I rise to offer my enthusiastic support for the Appropriation Bill 2025 which was introduced by the Hon. David Janetzki, Treasurer, Minister for Energy and Minister for Home Ownership. This is the first budget handed down by the Crisafulli government since we were elected eight months ago and it is a key step in repairing our state’s finances. I want to acknowledge the hard work of the Treasurer in compiling this bill after inheriting a mess of overspending, deficits and unfunded promises from those opposite.
The spending that is laid out in this budget is sensible, measured and necessary to keep pace with Queensland’s growing population. Notably absent from this budget are the two Labor taxes that the LNP have axed—the patients tax and stamp duty for first home buyers. This is because we understand that you cannot keep slugging Queenslanders with new taxes to fund out-of-control spending. We are investing for the future in our state’s essential services and laying the groundwork to turn the tide on the youth crime crisis, the health crisis and the housing crisis.
In my short time as the member for Capalaba, I am proud to say that all of my election commitments have been funded in this first budget—as have all of the Crisafulli government’s commitments. A massively important project that has long been a source of frustration for locals is the restoration of the Leslie Harrison Dam gates. The effects from the lack of gates on this dam became abundantly clear during ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred early this year when the Capalaba Warriors Rugby League Football Club, the Bulldogs Football Club and the Capalaba greyhound facility experienced higher floodwaters than the 2011 floods when the gates were still on the dam. Therefore, it is fantastic that a business case for the dam gates is getting underway. This has finally started the process that had stalled for so many years under Labor.
I am also pleased to report that construction of the $1 million amenities block upgrade at the Birkdale South State School will commence this school holidays. Alongside this, there is funding for upgrades at Hilliard State School and Alexandra Hills State High School as well as providing security for the future of the Sycamore School. This delivers on key local election commitments. The facilities upgrades at Birkdale South State School will ensure that every student is more comfortable at school and able to focus on doing their very best in the classroom and beyond.
There are a whole host of other funding allocations across various local community groups, sporting organisations, small businesses and training organisations. I have listened to my local community and it is wonderful to be able to help deliver funding that can support the growth of a business or community organisation in the Capalaba electorate. This includes the delivery of a $12 million allocation to fund the new RSPCA Wildlife Hospital and Centre of Excellence at IndigiScapes in Capalaba. Not only will this new facility be able to support the growing demand for wildlife rescue and care but it will also provide opportunities for education within our local community.
Perhaps the most exciting announcement in this budget for my community is that funding has been allocated to complete investigations into the Metro expansion to Capalaba. It is terrific to be the member who is getting to work on this key piece of transport infrastructure after years of announcements and no action. On top of this, planning studies are already underway for the Tingalpa Creek bridge duplication project which has been a bottleneck cause of congestion for far too many years. This delivery proves just how committed the Crisafulli government is to improving transport in the Redlands.
Looking beyond this budget, I am focused on continuing to advocate for improvements to local infrastructure to keep pace with the growing Redlands population. This will be especially vital as we go full steam ahead into the preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. I am also delivering for improved community safety, with $600,000 for anti motor vehicle theft devices in my electorate of Capalaba. This funding will go a long way towards improving the capabilities of our local cops in clamping down on motor vehicle theft.
Statewide, the Crisafulli government is giving Queenslanders a fresh start in even more ways, with early intervention programs to divert at-risk youth before they become hardened criminals. Our government’s landmark Gold Standard Early Intervention programs are making a substantial investment to support at-risk youth and tackle the cycle of youth crime before it can begin. This involves a $115 million investment, including a $50 million Kickstarter grants program which has already completed the first round of applications. This funding provides financial support to community organisations which can deliver a program that focuses on reducing crime, identifying and addressing the range of risks and needs for young people, and supporting a young person’s re-engagement with education, employment or training. This forms part of a broader holistic $5.2 billion package to boost police resources, to create better opportunities for rehabilitation of offenders and to make Queensland communities safer.
There has also been plenty of bluster and talk recently from the opposition regarding short-term sugar hits which were handed out last year in a desperate attempt to cling onto power. They wanted Queenslanders to forget who dragged them through a decade of chaos and crisis with skyrocketing power prices and cost-of-living pressures. They thought it could all be solved with one-off payments without addressing any of the issues head-on.
The LNP supported the payments to help keep Queenslanders’ heads above water, but there was never any funding allocated by the previous government to continue these temporary measures. The opposition’s pretend outrage at this is totally disingenuous and it exposes for everyone to see just how devoid of policy ideas the Labor Party are.
