Café owners, fruit and vegetable shops, butchers, tradies and retailers in Bonner should be concerned by the revolving door of federal small business ministers with the appointment of the sixth person to the role in six years, according to Ross Vasta.

 

Ross Vasta said small businesses in Bonner deserved better than a divided and dysfunctional Gillard Government more interested in itself than the country.

 

“We’ve seen six small business ministers in six years – and five ministers since late 2011.  Small business deserve better than a revolving door.

 

“The number of people employed in small business has declined under Labor by 243,000 while the rate of small business formation has halved,” Ross Vasta said.

“It’s tough running a small business – and it’s been made even tougher because of Labor’s carbon tax and red tape.

“Our local small business have had to carry the full weight of the carbon tax without any of the compensation or the carve outs afforded to others.

“At the same time, small business owners are telling me they are being bombarded with more red tape and compliance costs than ever before.

“Labor has introduced more than 20,000 regulations and only repealed 104 despite promising a ‘one in one out’ approach to regulation in 2007.

 

“Small business needs is strong, stable and reliable Government to give the community confidence in the economy and our Real Solutions Plan seeks to provide that.”

 

Ross Vasta said the Coalition has real solutions for small businesses which would double the rate of small business formation by cutting the carbon tax to boost consumer and business confidence and by cutting $1 billion worth of red-tape out of the economy.

Last Thursday the State Government handed it’s review of bus services over to the Brisbane City Council.

This is a great win for Bonner residents travelling on public transport and I welcome this announcement.

Find Graham Quirk, Lord Mayor of Brisbane’s media statement below:

“The State Government this afternoon has handed its review of bus services within Brisbane City over to Council.

Firstly, I want to assure residents that the group of proposed changes put forward by the State Government are off the table.

This is good news for Brisbane’s travelling public and I welcome the announcement.

It is my view that the proposed changes represented a revolution rather than an evolution in public transport services.

My view was that Brisbane’s bus services were not broken with annual patronage increasing from 48 million passengers to 80 million since 2004 – so a major overhaul was not required.

This is not the first time Council has reviewed bus services – up to 2004 we did it on a regular basis as required.

I only want to see sensible change and if there are to be any changes we will consult closely with the community.

In conclusion I stress that the group of proposals put forward by the State Government are off the table – Council is now in charge of this review and this is good news for the travelling public.”

DON’T FORGET TO HAVE YOUR SAY:

Recently the State Government released the findings from their review of South East Queensland’s bus network which has the potential to greatly impact some residents of Bonner.

I have received a lot of feedback from local residents about this review and I want to make sure that as many people as possible have an opportunity to have their say about the proposed changes.

I encourage you to make a  formal submission to Translink as all routes and timetabling is set by the State Government.

You can do this in a number of ways:

Online
Fill out an online survey on the TransLink website

Phone
Call TransLink on 13 12 30 and register your comments

Mail
Write to TransLink at GPO Box 50, Brisbane Qld 4001

The public consultation period ends on Sunday 7th April 2013.

The full report and link to the Translink submission page can be viewed here.

If you have any questions regarding this review or your submission please contact your local State Member.

Again, in the strongest possible terms, I urge you to make a submission on this crucial report.

It is with great pleasure that I rise to bring to the attention of the House one of the groundbreaking schools within my electorate of Bonner, the Mackenzie State Campus, which celebrated its official opening on 14 March this year. The recent development of the Mackenzie State Campus has allowed for the replacement of a primary school facility, developed a new special school facility and established an early learning childhood development centre for children before school age with suspected disabilities. The adoption of the new campus model provides the opportunity for student leadership through supporting students with disabilities, whilst breaking down stereotypes and prejudices around these disabilities.

During a recent visit to the Mackenzie State Campus, I was very impressed with the campus’s ability to retain two separate schools, ensuring the preservation of specialised staff skills, whilst enjoying the economy of scale savings from resource and facility sharing, bulk purchasing, combined professional training and labour cost savings. The classrooms and leisure areas have also been designed to accommodate outside school hours care to assist families in supporting their children with special needs.

