Mobile offices in the community are a good way to get out and talk to people about how the government is going and the issues that are important to them. So, on the weekend I took my mobile office to Redlynch IGA on the Intake Road.

You get to meet a good cross section of the community at a mobile office. There are those who come down with a specific issue while others are just going about their business and decide to pull up and have a chat.

The economy was the major topic of conversation on the weekend. I heard from businesses doing it tough and a mum worried about their kid who had lost a job recently with the CMC Construction company collapse. Most were in agreement with the government's efforts to stimulate the economy and protect jobs during these difficult times.

It surprised me, although I know it shouldn't, that many think the stimulus package is simply the $900 Tax Bonuses. This of course is the area of the package that has received most media coverage and criticism. The fact is though, that 70% of the stimulus is on infrastructure with investments in economic and community projects like roads, schools and council infrastructure. The $900 Tax Bonuses however, have received most media coverage and have been an important part of our stimulus measures. Many small businesses in Cairns are involved in tourism particularly retail and hospitality and employ many people. Businesses have told me that the cash payments have helped support their turnover and jobs. Treasury estimates that if the government hadn't acted to stimulate the economy more than 200,000 more people would be unemployed.

The vast majority of the stimulus, 70% in fact, is in infrastructure investments that take more time to organise. These are now starting, less than 3 months after we introduced the $42b Nation Building and Jobs Plan into parliament. Everyone who I talk to is impressed with the speed with which the government has acted to get these projects going. In the past few weeks, I have announced the first round of the Primary Schools for the 21st Century funding totalling over $34 million in Leichhardt alone. The Rudd Government, through its infrastructure investments, is turning every school into a building site and with other investments in roads, housing etc is creating 35,000 building sites across the country. This is going to support jobs in the construction industry, which has been hit hard, just like the tourism industry, as a result of the down turn. The extension of the increase in First Home Owners Grant for another six months was also welcomed at the mobile office as a positive step to support the construction industry and young people wanting to buy their first home.

Another popular area of conversation at my mobile office was the Small Business Tax Break. This is a very popular initiative with small businesses able to claim 50% of the value of eligible assets. I am concerned though following a conversation I had on the weekend with one business man who thought that some sales people were using it to push items that may not be claimable. I can't stress enough to small and medium sized business that this is a great opportunity to invest in their business. This is a good time to work on your business and get it ready for the recovery - but if you plan on using the tax break, make sure you get good advice. It will be a tragedy if businesses mistakenly purchase items that aren't eligible for the tax break and put their cash flow under further pressure during this economic down turn.

I will be taking my mobile office to other parts of the electorate over the coming months so keep an eye out for me, but if you have some feedback don't hesitate to send me an This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or go to the community survey on my website.

Jim