The 2025-26 budget delivers cost-of-living relief that is responsible, recurrent, targeted and timely. I am proud to be part of a government which is serious about fixing the countless underlying issues that have been allowed to grow unabated over the past decade and will do so while taking our debt situation seriously.
There are a lot of reasons to be excited about this budget and it strikes the right balance of necessary investments while keeping spending at a mature and sensible level. Significant investment is being made across Queensland to address Labor’s crises in areas such as health, housing and crime. Locally, there have been several positive developments for the community, including funding for key infrastructure upgrades, improvements to transport connections and enhancements to local educational facilities. I know how important these projects are to my constituents, and it is a great privilege to get to work on them as part of the Crisafulli government. I will always go further to fight for my community and will continue to advocate for greater investments in the Capalaba electorate, and I do not plan on stopping that mission any time soon.
We have plenty to be excited about in this Budget for our first home buyers, with the Crisafulli Government scrapping stamp duty on new homes and expanding the $30,000 First Home Owners Grant for a further 12 months. Under the former Labor Government, this grant was due to revert to $15,000 at the end of the 2024/25 financial year, so I am glad we have been able to deliver funding for a further year. So far, first home buyers have saved an average of $16,996, helping to reduce their upfront costs and easing the financial strain that comes with buying a home. This complements the new $165 million Boost to Buy program, which is a nation leading shared equity scheme. Boost to Buy will be available for singles earning up to $150,000 or two-adult households earning up to $225,000 and will encompass homes up to the value of $1 million. This will make the great Australian dream of being a homeowner more accessible and it gives hope to young people in Queensland who are struggling to achieve that dream.
Not only are we making it more affordable to get into a first home, but the Crisafulli LNP Government are delivering more supply into the housing market through the landmark $2 billion Residential Activation Fund (RAF). In the first round alone of the RAF more than 170 applications were received which totalled $1.79 billion in funding requests to unlock $3.97 billion in new projects. If completed, these combined projects would support the delivery of more than 158,000 new homes across Queensland. The overwhelming interest from the state’s housing sector is hugely heartening, and with the backing of a cooperative State Government, will support one million new Queensland homes by 2044.
Support is also there in this Budget for those facing homelessness, with the Housing Minister announcing last week that we are locking in a 20% funding boost to specialist homeless service providers, and a $365 million boost for crisis accommodation for the next 4 years. This will help the most vulnerable in our communities to access crisis accommodation and support services when they need them. The Budget funding boost also follows a landmark new Master Agreement with Community Housing Providers to cut red tape and accelerate delivery, and the establishment of Queensland’s inaugural Homelessness Ministerial Advisory Council.
Mr Speaker, I have heard from local sporting clubs and parents alike that they have been delighted with the announcement of the new Play On! sports voucher program. Queenslanders were rightfully disappointed that the previous government ended funding for sports vouchers, as shown in Labor’s last budget papers.
This announcement ensures that all children aged between five and seventeen are able to participate in community sport, regardless of their financial circumstances, with a record funding of $62.5 million each year for four years. This funding has made substantial improvements since the LNP first created the program a decade ago. This will fund vouchers for both summer and winter sports, while there are also dedicated allocations for children living with a disability, and those living in rural and remote areas to even the playing field for all Queensland kids.
Funding such as this is vital for creating strong communities, while also providing opportunities for kids to improve their physical and mental wellbeing through participation in sports.
Our support for keeping Queensland kids healthy doesn’t stop there either, with the announcement of a $37.5 million investment into the Healthy Kindy Kids program. This program will deliver free health checks, including vision, hearing and speech development checks to an expected 60,000 Queensland kids per year when fully established.
The Crisafulli Government is listening to Early Childhood Educators, who have reported concerns about undiagnosed health and development issues that are causing children to fall behind in the formative years of their education. These free health checks will help to identify issues early, so that additional support and monitoring can be offered, to give students the best possible start to their schooling.
Mr Speaker, I’m backing this budget because it delivers on the mandate that Queenslanders elected the Crisafulli Government on. We will turn the tide on the decade of chaos and crisis that Labor led this state through, and this Budget is a key cornerstone of that gargantuan task. I want to reiterate my strong congratulations to the Treasurer for a tremendous first Budget, and I look forward to the many years of economic growth that Queenslanders will see under this Crisafulli team. I commend the Bill to the House.