I found that the full disability access on the campus ensures whole of life utilisation of the facility by a diverse range of students with a disability. Areas such as the tuckshop, library, oval, multipurpose courts and performing arts complex have full access to facilitate the involvement of people with a disability into all areas of education, just one of the many strengths of this dual-purpose campus.

All in this chamber know that the system of support for Australians with a disability is broken. If you are born with a disability or acquire a disability later in life, you can generally be expected to wait for any form of assistance, resulting in many who are left without the support that they need. I believe that individuals should have the right to pick their support, aids and equipment and have the service providers of their choice. This, as we know, is the vision of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

I am proud to say that the Mackenzie State Campus has been designed and built with this in mind. One of its core objectives is to integrate special-needs children into the community through empowerment with education. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the driving forces behind this fantastic development, Terry Forster and Shirley Rimon, without whom this level of success would never have been achieved. I am truly delighted to have such a wonderful school community in my electorate of Bonner, and I wish to congratulate all involved on this wonderful achievement of their official school opening. I hope that many other schools follow Mackenzie State Campus’s lead in integrating students from all walks of life.

Neighbour Day in Carindale is a day to celebrate community and meet more of your neighbours. There will also be a bookswap held (bring a book and swap it for any book on our stall) as well as a kids art and craft activities. A BBQ will start at 12pm. Please bring a foldout chair or picnic blanket and enjoy the day.

Where: Bridgnorth St Park, Carindale

When: Sunday 31st March For more information please visit http://carindaleconnect.com.au/community/neighbour-day/

I rise tonight to advise the House of the recently announced plans by Australia Post to relocate its Carindale Post Office, which is in my electorate of Bonner.
 
The post office is currently located within Westfield Carindale shopping centre.
 
Australia Post has confirmed that it intends to relocate to Metropol Shopping Centre, three kilometres from its existing location. The relocation is expected to occur by mid-April and will include the transfer of all post office boxes to the new site.

This site currently attracts upward of 700 to 1,000 Australia Post customers daily and is especially convenient to the seniors community of Carindale, who regularly use the shop as a way to pay their bills. Essentially, this now means there will no longer be a post office in Carindale. Indeed, it will move entirely outside the boundaries of the Bonner electorate. In real terms, it means that all Carindale residents-and countless businesses and community groups-will be robbed of the convenience of a post office.

I am sure the members of this House will concur that it is extremely disappointing that Australia Post would make such an arbitrary decision about the future of this vital community facility without consultation with the Carindale community, businesses or any other stakeholders, such as my office. As the Federal Member, I felt it my moral and practical obligation to let the residents of Carindale know about Australia Post’s proposed move.

In February I sent out a direct mail letter to the entire suburb of Carindale, offering them the opportunity to have their say on the move, with the ultimate aim of presenting my overall findings to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and also to Australia Post decision makers. I have subsequently done so.

To date, we have received an enormous 1,177 responses. I thank the residents of Carindale. Nine hundred and sixty two, or 82 per cent, of Carindale residents who responded are against the move. Only a meagre 18 per cent are for the move to Metropol.

Most of those for the move cite parking considerations as the reason for the move, which, in itself, is extremely concerning, as the current Westfield location boasts over 6,000 car parks. There are a paltry 170 car parks at Metropol. Furthermore, access to the site is not adequately serviced by appropriate public transport routes. But, as Stan Rawlings, chairman of the Residents Committee at Carindale Aveo Aged Care Community, points out, public transport is impractical when you are 80 and need assistance walking.

It has since come to my attention that the lease signed by Australia Post at Metropol is irrevocable. In my mind that does not change anything. Australia Post must have a presence at Carindale.
 
I cannot and will not accept an alternative scenario. In my often robust negotiations with Australia Post they have defended their actions by saying they were left with no alternative by Westfield Carindale, who issued them with a non-renewal notice after the single tenancy offered to Australia Post was repeatedly rejected due to unsuitability of its location. They further advised me that no other option was formally presented to them for consideration. It is disappointing that Westfield appears to have made a commercial decision rather than a community one.

Regardless of whose fault it is, I am sure the members of this House will concur that these results clearly demonstrate that the residents of Carindale are overwhelmingly against any relocation of the Carindale Post Office. Put it this way: if the members of this House ignored the wishes of 82 per cent of their constituency we would not have a job, and deservedly so. It begs the question: why would Australia Post-and Westfield Carindale, for that matter-go against the wishes of their core customers?

