr Roy said the petition was part of his promise to give the community a voice on the issues which matter to them.

The petition can be downloaded here

I have been contacted by some residents regarding a bat colony in Burpengary. Residents raised concerns about the size of the bat colony, and proximity to local horse riding groups, particularly in light of last week’s outbreak of Hendra Virus in Beachmere.

I share the concerns of these residents, and at my request the State Shadow Minister for Environment, Mr Andrew Powell, has agreed to meet with concerned local residents to discuss this issue.

I would like to invite you to be a part of this discussion, at a community meeting on Thursday 20th October at 3.30pm at the Burpengary Equestrian Centre (350 Rowley Rd, Burpengary). All members of the local community who are concerned about this matter are welcome to attend, and I encourage you to invite others who may be interested.

If you have any questions prior to the meeting, please feel free to contact my office on 5428 7755.

I look forward to seeing you at the community meeting.

Mr Speaker, the state of health services in my region is woeful. The Caboolture Hospital is the only health service in the region providing 24 hour care, and it is simply not keeping up with the demand.
Mr Speaker I have spoken many times about the need for increased health services in our region. My electorate is one of the fastest growing regions in the country, and our community has every right to expect adequate access to quality health services. Yet my office is contacted daily by people who have waited hours in emergency at the Caboolture Hospital; people who are older, people with babies, people with mental illness. It is simply not good enough, Mr Speaker. Access to affordable health care is required – and required urgently – in order to relieve the pressure on the public health system.
Mr Speaker I am looking forward to speaking in the debate about the reduction in the private health insurance rebate. I am looking forward to speaking in more detail about the detrimental effect this policy decision by this Labor government will have on the hard working Australians in my community. People need choice, Mr Speaker, and it is this choice that is being denied through a series of woeful ideologically driven policy decision made by successive state and federal Labor governments. The decisions being made on George Street in Brisbane and here in this place are not helping my community access health care. In fact they are making it much worse.
Mr Speaker my community has directly raised their concerns about health with me at public forums I have held, at listening posts I regularly hold around my electorate and with my office. I undertook to bring the concerns of my community to Canberra and I am keeping that promise by raising these issues again today.
Most of the issues raised relate to the shortcomings of the Caboolture Hospital. My community is full of admiration for the great work that the doctors and nurses at the hospital do, however they understand that they are under-resourced. Waiting times, unrealistic nursing workloads, insufficient funding, the services available to mental health patients, hospital administration and an onerous bureaucratic system are matters that are continually raised with me.
As I have mentioned before, the Department of Health predicts that by 2026 this region’s population is expected to reach some 200 000 people. Our region is a great place to live and people want to come here. We want to encourage that; encourage growth. We want our community to be an attractive place to live. However the services we have available need to keep up with the fast pace of growth.
At present there are 187 beds available at the Caboolture Hospital and 21 bays in the emergency department. An estimated 600 beds and 52 emergency bays are required to service the region by 2026. The AMA Public Hospital Report Card states that last year the Caboolture Hospital “operated on average at over 100 per cent occupancy, showing significant overstressing of capacity.” A safe occupancy rate is an average of only 85 per cent. Mr Speaker, it is clear that even now the Caboolture Hospital is unable to cope with current population demands on its services. This needs to be redressed immediately.
Mr Speaker it is in the context of being committed to the improvement of access to health services in my community that I would like to provide in principal support for the establishment of a small primary care facility on Bribie Island. It is great to support a community driven solution to a community problem.
Mr Speaker I wish to share a story about some locals who are taking action into their own hands. I was recently contacted by an organisation that is seeking to establish a facility that will provide a range of services. These services include the provision of day surgical applications, such as skin lesions, a wound management clinic, palliative care services through co-operative relationships with community groups and/or Metro North Brisbane Medicare Local, rehabilitation services, short term, acute care monitored by local GPs and importantly after hours care.
Mr Speaker I am happy to support a service designed to increase the access of the community of Longman to medical services. On Bribie Island in particular, there are many elderly people who would benefit from such a service. The drive from Bribie Island to the Caboolture Hospital takes approximately 30 minutes. I am sure that many residents of the island would be reassured by having access to such care closer to home.

Mr Speaker, I am pleased to hear about the initiatives of locals, and no doubt this will be a fantastic service to our community. Our local community desperately needs better health services, and we needs to start planning for the future now.

