I want to talk about an issue that’s particularly important as the Christmas holidays draw near, with some families doing it especially tough, and that’s food wastage.

Can I first say I’m proud to have once again partnered with Foodbank Queensland for their annual Christmas Donation drive. My office will be taking donations of non-perishable goods until December 12. Every donation will be going out to people in need this Christmas. Last year my office was inundated with generous donations and I want to thank the Bonner community for giving so freely.  No doubt my constituents’ generosity will shine through again this time around.

People can donate anything from canned vegetables, pasta sauce, rice, jams and spreads, tinned fruit, long life products and other non-perishable food items. 

It’s staggering that over 600,000 people in Australia—one third of them children—seek food relief from charities every month, while Australia produces enough food to feed 60 million people a year. Food wastage costs Australia $20 billion a year and seriously harms our environment.

That’s why this Government is developing a National Food Waste Strategy with the goal of halving food waste by 2030. I commend Foodbank for taking a leading role in the development of this National Food Waste Strategy. The Government is convening a National Food Waste summit next month and I look forward to some great outcomes from that.

I wanted to share an exciting event coming up in my electorate. Next month I’m going to be holding the very first Bonner Seniors’ Expo at Waterloo Bay Leisure Centre. It’ll be on from 10am to 4pm on the 22nd of November, and what a day it’s going to be.

The Expo will be a fantastic event for seniors with free entry, free entertainment, a lucky door prize, complimentary afternoon tea, and free bus transport for the whole day. There’ll be key note speakers from various government departments and community organisations who’ll be on hand to answer people’s questions. And there’ll also be several local small businesses set up on the day for people to browse and discover.

I’ve found many of my senior constituents often don’t know about all the services and programs that are available in the community to help them. So I’ve invited representatives from the Department of Health, Department of Human Services, NBN Co, South Queensland Police, Hearing Well Australia, FSG Australia, Carers Queensland, Metro South Health and more to come along and let people know what they have access to.

I’ve also invited a number of local aged care providers who’ll be providing lots of great information about seniors’ care options in the community. This includes Janoah Gardens, Nazareth Care Wynnum, Regis Wynnum, Anglicare Southern Queensland, Mackenzie Aged Care, Aveo Manly Gardens and more.

There’ll also be stalls for Wynnum Manly Meals on Wheels, Wynnum Bowls Club, Manly Bowls Club, Sailability Bayside, Mt Gravatt Mens’ Shed, Port of Brisbane Rotary and many more local groups. Tyack Health from Manly West will be holding a session on how seniors can stay active and healthy. Helloworld Travel Wynnum will be providing travel advice for people thinking of taking a trip for the holidays.

All up there’ll be over 40 stalls, but that’s not all. There’ll be a bunch of entertainment on over the course of the day. First up is a fashion show showcasing all the latest designs from local clothes shop Juicy Secrets and local shoe outlet Bare Traps. Next is a performance from the Zumba dance group from the EACH Social Activity Club, who I’ve spoken about before here. And finally students from the Guardian Angels choir will be singing during afternoon tea.

It’s going to be a fantastic day and thanks to everyone in the community who’s helped me make the Bonner Seniors’ Expo a reality. Special thanks goes to TransitCare and Community Flyer for providing free bus trips for people attending! I can’t wait to see everyone on the day and I’m proud to support the local seniors’ community with this very special event.

The Turnbull Government will accept the recommendation of the Energy Security Board (ESB) for a new National Energy Guarantee to deliver more affordable and reliable electricity while meeting our international commitments.

Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta said under The Guarantee households and businesses across Bonner would have access to affordable and reliable power.

“The National Energy Guarantee will give certainty to investors and encourage investment in all forms of power,” Mr Vasta said.

“This means electricity bills will be lower than currently forecast and lower than they would have been under a Clean Energy Target.

“We understand that families and businesses are doing it tough and this Guarantee will provide cost-of-living relief.

“The National Energy Guarantee will lower electricity prices, make the system more reliable, encourage the right investment and reduce emissions without subsidies, taxes or trading schemes.”