There may be some light at the end of the tunnel. In response to my advocacy to them on behalf of the Carindale community, Australia Post are now investigating alternative options, to preserve their presence at Westfield.

I welcome this show of progress and congratulate them on listening to their Carindale customers. I also thank my colleagues Councillor Adrian Schrinner and Steve Minnikin MP, who are behind me on this important community issue. Westfield Carindale has long been a one-stop shop for the community, offering important facilities such as a council library, a Medicare and Family Assistance office, medical facilities, banking services and a post office. That is essential, and it must remain that way.

I would like to personally invite you to attend Caltex Lytton Refinery’s first community meeting for 2013 on Wednesday 27 March, 6pm at the Wynnum RSL.

 We are inviting members of the Wynnum-Manly and wider community to join the Lytton Refinery Management Team on the night to learn more about the refinery and hear the results from our 2012 Community Engagement Survey.

 This is  our community’s opportunity to learn more about the refinery and for Caltex to communicate our planned activities for 2013.  It is also an opportunity for you (or them) to raise any questions or concerns you may have.

 As you know, Caltex is committed to keeping our community informed of our activities.  We continue to focus on efficient, reliable, safe and environmentally-friendly operations.  These are the cornerstones of our operations at Lytton and around Australia.

 We hope that you are able to attend, and look forward to seeing you on the night.

 WHEN:             Wednesday 27 March 2013 – light refreshments  from 5.30pm for a 6pm start

 WHERE:           Wynnum RSL Club, Tingal Road Wynnum

 RSVP:               Toni Dugdale, Community Relations

P: 3362 7971

E: tdugdale@caltex.com.au

Tree Planting: Wed 13 March, 9 am to 1 pm

Join volunteers from Bulimba Creek catchment to establish new plants in the Council reserve opposite the cemetery. Planting to create new habitat for wildlife. Funded by Federal Govt Landscape Health grant. Call 0410 840 343 for details. 

TOM BURNS

INAUGURIAL COMMUNITY SERVICES CELEBRATIONS DINNER

Saturday 23^rd March 2013

WYNNUM MANLY LEAGUES CLUB

$35.00 per person

7 p.m.  for 7.30 start

 3 Course Meal & complimentary drink

“Recognizing Service to the Community”

By Non for Profit Community Services and Workers, Voluntary Services and Individual Volunteers in Wynnum Manly and District

There will be:

Guest Speaker: To be confirmed.

Local Entertainment,     Progressive Raffle,      Silent Auction

Sponsorship, Donations for Raffle, Auction and cost towards awards appreciated

If booking for a group each table holds up to 8.

RSVP Monday 18^th March 2013

Cheques to be made to: Wynnum Manly Community Legal Service Inc

P.O. Box 5557, Manly.  Qld. 4179

If you wish to make a Booking and /or application for an Organization or Individual to be recognized application can be obtained by contacting:     

Gillian on 3348 6067/ 0429 706 808 email: gillianmj@wmcls.org

TO ALL WYNNUM EASTER EGG HUNTERS

JOIN US FOR OUR

EASTER EGG HUNT

WEDNESDAY 27^TH MARCH 2013.

3.30 P.M. – 5 P.M.

AT

WYNNUM CENTRAL

EASTER DRESS – PREFERRABLY BUNNY EARS AND FLUFFY TAIL BUT NOT COMPULSORY

BASKET FOR GATHERING EGGS NEEDED

ALL EGG HUNTERS MUST BE REGISTERED WITH THE EASTER WOMBAT or BILBY.

GOLD COIN DONATION

Child Hunters MUST be accompanied by Adults!!!!!!

DONATIONS OF EASTER EGGS STRONGLY ENCOURAGED!!

PLACES Easter Items MAY BE FOUND will INCLUDE:

(full disclosure of all sites given out on the day)

Block E & Men’s Shed – Old Wynnum Central State School; Wynnum Library, Ark Food Outlet Bay Tce,

FOR FURTHER DETAILS CONTACT THE EASTER WOMBAT: PHONE:  3348 6067 MOBILE: 0429 706 80

Email: gillianmj@wmcls.org