With an election due in just over 7 months, today I announced that I will be retiring from Parliament at the next election.
It's been an honour and privilege to serve and represent you as the Federal Member for Lyne in the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia since 2013.
Since that time, we have achieved a lot together. I'm particularly proud of the nine years during The Nationals term in government in which our electorate was able to secure record funding for so many projects throughout our region. It has been a lot of hard work, but also an absolute pleasure working with so many of you involved in various organisations across the community who have helped me deliver these projects.
Every time I walk into the Parliament and into the House of Representatives Chamber, it is certainly not lost on me, the trust you have placed in me and the importance of the position I hold as your representative.
In Parliament, I have used this national forum as an opportunity to advocate on behalf of our community and our local industries and work with my parliamentary colleagues on all sides to improve the lives of Australians and help deliver a better country now and in the future. Whether it be in energy policy, tax reform, cutting red tape, infrastructure investment, support of our primary industries and small business, competition policy, aged care, national security, social services, or reform of our Federation, I've certainly continued to prosecute the case on why we need to invest and implement common sense policies in these areas.
Having served in the Ministry for three years including as Minister for Regional Health in the former government, I was able to utilise my knowledge and skills through my background as a medical specialist in developing policies which are now being rolled out today. I was particularly passionate about the need to build our medical and health workforce in the regions, and as Minister I secured funding for a major expansion of the network of full-time medical schools and nursing and allied health campuses across regional Australia.
As the Chair of Parliamentary Friends of Nuclear Industries for the past five years, I have continued to work with members of the Coalition and across the parliament in pushing for new zero-emissions nuclear technology as a viable option to secure Australia's energy security in the future and I'm delighted that it has now become Coalition policy.
Throughout my time as the Federal Member of Parliament, our region has experienced many challenges from the 2019/2020 Bushfires, the 2021 Floods and the Covid Pandemic. During these challenging events, I have worked with our community and my parliamentary colleagues in Canberra to ensure we were able to secure the support we needed to respond and help us bounce back stronger.
For over 11 years, my wife Charlotte and our family have supported me in this wonderful job and I thank them for their love and support. As good as it is, the job has taken me away from home to Canberra for Parliament and across Australia as a Minister for well over half the year, each year, for over 11 years. Keeping a very busy schedule across a big electorate also means many more days away from my family. Having completed many national policy initiatives and having secured funding for many local projects that I have been working on for some years, I'm now looking forward to spending more time with Charlotte and my family.
Australia is at a crossroads, and we need more people in Parliament with real life experience that are prepared to speak up in support of commonsense policies that work. Supporting and retaining the many things that work, while also embracing new things that can help improve the lives of Australians is critical for our ongoing prosperity as a nation.
I will of course be working hard between now and the next election as your Federal Member and will work closely with the next Nationals candidate to ensure our region continues to not only receive strong representation, but also remains the focus of regional investment.
The Nationals have already begun the preselection process for Lyne and nominations close in about three weeks' time. From there, a preselection meeting will be held on Saturday 7th December to determine the next candidate who will contest the electorate of Lyne for The Nationals.
I'll be working with and supporting the new Nationals candidate to ensure many of the projects we are continuing to work on locally will be included in The Nationals Plan for Government at next year's election.
Finally, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the people of the Lyne electorate for their ongoing support. Thank you to The Nationals party members who have continued to help with policy development and in supporting me at each and every election, and thank you to my staff for all of their hard work in helping me do my job serving the people of the Lyne electorate.
