For over a century, Australia's Defence personnel have contributed to every major conflict, fighting for our freedoms and values. From the Boer War, to our troops still serving around the world, Aussie servicemen and women have become world renowned for their bravery, sacrifice and skills.

Tomorrow is ANZAC day, and I encourage you to attend one of many services held across the Northern Beaches, to commemorate the service and sacrifice of all Australians who have served our country with distinction and honour.

Lest we forget.

Thank you to all the Mackellar residents who attended my first community forum in Belrose.  Although we did not see eye to eye on every topic, having these discussions is important. The decisions that are made in Canberra affect you, so I am always looking for feedback. 

If you couldn't make it, I have synthesised the three main issues raised below, and hope you can make it to the next one (check out my future events).  You can also watch my inaugural speech to Parliament to find out what my vision for our area is. 

Housing affordability

This is a complex issue, which needs to be addressed by all levels of Government working together. 

Local Government implementing appropriate planning controls and zoning.

State Government reforming planning laws, releasing more land, building appropriate road and public transport networks, and looking at how State taxes can be reformed to assist housing affordability.

Federal Government looking at what policies in can implement to help this issue.  Stay tuned for some more news on this in the Federal budget in May.

Roads, rail and public transport 

More needs to be done to improve roads, bring a form of rail to the Northern Beaches and invest more in public transport.  

While these are State Government issues, I will continue to advocate for funding for better roads, for new rail and better bus services (from The Forest area to Chatswood) and for improved public transport across the board.  The State Government is investing over a billion dollars on roads and public transport on the Northern Beaches, including $500 million on roadworks around the new Frenchs Forest hospital, $500 million on a North to South B-Line.  

This is the beginning, not the end.  I have only been in the job for eight months, but I will keep arguing for more funding to improve our transport on the Northern beaches.

Reducing Government expenditure

We need to get the budget back to balance by reducing expenditure.  The Government is making progress on this.  Growth in government expenditure is just under 2 per cent. When we came to Government in 2013, it was over 3.5 per cent. The rate of growth in debt when we came to office was around 34 per cent. We have reduced that by two-thirds. So, we are getting expenditure under control and getting on track to surplus. 

A great frustration in this process is the Senate. For example, the Government’s enterprise tax plan which the Turnbull Government took to the 2016 election, if implemented in full, would have grown the economy in a way which would have more than paid for the cost of reduced corporate tax takings. 

More needs to be done in reducing Government expenditure, so watch this space for more news in the Federal budget in May.

Follow up 

If you'd like to raise an issue, share your point of view, have any questions, or there is anything I can help you with, here are my contact details. You can also fill out my community survey. 

I am always looking for volunteers who can help me reach out to our community. Every hour helps, and it's a great way to meet like minded people.  

To cut through the clutter of all the information around our child care package, I asked the Minister, Simon Birmingham, what these changes actually mean for you. 

Last week, I joined my colleagues Treasurer Scott Morrison and Minister for Veterans' Affairs Dan Tehan at the launch of the Kookaburra Kids program for Defence Force families, both current and returned. Kookaburra Kids has been operating for over 15 years. It provides much-needed support for young people living in families affected by mental illness. From humble beginnings, the program has grown to over 1,100 kids—one of the largest of its kind in Australia.

For those in our community who have served our nation, the impacts can be felt every single day. While today, thankfully, there is greater awareness of mental illness in the Defence forces, the impact at home on the kids had been overlooked. I am proud that the Turnbull government, with full bipartisan support, has committed $2.1 million over two years to work with the Kookaburra Kids Foundation to develop a pilot program specifically tailored to the needs of our veterans' families. Kids will be able to build supportive peer networks, learn where to turn for help and have fun with others in similar situations, so they know they are not alone.

In my electorate, so much great work has been done in the mental health space for both current serving men and women and veterans. As a community, we ask much of our Defence Force personnel. It is vital that we provide support for their families in return.

My first duty is to represent you and fight for the things you care about. Many of you have taken the time to write, to call or to see me in person about our marine parks.

I have heard you, and I stood up in Parliament today to represent you. 

Watch the full speech below:

The Be Centre Foundation is moving! I managed to pop in for a quick visit, and am working with Minister Jane Prentice to support this wonderful organisation. Hard to think of a more worthy cause than helping abused and neglected children get back on their feet.

Watch my speech in Parliament about the Foundation. 

Vaccination matters. 
We are taking decisive action.

Watch my discussion with Jim Middleton and Andrew Giles about the Western Australian election and what we're doing to provide energy security and affordability in Australia. 

Since its inception, Ken Passmore and Jack Cannons AM have worked tirelessly with the South Narrabeen Surf Life Saving Club to raise funds in our community so that the Brewarrina community in remote outback New South Wales can bring 50 Aboriginal students and their carers to enjoy a day at the beach and learn about water safety. 

I was honoured to join in the fun at this year's Brewarrina Baked Dinner Night and support this wonderful grass roots initiative. Watch my full speech in Parliament below. 

This year marks the 100^th year of John F. Kennedy’s birth.  Kennedy’s presidency has been the subject of great historical review and analysis, some of it critical, some of it noting the potential of what was to come. 

I am most struck, sitting in 2017, of his call for national sacrifice summarised in this famous words: “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”  Little noted was his acceptance speech in Los Angeles where he called on those who did it not see the need to move forward or the need for national sacrifice to vote for someone else regardless of party. 

It was a time when our possibilities seemed limitless: “man holds in his mortal hands the power to end all forms of human life and all forms of human poverty.”  Even then, Kennedy knew that commitment was required to bring these things about.