Too many lives are being lost on our roads. In my electorate, I’m sad to say the statistics are among the worst in Queensland. The Wide Bay district, which includes Bundaberg and Hervey Bay, has recorded the highest number of road crash deaths this year—31 lives lost. That is 11 more than the same time…
As the newly elected federal member for Hinkler, I will fight for all of those across my diverse electorate. As an election commitment I pledged to do everything in my power to deliver a Hervey Bay electorate office, an essential service for my community. The very first official correspondence I sent following my successful election…
Federal Member for Hinkler David Batt is calling for more support for current and former police officers. Mr Batt, who served as a police officer for 23 years, has renewed the push for a parliamentary inquiry into the police recruitment and retention crisis. “If there is no swift action, more lives will be lost.” Mr…
I rise to support the motion moved by the member for Wide Bay and fellow former Queensland police officer, Llew O’Brien. I am honoured to speak after all the others who have spoken in this chamber from all sides of the parliament who either have been police officers or are supporting police right across Australia….
Today my community farewells a beloved personality. John Greenhalgh, Bundaberg born and bred, passed away on August 14. He coined the phrase, ‘the Paris end of Bourbong’, a reference to the eastern end of the city of Bundaberg’s main street. It’s this part of the CBD where his family business, the famous Avenell Brothers, proudly…
Delivering and advocating for civics education is an absolute priority of mine. Whilst the Speaker has made the admirable commitment to visit each of our electorates around the nation to help spread the good word, my undertaking is to visit every single school in Hinkler throughout this term. That’s a total of 54 schools. These…
Monday 18 August was an important day for many locations across Australia, including my region of Hinkler. Vietnam Veterans’ Day is commemorated on the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, which took place in 1966. Major services were held in Hervey Bay and Bundaberg, and I had the privilege of laying a wreath and…
My electorate of Hinkler is hurting due to a worsening skills shortage and inaction from this Labor government. While a hand-picked few met here in Canberra with the Treasurer and Prime Minister for a three-day roundtable, the predetermined outcomes were simply more spending, more debt and the threat of more taxes. While the Canberra meeting…
How amazing is this love story: on 12 August, just two weeks ago, James and Gladys Turner of Kawungan in Hervey Bay celebrated 75 years of marriage! Can you believe that—seventy-five years? In 1950 James and Gladys married in Burpengary. James was born in Mundubbera and Gladys was born in Brisbane. Throughout the 1950s the…
In my electorate of Hinkler, life-saving work happens in many ways and forms. Tina Davie and the Bayside Transformations team in Hervey Bay are changing lives for the better through a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. Transformations operate all over Australia, and earlier this month I toured the hub in Hervey Bay, which includes…
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