E&OE…………………………………………………………

I rise to voice my strong opposition to the Labor government’s carbon tax. There is no denying that climate change is a significant challenge facing Australia—indeed, facing the world. It is a challenge that deserves a response. I note that the members opposite are trying to detract from this response. They are trying to mislead the Australian people by making this debate one based on ideology rather than a policy debate seeking pragmatic and commonsense solutions. Let me make something clear: there is no dispute about the goal of reducing carbon emissions by five per cent by 2020. What is up for debate is the best way for us to achieve this reduction in emissions, and what is important in this debate is the cost to our economy: the personal cost to jobs, to families and to small businesses—the forgotten Australians that the Labor Party has walked away from, the forgotten Australians that the Labor Party lied to when the Prime Minister said before the last election, ‘There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead.’ It is important that we find methods of reducing emissions without attacking our way of life and the intrinsic economic advantages that we as a resource-rich nation enjoy.

The best way to reduce carbon emissions is not with a carbon tax which is going to hurt families, small businesses and Australia’s economy and fail to effectively reduce Australia’s emissions. The best way to achieve this reduction in emissions is through a direct action plan—a direct action plan which will not be another cost to families, not force rises in the cost of electricity and not be another great big new tax on business; a plan which is costed and capped and funded; a plan which is not going to be an uncontrolled burden on the economy for years to come.

Let me outline what a pragmatic, common-sense policy looks like, delivered by a Liberal administration. When Campbell Newman was Lord Mayor of Brisbane—and I remind members that Brisbane City Council is a local government with a budget bigger than the Tasmanian state government’s—Brisbane City Council became Australia’s largest purchaser of green power. Impressively, Brisbane City Council buildings run 100 per cent on renewable energy. Council purchased 500 new buses, which all run on Biogreen Diesel, which is cleaner than gas; that is one bus going into service every three days. Brisbane City Council planted two million trees. All of these environmental gains were made through direct action by a Liberal administration. That is what direct action looks like. All of these measures were good for the economy, good for business, good for lifestyle and good for the environment, and all were achieved without a new tax.

Recently I held a series of listening posts in my electorate specifically to hear the concerns and opinions of those in my community about the carbon tax. ‘Concern’ is not strong enough to accurately represent the emotion of many of the individuals who made the effort to visit me at one of my many listening posts. People are angry. They are angry that their voice has been ignored by the Prime Minister and the Labor government. They are angry that they were lied to by the Prime Minister before the last election, and they are angry that now they are being afflicted with a tax that they do not want, and a tax that they did not have a say on, all for no real environmental benefit. Indeed, the government’s own modelling shows that emissions will not decrease in Australia. From 2012 to 2020, emissions will rise from 578 million tonnes to 612 million tonnes per year.

I have spoken in this place before about the challenges my community faces, and the cost of living is always one of the first issues which is raised with me when I am out in my community. It comes as no surprise then that, in the context of this carbon tax debate, the rising cost of living has been on the minds of countless locals. Members of my community are wondering how they will keep up with the rising tide of the cost of living brought about by this new tax. At one of my recent listening posts, I had a young mum tell me that she was afraid to go to her letterbox because there just might be another electricity bill there. How is she, and the many like her, expected to cope with the rising cost of her electricity, her transport, her groceries, her rent, her water bills and her rates? The fear she expressed to me is justified. Based on the Labor government’s own modelling, families will be hit with at least a $515 increase in their costs. This means a 10 per cent rise in electricity and a nine per cent rise in gas. And that $500-odd increase comes on top of a 50 per cent increase in electricity, a 46 per cent rise in water rates and a 20 per cent rise in rent since 2007.

The list of rising costs facing members of my community goes on. These costs, coupled with an extra tax, are pressures that families should not have to face. In introducing this new tax, the Labor Party has forgotten the challenges facing Australians and walked away from the very people they once claimed to represent. This Labor government is trying to impose a new tax which is going to hurt Australians. Then, at the height of insulting the people of Australia, this Labor government is dangling the promise of a handout. Well, I suggest that the Australian people deserve better. They deserve honesty. The Australian people are not fools. They know that you only compensate once you inflict pain, and the best thing that the government can do is: leave them alone. Do not invade their lives and inflict pain in the first place.

Recently I held a community forum in my electorate about the carbon tax with my friend and colleague the Leader of the Opposition. I was impressed by the quality of the questions, ideas and comments that people from my local community were able to contribute. The locals in my community do not want the political spin that this Labor government is serving up in the form of a carbon tax. They want to feel confident that their government is going to do the right thing by them—that it is not going to impose a tax which will see their household costs continue to go up and up and up. They want a government that makes their lives easier, not harder.

