ADJOURNMENT

Mr NEUMANN (Blair) (19:55): The Albanese Labor government is delivering change through funding projects on the ground in my electorate of Blair. Last month, I was delighted to help announce two major streetscape projects in the Somerset region that are being supported with $1.66 million in funding from the SEQ Liveability Fund under the South-East Queensland City Deal, including Australian government funding.

In Kilcoy, the newly opened Aston Park precinct has provided an additional 18 car parks, 10 RV and long vehicle spaces, revitalised gazebos, seating and bike racks, and wayfinding, historical and ecological signage. In Lowood, the new Station Street carpark has delivered 36 new parking spaces including accessible parking and pedestrian connections to Railway Street.

These projects are part of the larger Kilcoy Streetscape Revitalisation project and Lowood Futures Strategy respectively. These are urban renewal projects that are aimed at enhancing the identity, character and quality of these two Somerset towns. The next stage of the Kilcoy Streetscape Revitalisation would reshape key sections of William, Mary, Kennedy and Hope streets.

More parking, landscaping and gathering spaces, improved pedestrian connections and a new town entry features among the changes proposed. The Lowood Future Strategy envisages a botanic core, green space and more infrastructure upgrades to create a distinctive and attractive space, strengthening the local economy and improving access to destinations around town like the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail.

I've encouraged Somerset Regional Council to consider applying for funding for these initiatives in the next round of the government's Thriving Suburbs program, and I know that council is keen to do this. I'm looking forward to catching up with them very soon. This would build on the Albanese government's funding for the council in the last round of the program for the Toogoolawah Gateway Centre and the Mount Glen Rock Hiking Trails project in Esk.

I'm proud that our government is supporting small independent schools in my electorate, with $4.9 million for the new Judea building at St. Ann's Catholic Primary School in Redbank Plains which I was pleased to recently open. This funding was provided through the Australian government's Capital Grants program.

The new building includes four general learning areas, two multipurpose spaces, associated walkways, a library, learning support areas, a covered lunch area, a physical education store and a prep learning area. Projects like this are all about the Albanese government's commitment to providing schools with funding so students can have the best possible facilities and the best possible education experience.

Health remains a focus for me. The Ipswich Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, based in North Ipswich at Riverlink, has just celebrated three years of delivering affordable health care to patients in the Ipswich region, with more than 41,000 visits in that time. The Ipswich urgent care clinic opened its doors in August 2023, delivering on the government's commitment to make it easier for locals to see a doctor or nurse for urgent care.

They only need their Medicare card. I was pleased to drop in on the clinic on 28 August to wish the staff a happy third birthday and thank them for their work. The government promised 137 of these clinics right across the country, and we've now opened every single one of them.

We made urgent care clinics a permanent part of Medicare so patients can see the doctor for free. But, given the pace of population growth across Ipswich and Somerset, I've written to the Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing to propose a new urgent care clinic in the fast-growing town of Fernvale in the lower Somerset region, which could easily be located within an existing GP practice.

That's why I attended recently meetings with health ministers, advisers and representatives of the HelloDR health hub based in Blackstone, at the old Blackstone State School site in Ipswich, to discuss the proposal for a Medicare urgent care clinic in Ipswich South. About 70 per cent of the growth in Ipswich is concentrated on the eastern and south-eastern corridor between Ipswich and Springfield, and that includes Blackstone and surrounding suburbs like Redbank Plains.

This makes the HelloDR health hub an ideal location for a new Medicare urgent care clinic on the south side of Ipswich, which would have a full suite of health and allied health services located onsite. Now, I know there's a competitive process, but that would be an ideal location. All of these local projects and services go to show we're delivering real change in infrastructure and real solutions.

There's more to do, and that's why I'll keep working hard to deliver these services and infrastructure for people on the ground in my community. House adjourned at 20:00