Community safety first and foremost
Last week and this week the Miles Labor Government is taking more action to ensure our communities stay safe.
On Tuesday, while in Logan, I announced that the Queensland Police Service Youth Crime Task Force would be a permanent part of our crime fighting arsenal.
This means the boots on the ground to tackle youth crime will stay on the ground.
I also announced that we are extending our commitment to Youth Co-Responder Teams by three years.
I know how important both the Youth Co-Responder teams and the Youth Crime Task Force are here in my community of Logan.
As the data we released last week showed, we’re starting to see progress in reducing offending, and we will make sure that progress continues.
And on Wednesday, I announced our government is putting nearly half a billion dollars over four years towards funding another 900 police personnel.
The best way to make Queenslanders safe is to strengthen the blue line, to get more boots on the beat.
That’s an extra 500 sworn officers an extra 400 unsworn personnel.
Those unsworn personnel are a critical part of the mix, because their numbers enable officers to spend more time on the front line.
New Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski allocated 126 of those positions to Logan and the Gold Coast.
In a tight labour market, police recruitment is a very competitive field, but the good news is, Queensland is leading the nation when it comes to police recruitment.
There are 700 recruits who are currently in training and an additional 2,000 applications in the pipeline.
This means there will be new officers on the beat in the Woodridge Electorate keeping people safe in no time.
Vale Des Clamp
On Saturday April 20 we paid our respects and remembered a remarkable man at the funeral of Des Clamp.
Des was a man of values, Labor values, Christian values, moral values and community values.
And Des lived his values.
What started as Des and wife Noelene Clamp volunteering to help refugees integrate into the Logan community, transformed into not-for-profit multicultural organisation Access Community Services.
It’s a true testament to Des and Noelene’s commitment to others in the community.
Logan wouldn’t be the place it is today without Des, and the work he did with his wife Noelene for this community.
He held the values that drive many in our community to help those who need it most.
Des always championed for workers’ rights, the underdogs.
Nothing reflects this more than Des and Noelene’s willingness to open their home to hundreds of refugees.
Refugees fleeing war-torn countries, isolated from family, alienated by culture, disorientated by customs, and silenced by tongue.
Des and Noelene broke down those barriers.
Time and time again, they opened their three-bedroom townhouse for them.
I know at one time they welcomed in a single mother and her seven children.
Nine people living in a three-bedroom home.
In a loving, welcoming, three-bedroom home.
Des would be woken up at 1am when someone needed help and didn’t have anyone else to ask.
If someone was going to buy their first car in this country, Des was there for advice.
When their electricity didn’t work, it was Des and Noelene who would help.
If a mother went in labour, it was Des and Noelene who would look after their other kids.
And they became their friends, their neighbours and on most occasions their family.
As we know, Logan is one of the most culturally diverse places in the country.
It’s why Logan is so dynamic and thriving with life.
But without Des and Noelene it would be missing much of the fabric which holds it together.
Des also took so much pride out of seeing his family and extended family grow and thrive.
That was the benefits of seeing his actions in work.
Des made this place better, his community better and every single one of us better.
He will forever be remembered as a remarkable man who made a profound difference on our community.
We remember their courage and sacrifice on Anzac Day
Last week we gathered to reflect on our nation’s character.
To contemplate the sacrifices of service and war.
To measure the price of peace.
And above all, to remember.
One hundred and nine years ago, young Australian and New Zealand troops waded ashore, under fire in a strange land.
They were there to play their part in a war whose purpose must have seemed as foreign as the beaches on which they stood.
For the young diggers seeing the chaos and cruelty of war up close for the first time, it didn’t really matter who was their ally and who was the enemy.
What mattered, was who were their mates.
Because the bonds formed in the foxholes and trenches and craters of that peninsula were strong enough to not just form friendships, they were strong enough to form national identities.
To give young nations, unsure of their place in the world, a sense of self.
One hundred and nine years on from the ANZAC landings, we paused to recognise the value of sacrifice – the price of service.
Today there are fewer Australian troops in harm’s way in foreign lands than there have been for decades.
And for that we give thanks, as they are able to spend their ANZAC Days with comrades, with family and friends.
So throughout our community, and across Australia, we remembered and honoured the sacrifice and dedication of the countless generations who have served Australia and New Zealand with such valour.
Lest we forget.