Some of the major local achievements across the electorate include:
- Taree Universities Campus - Over $10-million in capital and operational funding
- Newcastle Airport - $130-million for runway upgrade and new International terminal
- Pacific Highway Upgrade - 80% of funding for Duplication of $820-million Oxley Highway to Kempsey and $1.75-billion – M1 to Raymond Terrace projects
- Bucketts Way Upgrade – $41-million
- Coomba Park Tial Pool Upgrade – $200,000
- Laurieton Sports Complex upgrade – $350,000
- Bolwarra Lookout Upgrade – $700,000
- Great Lakes Women's Shelter – $1.3-million
- Clarence Town Road upgrade – $20-million
- Lorne Road Upgrade – $5-million
- North Coast Jobs and Investment package – $7-million towards industry expansion projects in the Hastings and Manning
- Dungog Common upgrade and Pump Track project
- Iron Arena Stadium Taree – $12.9-million – Jointly-funded
- Fig Trees on the Manning Precinct Development Taree $8.5 million
- Forster Civic Precinct – $6-million jointly-funded
- Gloucester Trade Skills Centre – $1-million
- Karuah's Lionel Morten Oval upgrade – $500,000
- Wauchope Andrews Park Upgrade – $350,000
- Coopernook-Harrington Overpass – $48 million – Awaiting State approvals
- Park Street upgrade East Gresford Annual Billy Cart Derby route – $1-million
- Kew Main Street redevelopment and beautification – $800,000
- Brig O'Johnston Bridge Clarence Town – $8.8-million - Awaiting State
- First Steps Count Child and Community Centre in Taree – $3.2 million
- Dungog's Dowling Street upgrade and Beautification – $2.6-million - Jointly-funded
- Tuncurry Racecourse Upgrade – $689,000
- New Regional Radiotherapy unit and Manning-Great Lakes Cancer Centre – $5 million
- Port Macquarie Airport – $25-million - Jointly-funded
- Taree Northern Gateway Project- Federal-State funding to better and safer access to the Cundletown Interchange – $15-million - Jointly-funded
- Forster Surf Club Main Beach upgrade – $6.3-million – Jointly-funded
- Taree Transport Terminal – $500,000
- Gloucester Aged Care and Retirement Village project - Mirrabooka Place – $8-million
- Wauchope Pool upgrade – $1.5-million
- Marcellin Park Upgrades in Maitland – $500,000
- Taree Airport Upgrade – $2-million
- MidCoast Water infrastructure – water security projects – $10 million
- Largs Skatepark – $550,000
- Wauchope West Urban Growth Area Infrastructure (Yippin Creek) – $5-million
- New Headspace for Manning-Great Lakes region – $3.5-million
- Medical, Nursing and Allied Health Local Student Education and Training - RHMT Funding - UNSW, University of Newcastle, CSU.
- Kendall Tennis Clubhouse upgrade – $150,000
- Dungog Library upgrade – $330,000
- Wingham CBD Upgrade and revitalisation – $1 million
- Cedar Party Creek Bridge Replacement Wingham - $5-million
- Melville Ford Bridge Replacement – $8.2-million - Jointly-funded
- Tuncurry Water Park, Rockpool Playground, Sustainability Centre projects – $1.93 million
- Manning Valley Regional Hockey Centre and Cycling Club Facilities $780,000
- Bonny Hills, Comboyne Beechwood, Kendall, Wauchope, and Camden Haven Beach to Beach Shared Pathways projects – $3- million
- Two-way pipeline between Lostock and Glennies Creek Dam – $11.1-million
- Federal funding for Aged Care and Home Care increased from $90 million in 2013 to over $300 Million
Funding secured for Council projects
- $222-million – 2013-2025 Financial Assistance Grants – MidCoast
- $34.11 million – 2014-2025 Roads to Recovery funding- MidCoast
- $20.26 million – Local Roads and Infrastructure Package – MidCoast
- $23.87 million – Road Safety Program – MidCoast Council
- $115.90-million – 2017-2025 Financial Assistance Grants – Port Macquarie-Hastings
- $22.93-million - 2014-2025 Roads to Recovery funding – Port Macquarie-Hastings
- $11.80-million- Local Roads and Infrastructure Package – Port Macquarie-Hastings
- $32.91-million- 2017-2025 – Federal Assistance Grants to Dungog Shire Council
- $7.30-million – 2014-2025 Roads to Recovery funding package – Dungog Shire Council
- $3.26-million – Local Roads and Infrastructure Package – Dungog Shire Council
- $1.43-million – Road Safety Program – Dungog Shire Council
- $87.04-million - 2017-2025 – Federal Assistance Grants funding - Maitland City Council
- $10.93-million – 2014-2025 – Roads to Recovery funding - Maitland City Council
- $6.82-million – Local Roads and Infrastructure funding - Maitland City Council
- $85.48-million – 2017-2025 – Financial Assistance Grants - Port Stephens Council
- $10-million – 2014-2025 – Roads to Recovery funding- Port Stephens Council
- $6.05-million – Local Roads and Infrastructure Package - Port Stephens Council
- $20-million - Lyne Electorate Blackspot projects
- $35-million - Lyne Bridges Renewal Projects
