NEW Labor member of parliament Charis Mullen says she will be a strong advocate for infrastructure in Flagstone, Greenbank and New Beith.
Public transport will be one of the first things she intends to tackle and she has her sights set on building a community centre.
Ms Mullen said residents in areas like Flagstone, Greenbank and New Beith felt like they had been forgotten in the past.
“The Logan part of my electorate will never be forgotten,” she said.
“The area is growing quickly and there is no time to waste so I intend to hit the ground running.”
Ms Mullen said there was a large and strong field in the election race for the seat of Jordan.
She won the electorate with about 40 per cent of the votes, at the time of publication.
The rest of the votes were split between One Nation’s Michael Pucci (18.73 per cent), Duncan Murray of the LNP (14.35 per cent), independents Steve Hodgson and Phil Cutcliffe, Peter Ervik of Civil Liberties, Consumer Rights, No-Tolls and Steven Purcell from the Greens.
Ms Mullen said schools, health and emergency services and road upgrades were priorities.
“I want families getting home sooner,” she said.
“We need to get moving on that and we need to update the West Mount Lindesay Development Corridor Major Road Network Study.
“The area has changed since the plan was done in 2010. We need good new data.”
Ms Mullen said she was concerned about how the Inland Rail project had been managed and would put pressure on the federal government to properly consider the environmental impact and ensure proper consultation.
Having worked for 10 years in government, focusing on planning, infrastructure and transport, Ms Mullen said good planning made a real difference to people’s lives.
Ms Mullen said she would work with council on improving local arterial roads that connect with the Mount Lindesay Highway.
Creating local jobs are also important to the Springfield-based mother of two daughters aged 11 and eight.
“I want to take the pressure off infrastructure by creating local jobs,” she said.
“We need to be looking at industries that will continue to grow, such as health, education, defence and retail.
“I want to focus on industries that will create better employment for locals now and for the children of the future.”
Ms Mullen said Labor was committed to providing the Beaudesert to Salisbury passenger rail service.
“It is important that we get Cross River Rail done as soon as possible,” she said.
“It will enable the Beaudesert to Salisbury service.”
Ms Mullen said she planned to communicate better with residents, provide avenues for the community to share their views and bridge the gap between original residents and those who have settled in new developments.
In the run-up to the election, Ms Mullen committed $150,000 for building facilities for new sporting fields for the Flagstone Phoenix Brothers Rugby League Club.
“This will be a great boost for the club and will ensure it continues to go from strength to strength in the growing Flagstone community,” she said.
