A special tribute to all Keith’s supporters, volunteers, family and staff, who are helping him be a strong, local voice for the people of Hinkler!

Letter submitted to the Fraser Coast Chronicle, Hervey Bay Independent and NewsMail on August 26, 2014.

Dear Editor,

I was appalled to learn recently that the Queensland Teachers’ Union has been targeting students as young as five to spread their false and misleading claims about the Federal Coalition’s education budget.

Primary and special needs students at the southern end of the Hinkler electorate were asked to put Union propaganda flyers in their bags to take home to their parents.

The fact of the matter is Commonwealth funding for Queensland schools will increase each year, for the next six years.

Total Commonwealth funding to Queensland schools will increase by 46.8% or $1.28 billion to 2017-18.

But don’t just take my word for it. The ABC Fact Check (2/7/14) says quite clearly that “the Government did not cut $30 billion from schools in the May Budget”. The ABC goes on to state that the Opposition’s education spokesperson Kate Ellis “is sprouting rubbery figures”.

Student to teacher ratios have improved, with a 12 per cent reduction in the number of students per teacher in Queensland.

This being the 16th National Literacy and Numeracy Week, I ask the unions to refocus their energy on outcomes for students rather than cheap political point-scoring for their Labor mates.

Federal Member for Hinkler, Keith Pitt MP

This is devastating news for at least 27 Australian families.

It is an absolute tragedy and our thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost their lives and the families that are now dealing with the tragic loss of their loved ones.

Even while information is still coming through, the Government is doing everything in our power to provide whatever practical assistance we can in terms of counsel, repatriation and so on.

Anyone who is anxious about family members or friends on this particular flight should call the Department of Foreign Affairs 24 hour consular emergency centre and the number is 1300 555 135.

While our immediate concern is to confirm details and identify those on board and the families they leave behind, it is imperative that we seek clarification on how this tragedy occurred and finding those responsible so they can be brought to justice.

I encourage Hinkler residents to click here and leave a message in the condolence book.

Letter submitted to the NewsMail on June 23, 2014:

Dear Editor,

Nothing could be further from the truth than Sam Williamson’s claim (NM 23/6/14) that the state and federal governments have done “bugger all” to address unemployment.

In the final year of the Howard government, the local unemployment rate was just six per cent. Under the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd governments the unemployment rate in the Federal electorate of Hinkler increased to 9.6 per cent.

Since being elected less than a year ago, the Coalition has reinstated Work for the Dole. I fought hard to ensure two of the 18 communities selected for the first phase are in the Hinkler electorate. We’re providing loans of up to $20,000 to help apprentices complete their trade. And we’ve introduced a scholarship scheme for university students from low socio economic backgrounds and regional communities.

Long term unemployed young people will be eligible for job commitment bonuses when they have held down a job consistently for 12 months and two years.  There’s also funding available to cover the costs associated with relocating to take up a job. We’ve introduced financial incentives for business too, when they hire a job seeker over the age of 50 who has been unemployed for at least six months.

I’m proud to be part of a team that recognises that Governments don’t create jobs – businesses do! That’s why we’re making it easier, not harder to do business in Australia. We’re cutting red and green tape to save businesses time and money. We’re providing support for businesses that want to start exporting their products to the world. We’re reviewing competition laws and working to conclude free trade agreements with our major trading partners.  And we’re repealing the Carbon Tax! And, just last month, I hosted a forum for local businesses in Bundaberg with Federal Minister for Small Business Bruce Billson.

We’re giving business the confidence and stability they need to invest and employ! Labor gave us two Prime Ministers, two Treasurers, five assistant treasurers, and six small business ministers.

Keith Pitt MP

Federal Member for Hinkler.

Opinion piece submitted to local media on May 14, 2014.

The 2014-15 Federal Budget is not about self-interest. It is a Budget in the national interest.

At the September 2013 election, we promised to get the Budget back under control. This Budget is a key part of the Coalition’s Economic Action Strategy to build a more prosperous nation.

It is only fair that everyone makes a contribution to the Budget repair task.  That’s why we’ve frozen politicians pay and will put an end to Gold Pass travel entitlements.

We promised not to change pensions in this term, and we haven’t. We’ve also retained the diesel fuel rebate that benefits farmers and fishers.

When one person receives an entitlement from the Government it comes out of the pocket of another Australian.

Each year, the Government spends more on welfare than it does on the education of our children or the health of our people.

The time for everyone to contribute is now; before debt reaches such a level that we are forced to make even tougher decisions.

People earning more than $180,000 a year will pay a Temporary Budget Repair Levy.

The age of eligibility for the pension will not increase to 70 until 2035.  

You will be asked to make a $7 Medicare co-contribution when you visit the doctor, to help fund a $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund. Concessional patients and children under 16 will only have to contribute to their first ten visits each year.

Every dollar raised from the indexation of fuel will be spent on roads, and bring the Commonwealth’s total investment in infrastructure to a record $50 Billion by 2019-20.

I encourage you to read more at www.keithpitt.com.au

Hi,

There is no doubt that this is a tough Budget.

Everyone is being asked to contribute to the Budget repair task.

For example, Australians earning over $180,000 a year will be asked to pay a Temporary Levy.

But there is some good news too!

We promised not to change pensions, and we haven’t.

The Nationals fought hard to ensure the Diesel Fuel Rebate was retained.

Money raised from the indexation of the fuel excise will be spent on roads, bringing the Government’s infrastructure Budget to a record $50 Billion.

$6.7 Billion of that will be spent on the Bruce Highway.

$15 Million will go towards helping small exporters.

We’re cutting the company tax rate by 1.5 per cent to help around 800- thousand businesses.