One of the attendees at the forum, Neil from Burpengary, asked, ‘What will farmers do in the face of rising operating costs?’ Farmers’ profit margins are already slim and they are incapable of passing on their costs. My electorate is home to about 70 per cent of Queensland’s strawberry farms, as well as to many other primary producers. I think Neil asked a valid question, and one which deserves a response from those members opposite. Are these farmers, these small business owners, expected to absorb the costs caused by this carbon tax—costs which they are unable to pass on and will not be compensated for?

The prospect for farmers, families and small businesses under this carbon tax is not an optimistic one. I am discouraged to think what the impact will be for many small businesses in my community whose overheads are already high and whose margins are low. I recently visited Atlas Heavy Engineering in Narangba with the shadow Treasurer, Joe Hockey, to hear their concerns about the impact of the carbon tax on their future. It is very concerning when a business such as Atlas Heavy Engineering, which employs over 65 locals, cannot be certain about exactly how the carbon tax will affect their prosperity and ongoing operations. Atlas is a great local business and electricity is its second highest cost. The general manager of Atlas, Mr Rex Vegt, said to me he is concerned because he just does not know how much this tax will cost Atlas. Atlas Heavy Engineering relies on two main resources, steel and electricity, both of which will be hit hard under the carbon tax. We know that the costs of these resources are going to up and up and up under this Labor government. Rex went on to point out that Atlas is a medium-sized business with a direct connection to the mining boom, a strong position compared to that of local small businesses, which will be hit hard under the carbon tax. While he was rightly worried about the business, he really feels for the small business owner and questions how they can possibly get ahead in an already difficult climate. This is a good question, one which has been frequently repeated by many of the small business owners in my electorate since the announcement of the Labor-Green government’s carbon tax.

I have said in this place before that the economy in my community is dependent on small business, retail, tourism and light industry, all of which are dependent on confidence in the marketplace—confidence which is under attack by this Labor government. This tax is generating nothing but uncertainty. The only certainty is that the costs for businesses are going to go up and up and up. In introducing this, the Labor Party has again attacked what should be the engine room of the economy—small business. I have a simple challenge for those members opposite: go out into their communities and find one, just one, small business that will tell them that this carbon tax is going to make it easier for them to run their business; just one that will say it is going to make it easier for them to reduce their overheads and to employ people.

Madam Deputy Speaker, let me tell you another story of a local small business, Rangeland Quality Meats. Like many other small businesses, this butcher will be hit multiple times under the carbon tax: once in transporting stock from farm to abattoir, again in transporting meat from abattoir to store, and yet again with the refrigeration cost in store. The burden on small business in my electorate is enough. The last thing they need is more cost increases brought about by an unnecessary tax that will be completely ineffective for the environment. For many small businesses, a carbon tax will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

In light of all of this, why is the government seeking to impose an economy-wide carbon tax? The Productivity Commission highlighted that ‘no country currently imposes an economy-wide tax on greenhouse emissions or has in place an economy-wide ETS’. It is imperative that we as a nation consider what introducing this tax will do to our economy and our competitive advantage when compared with the rest of the world. This is a notion that was not lost on Penny Wong when she was climate change minister. As the minister said:

‘The introduction of a carbon tax ahead of effective international action can lead to perverse incentives for such industries to relocate or source production offshore and there is no point in imposing a carbon price domestically which results in emissions and production transferring internationally for no environmental gain.’

These are not my words but the words of a current Labor government minister. If the Labor Party thought that this was such a good policy, why did they mislead the Australian people at the last election? The Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister is recorded as saying: ‘certainly what we rejected is this hysterical allegation that somehow we are moving towards a carbon tax … We certainly reject that.’

Well, under this carbon tax Australia will be at a competitive disadvantage to the world. Those causing the most pollution—China, India and the United States—have no plans to introduce economy-wide carbon taxes. Let us put this into perspective. Even if the carbon tax were 100 per cent effective, China’s increase in emissions until 2020, just the increase alone, would be 100 times larger than the maximum amount that we could hope to reduce our emissions by. Members opposite have held up the European Union’s emissions trading scheme as an example of what can be achieved. Yet the Australian Crime Commission has revealed that the European scheme has been rorted to the tune of $5 billion. That is not a model we need to emulate.

