It is with great sadness that I rise to pay tribute to Alan Acton, who tragically passed away on 4 April at age 65. His loss will be felt by many.

I offer my deepest condolences to his wife, Jennifer; children, Daniel, James and Jessica, and their partners and children; sister, Elizabeth; and brothers, Robert and Evan.

Mr MILLAR (Gregory—LNP) (3.16 PM):  The Gregory electorate covers nine local government areas and part of a 10th shire as well. In many ways, it is the level of government that my constituents have the most dealings with and it is fundamental to sustaining our quality of life in rural and regional Queensland.

In other words, it is a big deal.

Mr MILLAR (Gregory—LNP) (9.58 AM): I never thought I would be in this place giving a condolence motion for a man who was, simply, a mentor and a friend.

There is a great monument to Vaughan Johnson OAM, the member for Gregory for 25 years, at the Boulia Diamantina Shire Council boundaries, not far from the Northern Territory-Queensland boundary. It is called the Vaughan Johnson Lookout. It is a lookout on a jump-up that has an amazing and beautiful view of the vastness of the Channel Country.

Mr MILLAR (Gregory—LNP) (3.28 PM):  In December, the Queensland Labor government publicly promised that violent juvenile car thieves will face 14 years jail. Now in the bill before us we see that the maximum penalties are half of what they promised.

The sentencing maximum is seven years. Under the sentencing principles contained in the Youth Justice Act, the maximum sentence that juvenile offenders can be sentenced to is still five years.

Mr MILLAR (Gregory—LNP) (12.28 PM): 

Thank you for those kind words, Chair.

Stock routes are very important to Queensland. They play a significant role in animal welfare and also in increasing our agricultural abilities through tough times and drought.

 Before addressing the contents of this omnibus bill, I want to draw the attention of the House to the concerns of the Transport and Resources Committee with the explanatory notes. As deputy chair of that committee, I share the concerns of all committee members with the poor quality of these explanatory notes.

Mr MILLAR (Gregory—LNP) (3.16 PM):  I would like to contribute to this committee report because the estimates process, and what we do in question time, is important to all Queenslanders.

This House is the House of Queenslanders. It is not the House of the Labor Party, it is not the House of the LNP, it is not the House of any political ideology, it is the House of the people of Queensland. They expect this process to work fairly for everybody.

 I am deeply saddened to rise tonight to mark the passing of three outstanding and loved community leaders in Gregory.

Many will be aware of the recent passing of the former member for Gregory, Vaughan Johnson OAM. I hope to have more to say about Vaughan's enormous contributions to Western Queensland when this House marks his passing with a formal condolence motion. The outpouring of gratitude and affection for Vaughan across Gregory shows he was well loved not only in Gregory but throughout Queensland and in this place as well.

 Mr MILLAR  (Gregory—LNP) (8.20 pm): I rise to draw attention to the importance of tourism in the Western Queensland economy and ask that the Labor government supports the industry in the seat of Gregory.

COVID-19 travel restrictions in the previous two years have seen western drive tourism expand from a well-established grey nomad market to include a family holiday market, which is fantastic. I am keen to see the expansion sustained and I am keen to see that we continue to support our Western Queensland tourism industry.

Mr MILLAR  (Gregory—LNP) (12.18 pm): I am pleased to be speaking on this bill to establish a permanent office to be known as the Small Business Commissioner.

 The LNP has always understood that small business is the backbone of the Queensland economy, and that is nowhere truer than in regional and rural Queensland. It is small businesses who maintain the liveability of our communities and who sustain our local economies.

Mr MILLAR  (Gregory—LNP) (2.24 pm): As members know, for years I have been fighting for renal dialysis services in my electorate. It is heartbreaking to see your constituents having to lock up their homes and move to Rockhampton, Mackay or Townsville to receive this treatment. They live in so-called temporary accommodation because Queensland Health calls it a temporary relocation. It often means caravan parks. I have constituents who have been living like this for six or seven years. That is how temporary it is. Constituents like Ian Williams of Emerald have died waiting for the service to be provided.