CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Mr CALDWELL (Fadden—Opposition Chief Whip) (09:57): It was great to again, this year, join the Labrador men's shed for their AGM on 28 July. It is a local community group that I'm incredibly proud of. I want to pass on my thanks to outgoing president Gordon Cowser and the entire outgoing executive—Paul Whitehead, Jeff Gabriel and Vince Donahue—for their leadership over the last 12 months.

To the new executive team—to Jeff Gabriel, who's the newly elected president; Tony Beck; Len Thompson, who's made a comeback; and treasurer Terry Macarthy—thank you for putting your hand up for the service of this wonderful local organisation. I give a special shout-out to Graeme Laing and Graham Braund, who were both awarded life membership in recognition of their many years of service and contribution to the shed.

With Mental Health Month coming up in October this year, it's a timely reminder that men's sheds play such an important role in the mental health of the older men in our community. As we heard, yesterday was Vietnam Veterans' Day, when Australians are honoured for their courage, sacrifice and service in the Vietnam War. Sadly, back in January, a local veteran from my electorate, Graham Gordon, was part of a group who applied for a $20,000 grant to support the 60th anniversary gathering of the Long Tan Veterans Association.

To give this some context, this was in response to an application for a grant program run by the government. These Long Tan veterans had met for their 40th and 50th anniversaries, and many of them are now in their 80s, so this could well be the last one that they attend. Sadly, with no decision months later, I was forced to write to Minister Keogh on 25 May, asking him to urgently intervene with a response so that these veterans could plan their anniversary with some certainty.

Sadly, I didn't receive a reply until 17 August, the day before the event, and the answer was no. This application was lodged in January this year and, after my direct appeal to the minister, they just didn't get the support they need. Sadly, this is too typical of Minister Keogh's approach to supporting our well-respected veterans, and it is a shame and an indictment on this Labor government that he continues to hold that position when he holds our veterans in such contempt.

Finally, I just want to raise the issue of mobile phone coverage in Coomera Waters in my electorate. In the modern day, you would think that mobile phone coverage is everywhere for everyone, but, even in a suburban part of the Gold Coast, we still have black spots, outages and, in Coomera Waters, no access to triple zero. I've written to the minister asking for her assistance in intervening to make sure this much-needed service is provided to the Gold Coast residents.