Governor's Speech - Address In Reply
10-May-2011
Mr CRAIG BAUMANN (Port Stephens—Parliamentary Secretary) [12.46 p.m.]: It is a privilege to be able to contribute to the Address-in-Reply debate on the Speech of Her Excellency the Governor of New South Wales, Professor Marie Bashir. I thank Her Excellency for her Speech and her continued commitment to the people of New South Wales. I note Her Excellency's predilection for Port Stephens prawns and I would be more than happy to arrange for a tasting of Port Stephens Sydney rock oysters for the Governor as well. As the member for Port Stephens I can assure members there are no better crustaceans or molluscs available worldwide. It was one of the countless charms of the area that attracted me and my wife, Victoria, to the area to raise our family more than 25 years ago.
The area also attracted former Governor Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair and his wife, Shirley, in retirement. Rear Admiral Sinclair was Governor of New South Wales from 8 August 1990 to 1 March 1996. I was fortunate enough to be mayor of Port Stephens through Peter's term in office but it took a while to stop calling him "Your Excellency" when I bumped into Peter and Shirley doing the shopping in Raymond Terrace after he had retired. Peter and Shirley are very much part of the Hawks Nest-Tea Gardens community, and they are much loved and much respected. Peter was the last military Governor of New South Wales and the last Governor to reside in Government House. Governors now live in their own homes.
It seems like only yesterday that I proudly stood in this Chamber for the first time four years ago as the first Liberal member for Port Stephens. Watching from the gallery was my wife, Victoria, who for reasons largely unknown to me for such a beautiful and intelligent woman continues to be my greatest supporter. Our sons Angus, Stuart, and James, who are now aged 25, 23 and 19, also watched from the gallery, and four years later have become fine young men who are pursuing careers respectively in medicine, engineering and veterinary science. Four years ago, having finally won the seat following nail-biting recount after nail-biting recount by a mere 68 votes—which I advise the House represented a swing of 7.3 per cent—I was nicknamed "Landslide" by my Coalition colleagues. At the time I was a lone Liberal victor. My closest Liberal colleagues were the member for Terrigal, Chris Hartcher, and a school friend whom members may or may not know, Ray Stevens. Ray is a member of the Queensland Parliament and represents Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast.
Now as a proud member of the Fifty-fifth Parliament of New South Wales and a Government member I am pleased to have shaken the mantle of having the State's most marginal seat with a swing of 12.4 per cent. I am pleased and proud to continue for the next four years to do what I am most passionate about—representing my community of Port Stephens. What also pleases me is that Macquarie Street is now brimming with Coalition Hunter representatives. For the first time I have Coalition colleagues in neighbouring electorates. I am no longer the lone Liberal voice from the Hunter in State Parliament.
I have Coalition colleagues who, like me, are passionate about the Hunter and who will represent their communities with professionalism and enthusiasm. But, unlike former Labor members, my new colleagues have strength of character and background that make them well suited to represent their community and to give their constituents a voice rather than being puppets of the party, or having obtained the role through familial ties or as a pat on the back for being a good comrade. Andrew Cornwell, who would rival television vet Dr Chris Brown in the popularity stakes, won the seat of Charlestown with a swing of 24.4 per cent.
Mr Andrew Constance: How much?
Mr CRAIG BAUMANN: He won with a swing of 24.4 per cent, and he will be a strong voice for his community. The affable new member is a graduate of my alma mater, the University of Sydney, where he held the record for being the longest resident of St Andrews College. Students usually leave the college after about three years. I think Andrew left recently! By winning the seat of Maitland, Robyn Parker seamlessly transitioned from the upper House to the lower House with a crushing defeat of a Minister who had 16 per cent majority. I congratulate the member for Maitland on being a member of the Premier's Cabinet with portfolios of Environment and Heritage. I am confident she will serve admirably both the Maitland electorate and the State as a whole with her passion and ability. Through a quirk of Electoral Commission boundaries, the member for Maitland and I are fortunate to share responsibility for the town of Raymond Terrace: the boundary of the two electorates runs almost precisely through the middle. Over the next four years I look forward to continuing to work closely with Robyn.
What at one time was considered to be an almost unthinkable event—a Liberal member for Newcastle—has emerged, thanks to the indefatigable Tim Owen. For the first time in 100 years the Newcastle community has thrown off the shackles of the overwhelming expectation that it would do what it had always done and vote Labor. Tim Owen recorded a huge swing to take the seat for the Coalition, also from a Minister. Perhaps more than any other seat, Newcastle illustrated the strong desire for change that the people of the State so desperately craved—change that would result in rebuilding our economy, the return of quality services, the renovation of infrastructure, the restoration of accountability and the protection of our local environment and communities.