The Guarantee is made up of two parts that will require energy retailers across the National Electricity Market to deliver reliable and lower emissions generation each year.

Coal, gas, hydro and biomass will be rewarded for their dispatchability, while wind, solar and hydro will be recognised as lower emissions technologies but will no longer be subsidised.

“Unlike previous approaches, we are not picking winners, we are levelling the playing field,” Mr Vasta said.

“The National Energy Guarantee builds on the short and medium term plans already in place.

“The Guarantee builds on our existing energy policy which involves the retailers offering consumers a better deal, stopping the networks gaming the system, delivering more gas for Australians before it’s shipped offshore and the commencement of Snowy Hydro 2.0 to stabilise the system.”

When- Saturday 25th November 2017

Where- Hemmant Church, 69 Hemmant Tingalpa Road, Hemmant.

Free Christmas face painting from 5 pm

Sausage sizzle (only $2) from 5 pm

Shameless community singing of carols in the church from 6 pm

Raffles

Visit from Santa

Light supper provided

We are very excited to announce a special planting day and community event close to Wynnum on the 5th November 2017. With the help of Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee and Brisbane City Council, we have a fantastic line up of treats for the morning:

• 9-10am – planting
• 10-11am Geckoes wildlife display
• 11-12pm Installation of two glider nest boxes plus a free sausage sizzle

This is great opportunity to enhance habitat and preserve our local fauna closer to the Wynnum Central area. Further information will be provided in our next newsletter, watch this space!

Hibiscus Lesiure Centre Open Day – 14th October, 8am-5pm

90 Klumpp Road, Upper Mt Gravatt

Lots of Activities:

Free Swim Safety Checks

Waterslide

Free Group Fitness Classes

Face Painting

Sausage Sizzle and more…

And the from 5:30pm onwards Cereal for Coffee will be screening the movie Sing poolside:

Don’t forget to bring a folding chair, rug or cushion and settle in for a great evening’s entertainment.

Food available for purchase from 5:30pm.
Donation & Cereal welcome 

Thanks to our Sponsors:
First National Real Estate Rochedale & Mt Gravatt
Councillor Steven Huang
NewWordOrder 
SecondBite
Pet City
1300epromo Pty Ltd
Niche Studio & Tiny Digital

www.facebook.com/cerealforcoffee

Local small business owners learned how they can win a contract as part of the Federal Government’s $200 billion Integrated Investment Program, during a Defence Industry Forum hosted yesterday by Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta MP.

“The Government has allocated $200 billion over the next 10 years to build up our Defence Force capability and grow our local defence industry,” Mr Vasta said.

“This is a great opportunity for small and medium businesses to enter the defence market and help create more jobs and grow our local economy.”

Mr Rodney Love, business adviser from the Centre for Defence Industry Capability (CDIC), shared advice for business owners looking to start out in defence, and the services available to help them in the process.

“You need to be able to provide a service or product that can meet the Defence Department’s current or future needs. You must also make sure your company fully complies with the Department’s standards and tender process,” Mr Love said.

Mr Love encouraged interested business owners to contact the CDIC for further information. 

“The CDIC provides frank and fearless advice about whether expanding into defence would be appropriate for you, and the best defence opportunities available to you,” Mr Love said.

Mr David Briggs, Chief Risk Officer from NIOA, and Mr Terry Waterson, Operations Manager from BMD Constructions, shared their advice on winning a contract with Defence.

“You have to offer the best product for the best value. Most importantly, you have to be prepared to lose a tender,” Mr Briggs said.

“The CDIC will let you know straight up if your product is suitable for Defence, or how you can alter it to suit Defence’s needs.”

Mr Waterson said businesses should do their research on what work Defence is doing or has coming up.

“Find out about opportunities early on and pre-prepare. Don’t start the application process when a tender opens—know about the tender beforehand so you have more time to put forward the best application possible,” Mr Waterson said.

For more information on working with Defence and current opportunities available, visit the CDIC website.