By ALENA HIGGINS
ONE of Queensland’s newest senators has voiced his support for the Emu Swamp Dam and Inland Rail projects while touring the region last week.
Matthew Canavan spent time on the Southern Downs on 14 and 15 October to get a feel for grassroots issues as part of an election promise to visit every region of the state and take the views of Queenslanders back to The Hill.
The father of four was among the highest intake of new senators in history to be sworn into office in July 2014 and has wasted no time cutting his teeth.
“Basically I am a new senator for Queensland and I will do a better job if I listen to people,” he told the Free Times last Wednesday.
“I am trying to pretty much get to every region of Queensland as soon as I can.”
The 33-year-old said difficulties employing itinerant workers and weekend penalty rates were raised during a lunch and dinner with business owners in Stanthorpe, as was Emu Swamp Dam.
The National Party member, who grew up in Logan, also voiced his support for the Inland Rail project.
“(On Wednesday) in Allora I met with some people in the logistics game and obviously grain is of huge importance and I am right behind trying to see the Inland Rail get built,” Senator Canavan said.
“I think it would be huge for this part of the world and I also think this area naturally should be the transport hub of Southern Queensland and Northern NSW, and we have to make sure the Inland Rail is built with this in mind.”
While this is his first foray into politics, Senator Canavan – who holds degrees in economics, history and philosophy – has amassed a great deal of experience working as Barnaby Joyce’s former chief-of-staff. A position, he jokes, that was more difficult in some respects.
“This is not foreign to me but it is different,” he said of his new role.
“I am enjoying being able to take up issues that I see in front of me and that I hear from people.
“I have only been there three months but rural debt has been a major issue that we have tried to get some action on and … now a bigger job is to see some dams built in this country.
“Yesterday I saw the Emu Swamp site and how it could be a great benefit to that region, we’ve just got to work out how we can pay for that now.”
As for the apparent unpredictability of the senate and the gridlock surrounding the budget, Senator Canavan said he believed the Upper House “was still working”, citing the abolition of the mining and carbon taxes as examples.
“It is true that the controversial aspects of the budget like the GP co-payment, road excise, education and some of the welfare reforms haven’t gone through, but when you look at it 98 per cent of the budget has passed,” he said.
“Those controversial areas count for about two per cent of spending of the entire budget and the senate has always held things up, so we haven’t been doing anything different.”
