Speech to Parliament by Libby Coker MP on 1st August 2022:
It is my great honour to stand here as the elected representative for Corangamite for a second term. I thank the people of Corangamite for placing their faith in me, and I will work hard each and every day to honour that faith. For the first time in almost 10 years, the Australian people have voted for a change of government. As a passionate advocate for my community for many years, it is with a sense of relief that I am now part of a government that will get things done and will be more compassionate and more accountable. I am proud of the Albanese Labor government's commitment to addressing the big issues and making structural and policy changes to improve the lives of all Australians. We have major challenges ahead, but, by putting the wellbeing of people and the protection of our environment at the heart of all policy, we have a positive agenda for the future.
I am particularly proud of the Albanese Labor government, which has, under the direction of my colleague the minister for industrial relations, introduced legislation to ensure all employees across Australia have access to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave. As a government, we are determined to meet these big challenges.
As the mayor of the Surf Coast Shire, I and my team worked closely with the ACTU—and the then president Ged Kearney, who is now the honourable member for Cooper—and the Australian Services Union to introduce 10 days family violence leave across the Surf Coast municipality. We were the first council to do so—12 years ago. From little things big things grow, and now this fundamental and vital support has been embraced by councils and corporations across Australia. This legislation matters. It means people experiencing horrific and often hidden violence do not have to choose between keeping a job and a wage and fleeing family and domestic violence.
I thank my constituents, the union movement and every person who has advocated for survivors of family violence for making this happen. In my role as member for Corangamite, I remain committed to representing the interests and concerns of my community. I have listened to my constituents, and they have told me that they care deeply about the big challenges we face: issues related to climate change, aged care, NDIS, health care, integrity in government, quality education, reliable communications, and decent roads that connect us to work, to schools and to essential services.
In my regional electorate, safe and reliable roads are essential; my constituents reminded me of it on a daily basis. This is why my government has committed $125 million to build the second stage of the Barwon Heads Road. This is a significant arterial link between the Bellarine and Geelong, in a rapidly growing part of my electorate. This critical piece of infrastructure will serve more than 60,000 residents in the next two decades.
My region and the nation face rising cost of living pressures, low wage growth, the devastating impact of climate change and a skills shortage. We are determined to face these big challenges and to overcome them. We cannot waste a single day.
Investing in health care is one of our most important investments. It will become easier for people in my electorate to see a doctor and receive care under Labor's policy to provide automatic Distribution Priority Area classification to regional centres like mine. This means that places in my electorate, like Torquay, Ocean Grove and Bannockburn, will now have access to more doctors to employ in their clinics. This will ultimately help patients across my region to see a doctor for non-urgent care quicker and closer to home.
Labor is also delivering at least 50 urgent care clinics across the country to take the pressure off our emergency departments, which are struggling at the moment. We recognise this and we will deliver these urgent care clinics. I'm proud to say that there will be one in Geelong. We have announced it, and it will serve our region. These clinics will make it easier for families to see a doctor or a nurse when they have an urgent but not life-threatening care need. These clinics will bulk-bill and ease cost of living pressures on families.
Under the previous government, the cost of seeing a GP increased by 43 per cent in my region. Labor is investing almost $1 billion in primary care through the Strengthening Medicare Fund to deliver better access and care for patients. With our Strengthening Medicare GP Grants, we will invest $220 million in our local GP practices after almost 10 years of Liberal cuts and neglect. These grants will provide funding for GPs to help them do things like upgrade IT systems, upskill staff, purchase new equipment and upgrade ventilation and infection control, at a time when we know that COVID is still ever present. It's time we made health care accessible and affordable for everyone, and it's time we properly supported our healthcare professionals during what is one of the most challenging periods in our history.
I'd like to talk about child care now. In my electorate, we have many, many young families and lots of parents who rely on child care so they can get back to work. Labor's plan to make child care cheaper will help thousands of families in my region. No one should be penalised for taking on extra hours, extra days or a job. Cheaper child care will help mums and dads get ahead. Too many families are locked out of child care because it's just too expensive. Improving our child care system is a fundamental economic reform. Investing in child care will improve productivity and women's participation in the workforce, which will in turn help boost women's superannuation and reduce the gender pay gap.
Under Labor, people will now get a fair go at work. Too many people are struggling on low wages, with poor working conditions. We can do so much better. We owe it to the Australian people to lift wages and conditions for workers across all sectors. We are part of the way there, with our increase in the minimum wage. We have committed to ensuring Australians have access to secure jobs, and we want decent wages and safe working conditions for all workers.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart is something that I and my Labor colleagues are passionate about. The implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, through Voice, Treaty and Truth, is an opportunity for healing, truth-telling and closing the gap. This will be a defining moment in our history, and I'm proud to be part of an Albanese Labor government, which is taking real action to promote unity and healing by holding a voice to parliament referendum in this term of government. We will work in genuine partnership with First Nations people for better outcomes. We know that, if we want change, we must allow the voices of First Nations people to be heard and to heal the traumas of the past.
I was honoured to accompany the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, and Deputy Leader Richard Marles during the election campaign to announce Labor's investment in the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative, which will benefit First Nations people in my electorate. This $15.6 million investment will go towards upgrading facilities. The upgrade will create a space that meets current and future needs, including additional health consulting rooms, meeting spaces and a conference centre. The Wathaurong services cover an area of 700 square kilometres across Geelong, Colac, the Bellarine Peninsula and the western metro region of Melbourne. This service supports a community of more than 3,500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, providing families with a range of important supports.
Climate change and energy is another major commitment of Labor. We brought it to the election, and I know my community is so proud that we have stepped up on this. We will take action on climate change, and we will invest in renewable energy. I can assure my community that I will be working very hard to ensure that any manufacturing opportunities in relation to renewables are grasped by the region.