The Labor Party is embarking on a process that is more about wealth redistribution than environmentalism. The coalition has a plan, a direct action plan which is fully funded, which will not increase the burden on households, which is not going to unfairly increase the operating costs of small businesses and which will have a significant practical benefit for the environment. It is a plan that is costed and capped at $3.2 billion over the first four years.

We in the coalition are a party of action, of forward thinking and of practical solutions. Our solution is not to tax everyday Australians but to effectively and efficiently implement strategies which will deliver practical environmental action. Our plan will give Australians the chance to play their own part in positive change through direct action. It is a plan which will invest in solar renewable energies, green armies, an additional 20 million urban trees, soil carbon to replenish the land, cleaning up our dirtiest power stations and incentives for industries to reduce their emissions. Direct action will use incentives rather than penalties, funding the most cost efficient projects, staying within the government’s means.

In opposing the Labor government’s carbon tax, we on this side of the House are standing up for the locals in my electorate. We are standing up for those small businesses that will bear the brunt of this unfair tax. We are standing up for those families whose everyday costs are going to rise with this tax. In conclusion, I encourage those members opposite to also stand up for their communities and vote against this unfair carbon tax.

14 September 2011

E&OE

Yesterday the Labor government introduced 18 bills that will give effect to the introduction of the carbon tax from 1 July 2011. The introduction of the bills to this House represents a breach of trust and wilful disregard for the Australian people. The bills represent a major change in this nation—one where the Australian people have been denied their fundamental right to have a say. Since the Prime Minister announced that there would be a carbon tax in February of this year in direct contravention of her promise just days before the last election, my office has been inundated with concerns about the tax and the effect that it will have on families and local businesses. 

Unlike this Labor government, the coalition has been listening to the forgotten Australians about their views on the carbon tax. My friend and colleague the Leader of the Opposition joined me last week in Longman to hear the views of people in our community about the carbon tax. Over 200 people arrived to take up the opportunity to speak directly with the alternative Prime Minister. Even after all the taxpayer funded advertising and announcements this government has had, it was clear from the questions asked at the forum that the people of my community continue to be unsure about what this tax will mean for them. They simply do not trust the Labor government when it tells them they will not be worse off. They do not trust a Prime Minister who promised there would not be a carbon tax under the government she led.

When the government sent out its glossy brochures with patronising words about how everything would be okay after this tax was introduced, hundreds of people in Longman simply threw them out, left them unopened or dropped them off in my office unopened. I have a mountain of them in my office. Hundreds of people have signed the anti-carbon-tax petition. But still the government will not listen. There are, however, two things that the people of Longman are clear about: that the cost of living will go up and up and up for families and that they have been denied their fundamental right to have a say on a reform that is going to have a major negative impact on Australia’s economy.

My community is not wealthy. It is made up of hardworking Australians who have the aspirations that Australians have shared throughout history: being rewarded for hard work, building a better future for their kids and simply trying to get ahead in life. But with the spiralling cost of living that most people in Longman are experiencing they cannot be confident they are going to be rewarded for their efforts or that they are going to be able to leave a more prosperous future for their families.

A mother of five children stood up at the forum to address the Leader of the Opposition. Although she was not an avid follower of politics—she said, ‘I am still in the land of babies and nappies’—she urged politicians to be mindful of the impact that their decisions had on her and her family. She said that Canberra had to understand that decisions made here had a big impact on her family. This is the basic truth that the Labor Party have forgotten. A pensioner stood up and said his life was getting harder and harder and the cost of living just kept increasing. He was concerned because he was already living week to week on his pension and was very worried about what it would mean when the carbon tax was introduced and electricity prices inevitably went up.

When I ran for parliament I said I wanted to give the locals in my community a direct voice with the key decision makers in Canberra. I want to thank the Leader of the Opposition for directly listening to the concerns of the locals. While the Labor Party is walking away from the people they claim to represent, we in the coalition are keen to hear the views of Australians. In my community they are telling us loud and clear that they do not want this tax. I am yet to have one business owner tell me that a carbon tax is going to inspire confidence in the marketplace, make their business thrive and prosper and make it easier for them to employ people. They are worried about what it will mean for their families and they are worried that increasing costs will drive their already struggling businesses to the wall.

My community was grateful that the Leader of the Opposition took the time to listen. This Labor government should listen as well, and members opposite should be true representatives of their communities and say no to this tax.