Having served for 30 years in the Royal Australian Air Force, Tim is one of those local members who may rightly be described as overqualified for the job. Tim was the first non-aircrew air commodore at the Royal Australian Air Force base at Williamtown and led the surveillance and response group following a stint as air adviser in London. Before retiring from the military Tim served as the Deputy Commander of the Australian Forces in the Middle East. For 16 years the New South Wales Labor Government ignored the Australian Defence Force while other States competed for a part of the defence procurement budget. I know Tim is telling his former defence colleagues that New South Wales once again is open for business. We hope to get our share of the defence budget in the future.
The member for Swansea, Garry Edwards, rounds out the formidable Hunter team, having achieved a swing of 11.9 per cent to become the newest member for Swansea. Garry and I already get on well. We share a background in local government—Garry is currently deputy mayor of Lake Macquarie—and a love of sailing. Garry is also involved in a project that is close to my heart: Sailability. We are sure to be a united force in that area during the next four years. The new, invigorated electoral representation in the Hunter is driven by a vision for change instigated by our Premier, Barry O'Farrell. Like no other previous generation, the community demanded change, and the Barry O'Farrell-Andrew Stoner Government will deliver change. That is not only a political election catch-cry or a slogan that is bandied around; it is also a genuine commitment to lift the State from the appalling position to which it sank thanks to Labor's legacy, which we will all have to bear for some time. Her Excellency the Governor stated:
Improving the performance of New South Wales is not only essential to the quality of life and opportunities of our own citizens. It can be said that New South Wales, by its size and capability should, as people expect, lift more than its own weight.
When New South Wales tests its own limits, the nation shares the benefits.
And so should the nation share the benefits of the Premier State. We welcome the chance to return New South Wales to being the No. 1 State. We welcome the chance to allow the nation to share the greatness that created the No. 1 State. We promised the people of Port Stephens that we would fix the problems that 16 long years of Labor bestowed on the electorate. Having been taken for granted for too long, particularly in the Hunter, we have been left with roads that are dangerous, a health system that is in a mess and schools that have been run down to ruin—all thanks to a disastrous and incompetent Labor Government.
For the past four years I have been working extremely hard to hold Labor to account for promises it made to the people of Port Stephens in the 2007 election campaign, such as those relating to the Nelson Bay ambulance station, the Raymond Terrace police station, which was first promised in the 1999 election when the late John Bartlett was the Labor candidate, and the HealthOne clinic in Raymond Terrace. While there are issues surrounding the site of the HealthOne clinic that must be resolved, I will be proud to be the local parliamentary member when the facilities are officially opened by the Government. The O'Farrell-Stoner Government will build the infrastructure that makes a difference both to our economy and to people's lives. That will include spending $40 million to widen Nelson Bay Road between Bobs Farm and Anna Bay, spending $20 million on upgrading the Raymond Terrace to Dungog Road and spending $5 million to make Lemon Tree Passage Road safer.
The Government will return quality to services such as health, transport, education and community safety. The Government will begin the design and planning of a public high school in Medowie. We will review the Lower Hunter Regional Strategy, which is a Labor Government strategy that has strangled all development in Port Stephens for the past seven years. The reintroduction of local health districts will help to restore confidence in local health systems. The previous Government's decision to create giant area health services was a disaster. Health services suffered as accountability and responsibility diminished. We will return patients to the centre of every decision made in the New South Wales health system for the betterment of the patient, not the bureaucrats. We will also provide 50 more beds and 25 more nurses to the local health service. We will spend $13 million fast-tracking the rollout of flashing lights in school zones, which will include Raymond Terrace and Anna Bay public schools in my Port Stephens electorate.
The Government also will conduct an audit of local area commands to identify shortfalls in police numbers and to boost patrols. We will provide 80 additional teachers to the Hunter region to help to improve children's literacy and numeracy skills. We will protect local environments through working with communities and returning planning powers to the people. As well as scrapping part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, we will begin the process of drafting a new planning Act with wide community consultation. We will spend $1.5 million on urgent dredging projects, which will include the eastern channel of the Myall River. We will address the aircraft noise issue in Port Stephens, which will include investigating changes to planning laws to protect home owners from losing the value of their homes.
Rebuilding the economy through lower taxes and supporting businesses to grow and to create jobs will be of great benefit to the people of my electorate. The incredible burden of the increase in the cost of living is keenly felt in my electorate. The 2006 census revealed the median weekly household income in Port Stephens was $781 whereas the national median weekly household income was $1,027. The people of Port Stephens have put their trust in me and the people of the State have put their trust in Barry O'Farrell to deliver the change we need. I know we will not let them down.