In my electorate, Labor will deliver on a community battery for the Sands Estate community in Torquay. The Sands Owners Corporation worked hard over a long period of time to build a case for a community battery. They spoke to me frequently, talking about this important need. It was with great pride that, during the election campaign, I made a commitment towards this community battery. It will allow local households to feed solar power into the shared battery during the day and draw from it at night. This will cut electricity bills and reduce emissions and pressure on the grid, which we must upgrade. The Sands community aims to reach net zero by 2024. I applaud this community for its vision and commitment to reducing emissions. It perfectly illustrates Labor's Powering Australia plan, which has been backed by business and industry across the country and will help to cut power bills for thousands and thousands of families and businesses. I was particularly proud to make this announcement and am proud to see the project will begin soon and to work with them for its completion.
As I said earlier, families across the Bellarine will have quicker and safer commutes to work, school and weekend sport, thanks to the $125 million commitment the Labor Party made in the lead-up to the election. Now in government we will be able to deliver it, to build stage 2 of the Barwon Heads Road duplication. By 2031 the Barwon Heads Road will carry up to 44,000 cars and trucks every day. If we don't build for that traffic growth now, locals will be trapped in an ever-growing gridlock. I want to assure my community that I will be working hard to deliver this in a timely manner, because I know how challenging it can be for many who currently use that road.
I am also proud of my election commitment of $20 million towards a 50-metre indoor pool in Drysdale on the Bellarine Peninsula. This is a growing region. People deserve to be well, in good health, and to be able to exercise and connect. This pool will deliver on that. I surveyed almost 2,000 residents on the Bellarine and they overwhelmingly told me that they want this indoor pool. I am working with the local and state governments to deliver this exciting commitment for the people of the Bellarine. I look forward to seeing this opened in the first term of our government.
We pledged $6 million towards a regional high-ball sporting facility for the urban growth area of Armstrong Creek. The high-ball facility will help address a lag in sporting and community infrastructure and provide an opportunity to host regional tournaments in basketball, netball and other outdoor ball sports. The Commonwealth Games are also coming to the region. I look forward to working with our state government on any opportunities that arise. This high-ball centre will be a place for hundreds of local families. Kids, mums and dads will come together, meet each other and make friendships for years into the future.
Another important commitment is a headspace for Armstrong Creek. Young people will finally have a dedicated service for early intervention mental health support. We committed $4.8 million to establish a full-service headspace centre in Armstrong Creek, which will also service the surrounding areas of Torquay, Jan Juc, Grovedale and Marshall. The Albanese government will support young people and their families through their mental health challenges. We know from COVID-19 the everyday pressures and the demand for mental health support. It has surged across Australia and certainly in my region it has impacted young people. They have come to me and spoken about the need for better services. I will work with the community to deliver a headspace for Armstrong Creek.
My electorate of Corangamite has one of the highest number of veterans in the state, with over 2,000 veterans and family members. In the Greater Geelong region there are around 3,500 veterans and family members. We must do better to support them. The Albanese government will invest in defence personnel and veterans on the Surf Coast and in the Geelong region by providing $5 million in funding for a new veterans wellbeing centre. The hub will be a one-stop shop for veterans and their families to access a range of services, including transition, wellbeing support, advocacy, employment, housing assistance and, importantly, social connection. I will soon be consulting with local stakeholders, RSL branches and the community to find the best location for a hub.
Over the past three years I have had a large number of environmentally active people from the region speak to me about the need to look at stormwater run-off. We have some of the most beautiful wetlands in Australia. The Karaaf wetlands in my region are currently facing decimation because the stormwater has not been treated well. The local council are very aware of how important these wetlands are, and I'll give them a shout-out for the work they're doing in that area. Before the last election we committed $1.9 million to looking at how we do better for these wetlands. I'm proud to say that, now in government, we can actually work on the Karaaf Wetlands restoration project, which is to the north of Torquay. The Karaaf Wetlands is 320 hectares of wild, open country, and it is hypersaline saltmarsh. It's also home to migratory waders from North Asia and the endangered orange-bellied parrot. The Albanese government is committed to protecting our important waterways and wetlands, and I will be proud to work with the community and the council to make sure that we improve these wetlands, that they are saline and that the stormwater run-off is managed in a way that is responsible and environmentally sustainable.
Community batteries: they are the way of the future. Our government is recognising that. They offer people in the community an opportunity to reduce our emissions, use renewable energy and reduce energy bills at a local and community level. I'm very proud that, under the Albanese Labor government, Torquay will soon be home to one of the first community batteries, as I mentioned earlier. Importantly, there will be more opportunities for local communities to embrace this innovation, and it's something I'll be encouraging my community to take up.
I understand the importance of government financial support to local sporting and community clubs. These are grassroots organisations. They are the glue that binds us together. That's why my government is committed to a number of sporting and community upgrades across my electorate, including the Queenscliff Football Netball Club, the Leopold Memorial Recreation Reserve, the Portarlington Demons Football and Netball Club, the Torquay Tigers Football and Netball Club at Spring Creek, the Ocean Grove Memorial Recreation Reserve, Barwon Heads Football Netball Club and the Bannockburn Football Netball Club. These are all important organisations where people come together, where children play sport and where I've attended many, many times. It was a great pleasure to support these organisations, which are largely driven by volunteers.
We're also funding an active youth space project in Inverleigh and an expanded childcare service at the Bannockburn Family Services Centre and addressing a mobile black spot in St Leonards. Throughout my region, communications and mobile are, in many places, underdone. We need to do better, and I will be working with the Minister for Communications to ensure that my region is well connected and has reliable mobile services.
As a local member for Corangamite, I want to do my best for my constituents and for all Australians. Now in government, we will get down to work and deliver on our commitments and give all Australians a better future.
