22 August 2019.
RECENTLY elected senator Gerard Rennick, born and bred in Chinchilla, where his dad was a farmer and his mum a midwife, says he will always stand up for the region.
Senator Rennick is touring the region giving speeches to local members on his plans and on Monday spoke to residents at the Chinchilla RSL.
The senator said his frustration about regional maternity ward closures was something he continued to talk about, even though it was a State Government issue. “I grew up here in Chinchilla with about 3000 people and now it is close to 6000 people,” he said.
“We had four midwives and now we have none, so it’s a shame despite the fact we have contributed significantly to Australia’s exports through agriculture, gas and then Kogan power stations, that we still can’t keep the maternity ward open. “It’s not like Chinchilla went backwards. I used to catch a train back to boarding school with Deb Frecklington, so she will be hearing a lot from me if we get into power late next year.”
Driven by the gratitude he had for his forefathers, the senator said he wants to make sure our children get the same opportunities our forefathers gave us.
That’s why a big part of what he wants to do is fund infrastructure, dams and power stations because that creates income which will in turn help fund the process of schools and hospitals.
“The Western Downs is very important to me, it’s got a lot of potential with inland rail, Toowoomba bypass, the airport and then on top of that you have Kogan Creek power station which has a lot of coal, quite a few gas stations and solar and wind going up as well, so we are a bit of an energy hub as well as an agricultural hub,” he said.
“Being a Chinchilla boy it is very close to my heart and I will always stand up for the region and make sure services here are up to standard.”