There are incentives of up to $10,000 for businesses to employ people who are over the age of 50.

We will abolish $1 Billion worth of red tape and regulation each year to save businesses time and money.

People learning a trade will be able to access concessional loans of up to $20,000 in a scheme similar to HECS.

There’s $9 Million to support our recreational and commercial fishing bodies. And a raft of measures for the agricultural sector too.

This Budget delivers all of my election commitments.

It is a Budget in the national interest that ensures regional Australia gets its fair share and continues to be the engine room of the nation’s economy.

I encourage you to visit my website, and I look forward to discussing the Budget with you in the near future.

Opinion piece published in the NewsMail on March 27, 2014 as part of Good News Week:  

I’ve been asked to tell you why I love the Bundaberg district.

I could talk about the climate, turtles, Bert Hinkler, Ginger Beer or Rum. But you already know all that!

What you may not know is that my family has a long history of farming in the region, and I’m proud to be raising a fourth generation in the same community!

One of my earliest childhood memories involved watching my father work on his truck at our house on Chards Road, surrounded by cane. 

When I wasn’t at school, we were cutting sleepers in the bush or playing cricket in the backyard. 

From the age of 16, I spent every waking hour at the beach with my mates; preparing for our next surf lifesaving carnival. 

I now enjoy taking my son to touch football on a Friday night, joining my wife and two daughters at netball on a Saturday, wetting a line at Theodolite Creek, and having an early morning cuppa with the local veterans at Teaspoon. 

Where else can you buy a bag of sweet potatoes from the side of the road for $2?

The truth is; I wouldn’t live anywhere else!

Letter submitted to the NewsMail on Wednesday March 19, 2014:  

Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to letters written this week by Jim Carter and Stephen Beiger.

Firstly, I NEVER said “there is no federal money” for war memorials.

What I said was that Council is welcome to fund the memorial themselves; if they are desperate to have it built in time for Anzac Day this year. 

The grant that Council applied for is to commemorate the Centenary of the First World War in 2015, not Anzac 2014.

This was made abundantly clear to Council and every other applicant. Council appears to be the only applicant confused about the purpose of the grant.

The applications, which only closed on January 31, were assessed by an independent local committee and have been submitted to the Minister’s office. 

The Centenary of Anzac Local Grants Program is a very worthwhile initiative and I look forward to announcing the successful Hinkler applications later this year. 

Keith Pitt MP

Federal Member for Hinkler.

Contribution to the NewsMail’s flood commemoration book: 

When I reflect on the natural disasters our region has endured in recent years, I am reminded of Dorothea Mackellar’s poem My Country.

Bundaberg is, without a doubt, “a land of droughts and flooding rains; beauty and terror!”

But the people who live here also possess the same unbreakable resilience that is the poem’s underlying theme. 

For some, the 2013 Australia Day weekend was the second time their business or home had flooded in three years. You wouldn’t blame them for throwing in the towel. But that’s not the Australian way!

Throughout the Hinkler electorate, people worked for days in the muck and filth, to help clean up after the floods and tornadoes. Neighbours helped neighbours, strangers helped each other. Countless Australians donated money.

It was a true representation of the Australian spirit. People across Australia and overseas, watching the events unfold on the evening news, were inspired by the Bundaberg community.

The clean-up may be over, but our recovery is still underway. As the Federal Member for Hinkler, I will work with all levels of Government and the community to ensure the region does more than just recover! Together, we can build a stronger, more resilient Bundaberg!

Keith Pitt

Federal Member for Hinkler

Letter submitted to the NewsMail and Fraser Coast Chronicle on January 6, 2014: 

Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to the article published by APN on January 2 (2014), “Pitt will need quick fix for NBN, Marine Park and Health”.

Quick fixes were a hallmark of the Rudd and Gillard Governments. Quick fixes gave Labor short term boosts in the polls, but resulted in home insulation deaths, duplicated school halls and $900 stimulus cheques being sent to foreign workers who are no longer in Australia.

On September 7, the Australian public elected a Coalition Government to end the mismanagement and waste of taxpayers’ funds.

They put a stable, consultative, adult government in charge, to carefully consider and comprehensively analyse programs before they’re implemented, preventing a repeat of fiascos like the National Broadband Network (NBN).

Under Labor’s plan, the region was never going to receive the NBN by 2014. Labor knew this, which is why their so-called rollout maps misleadingly described areas as being ‘under construction’ when in many cases they hadn’t even reached the stakeholder engagement phase.

As you accurately point out, during the election I committed to fix mobile phone black spots, suspend marine park areas and invest in agriculture.

Since being elected just three months ago, we’ve released a discussion paper inviting the public to make submissions on the Coalition’s $100 million Mobile Coverage Project.

We’ve released the terms of reference for an Agriculture Competitiveness White Paper, which will make recommendations to generate jobs, improve farm gate returns and increase investment for economic growth.

We’ve successfully negotiated a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Korea, which will benefit the region’s sugar, horticulture and seafood exporters.

And, just last month, the Queensland Seafood Industry Association wrote to me thanking the Coalition for honouring its election commitment to scrap Labor’s flawed marine management plans.

The Coalition is off to a solid start, getting on with the job it was elected to do.

I will continue to work hard for the people of Hinkler in 2014, to build the stronger, more prosperous country that we all want.  

Keith Pitt MP

Federal Member for Hinkler    

NBN Factbox:

• If Labor’s policies are left in place, Australian households will pay up to 80 per cent more for broadband, with bills increasing by $43 per month;
• The roll out is currently two years behind schedule, with final completion due 11 years later than promised by Kevin Rudd;
• The cost to taxpayers of completing the NBN under Labor’s plan has blown out to $73 Billion. That’s $29 Billion more than we were told.