The newly elected Member for Bunbury Don Punch has taken the opportunity of his first speech to parliament to highlight the progress the City has made in recent times.
Mr Punch focused on the ‘Proudly Bunbury’ slogan he used throughout his campaign, noting the people of Bunbury are proud of the place they live in, proud of the contribution they make to the community and proud of their achievements.
“Bunbury has gone through enormous change from an industrial port town in the mid-1980s… to today where it is now a multicultural city that embraces diversity and generosity,” he said.
Mr Punch said Bunbury’s future is driven by people passionate about the area they live in.
“The people of Bunbury have gumption – they created a climate for growth in new and imaginative ways and we need to celebrate them,” Mr Punch said.
“Bunbury is a city with people who were creative enough to get out in the middle of the night on a long weekend and install signage inviting traffic heading south to Margaret River to travel via the new scenic route of Bunbury’s extensive cappuccino strip.”
Mr Punch told the house his vision for Bunbury is simple.
“I want Bunbury to be a place where you can have a career, build a home and have access to good quality education and health care in a place that you love,” he said.
“We need a city that has a strong commitment to the arts and culture as a basis for generating a shared understanding and a place where people can get together and enjoy everything from music and art in the streets through to weekend sport.”
He also acknowledged that for all its potential, Bunbury is also a city that is suffering as a consequence of the slowdown in WA with many people and small businesses doing it tough.
“Bunbury needed a plan for jobs and the government’s plan has simple objectives including building jobs through renewed focus on the city’s competitive advantages in manufacturing capability, the port, agriculture and the new, emerging digital and creative industries,” he said.
“We must also focus on restoring our education and training capabilities to build skills that will allow our kids to adapt to a changing world and enable people to transition to new opportunities, as old-world jobs disappear.”
