In her first five months as Member for Bonner, Kara Cook has spent much of her time in Canberra, with Parliament holding 15 sitting days and the Government introducing 41 bills to act on key election promises.
In a wide-ranging interview, Ms Cook reflects on the Government’s early achievements, Labor’s resounding Federal Election win, whether the Coalition has been able to regroup, and the issues that matter around the electorate.
ON 2025 FEDERAL ELECTION RESULT:
Q: How have you found the transition from your previous political experience at Brisbane City Council to now being in Canberra?
A: It’s been a big transition. Going from local government where you are dealing with roads, rates and rubbish to issues of national interest has been a big jump. At the same time with my background in law, particularly in family law and some of those bigger social issues I’ve always been interested in, it is great to have the opportunity to work on them at a national level. I am enjoying being part of those bigger social issues, particularly around domestic violence, women and housing. They are all things I have been passionate about for a long time. And now I get the opportunity to contribute … and to be in government, what an incredible opportunity.
Q: Taking on long-standing MP Ross Vasta, Bonner was not an easy seat to win.
A: We had a huge level of support in Bonner. We had the Prime Minister visit at least three times during the election, Tanya Plibersek was here,
Penny Wong, Ged Kearney, Jim Chalmers was out a few times, Chris Bowen, the list goes on. And certainly they’ve all been back since the election. We have a lot of support here locally which means we have the opportunity to highlight some of our local issues and bring that attention directly to the Ministers. Bonner hasn’t had that type of representation for some time, and 20 years of an LNP Federal Member is a long time. I think people were ready for a change and it is good to be part of it.
As I went through the campaign, I door-knocked a lot, and certainly a lot of the feedback was that people were ready for change locally and there was a lot of support for Anthony Albanese as Prime Minister as well.
Q: Has the Coalition been able to regroup and learn from the election result?
A: I don’t think so. I think there’s still huge inconsistencies in their policy agenda. I think it’s unclear what their position is on most issues, or worse still, that they have opposition within their own party and can’t get a clear line on any particular policy on any given day. I don’t think there’s been a change from the election to now. I think it’s still really difficult to discern where they stand on issues or what they care about now. They are too busy fighting each other to be even able to come up with an opposition that’s functioning in a meaningful way.
LOCAL CONCERNS
Q: What is the number one issue you are hearing from residents in Bonner?
A: Cost of living and housing by far. People can’t afford to live, even in families where both parents are working – the cost of rent, the availability of accommodation, of rentals and the cost of homes more broadly and the cost of living expenses for people.
Q: Are the measures the Government has put in place in the first Parliamentary sittings starting to make a difference?
A: There are a whole range of measures, and I think it will take some time to see the full impact of those. One of the election commitments for us locally was to get a new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, which is going to be opened at Carindale. We’re hoping that is open within six months, and that will provide free health care. That was a massive issue during the election, when I was door-knocking, people would tell me that they couldn’t afford to see a doctor, because increasingly doctors were not bulk billing.
The secondary part of that was around medication, people not being able to then afford medication if they could see the doctor. In the last sitting, passing the legislation for cheaper medicines is another really great initiative. So they’ll be dropping down to $25 as of 1 January and that’s the third reduction we’ve had since we’ve come into government, which is pretty impressive.
Five per cent deposits for first home owners is huge; providing that incentive for people to get into their own home so they’re not paying these astronomical rents and can actually have their own home.
WYNNUM PRECINCT PLAN
Q: Do you support Brisbane City Council’s move to increase housing density in Wynnum and Carindale?
A: I used to be the shadow Chair of City Planning in council, and my view has pretty consistently been that, we need to build more homes to keep up with our growing population, but those homes should be well located, close to transport, close to facilities, schools, and that council should invest in the right infrastructure to support that type of development.
Development needs to be well located, certainly the Wynnum Manly area and the Carindale area are both close to transport hubs. But if we don’t see the investment in the infrastructure to support that level of development, then it will be problematic; things like parking, how these developments are structured, if they’re studios or are they talking about three-bedroom apartments, who are they accommodating in those houses or units is important. I would always encourage people to have their say in writing to council.
METRO TO CARINDALE
Q: If the business case shows a metro to Carindale is viable, would you commit to prioritising funding and delivery of the project before the Olympics?
A: We have to look at options for public transport in the city of Brisbane, because we are the most congested city in the country.
So the business case is, of course, something that we’re supporting to see what the options are. It depends what comes out of that business case as to whether or not it is a viable option, but certainly with the Olympics on the way and the growth that is expected, we have to look at what the options are.
AIRCRAFT NOISE:
Q: What feedback have you received from residents and what concrete changes are you advocating for?
A: This was an issue that I dealt with as a local councillor. The proposed changes are around the sharing of noise, so we’re not necessarily talking about more flights, we’re talking about sharing that noise across the city. Will that mean that some parts of Bonner are potentially more impacted? Yes, it might. I’ve met with Air Services Australia to talk with them about some of the feedback (from the recent community consultation sessions), and they have said to me that they’re in the process of analysing all of that feedback and data at the moment to then put recommendations back to the Government about what should or shouldn’t happen with some of those proposed changes.
PALESTINIAN STATE
Q: What’s your position on Australia’s recognition of Palestine?
A: Labor’s position has always been that there should be a two-state solution. Locally, I have had people contact me about Palestine since I was elected, and it was an issue that certainly was on people’s minds. I think I think that the Prime Minister has made the right call on recognising the state of Palestine. We need to do everything we can to ensure peace.
