Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta said the local community would pause on Anzac Day to honour the service and sacrifice of all Australian men and women who have served in defence of our country.

Mr Vasta said the following services and marches would be held in Bonner:

Bayside National Service Association
6:10am: Service commences at Memorial at Darling Point-Lower Esplanade, Manly.

Manly-Lota RSL Sub-Branch
4:15am: Dawn Service commences, followed by Gun Fire Breakfast at the Hall (184 Melville Tce, Manly).
8:00am: Street March commences outside Manly State School (63 Ernest St, Manly) and is followed by the ANZAC Day service at Richard Russell Park, Cambridge Pde, Manly.

Wynnum RSL Sub-Branch
5:00am: Dawn Service commences at Wynnum RSL car park (174 Tingal Rd, Wynnum).
9:00am: March commences from Corner of Bay Tce and Cedar St.
9:30am: Wreath laying ceremony commences at conclusion of March in the RSL car park.

Holland Park-Mt Gravatt RSL Sub-Branch
6:30am: Muster at the corner of Logan Rd and Barter Ave, Holland Park.
6:50am: March commences (walking to Memorial Site, 58 Arnold St, Holland Park).
7:15am: Commemorative Service commences at Memorial Site, 58 Arnold St, Holland Park.

Mr Vasta said Anzac Day was one of the most important dates in our calendar.

“More than 50,000 Australians are estimated to have fought in the Gallipoli campaign, where some 8,700 lost their lives and almost 18,000 were wounded,” Mr Vasta said.

“On Anzac Day, I encourage Australians to take a moment and reflect on the brave men and women who have served our nation in all wars, conflicts and on peacekeeping operations.

“I encourage everyone to attend a service on Anzac Day, or take time to pause, reflect and remember those who have served and those who have given their lives for our country.

“We are forever grateful to the men and women, past and present, who have served in our Army, Navy and Air Force.

“This year also marks the centenary of the Battle of Bullecourt in France, the Battle of Messines, the Battle of Polygon Wood and the Battle of Beersheeva, as well as the 75th anniversaries of the Fall of Singapore, the Bombing of Darwin and the Kokoda campaign — they are all important events from our history that this nation will never forget.

Mr Vasta said any current or former Australian Defence Force personnel who was affected by Anzac Day should contact the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service, which provides free and confidential counselling 24/7 on 1800 011 046.

FEDERAL Member for Bonner Ross Vasta was joined today by Small Business Minister Michael McCormack to discuss how the Government’s small business plan was helping local small businesses to grow and create local jobs. 

“It’s great to have the Minister here today to visit local small businesses in my electorate of Bonner,” Mr Vasta said. 

“The Government has a strong plan to back Bonner’s small businesses, including cutting their taxes to the lowest level in half a century and giving more small businesses access to the instant asset write offs programme which is already helping so many local businesses buy new equipment. 

“As a Government, we have delivered for small business because we know that it is small business, not Government which creates jobs, and we are backing them to have a go. 

“The Minister and I also hosted a roundtable with local small businesses today because Government is about delivering but it’s also about listening, and we heard from a variety of local business owners about their challenges and opportunities. 

“Together with the Minister, I will take those issues to Canberra to make sure our local views are considered in future policy development.” 

Minister McCormack said the Government’s economic plan focuses on supporting small businesses to grow, invest and create jobs. 

“It is a pleasure to be here today with Ross Vasta. He is a great local member and true advocate for local small business, local communities and local jobs,” Mr McCormack said. 

“Ross Vasta is part of a Coalition Government in Canberra which is focused on supporting small business to get ahead by cutting company taxes, extending the unincorporated tax discount, slashing paperwork, opening up trade opportunities, and levelling the playing field through changes to competition policy and making sure multinationals pay their fair share of tax. 

“Our plan is all about taking the pressure off small business – the local job creators – so they can get on with running and growing their businesses, and building local opportunities.” 

You can find out more by searching ‘small business’ or visiting www.business.gov.au/smallbusiness. 

A multi-million dollar roads package reached between the Australian and Queensland governments will help reduce congestion and time out on the road for commuters from the Bonner area, Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta said today.

“I’m pleased to see the Federal and State governments have come to an agreement and have committed more than half a billion dollars in funding for major road infrastructure projects in South-East Queensland and Central Queensland,” Mr Vasta said.

“This includes long-awaited upgrades for the M1, in particular the widening of the M1 from four to five lanes from the Gateway Motorway merge past the Rochedale Road off-ramp at Eight Mile Plains.

“I have had many constituents who use the off-ramp share with me their frustrations over congestion in the area. I’m happy to be able to tell them that the vital upgrade of this section is now due to begin before the end of the year.”

Early works on the M1 Gateway Merge project are expected to commence in November 2017 with major construction to begin following the Commonwealth Games.

The newly-announced Queensland roads package also includes:

• Six-laning of the Pacific Motorway (M1) – Mudgeeraba to Varsity Lakes 
• Construction of the Walkerston bypass near Mackay 
• Upgrading of the Mt Lindesay Highway between Browns Plains and Beaudesert 
• Funding for the planning of the M1 – Varsity Lakes to Tugun. 

National Health Week is the single largest celebration of young people aged 12-25 in Australia. This year it well be held from 31 March to 9 April 2017 and you can find out what events will be happening near you at www.pcyc.org.au/youthweek.

One great National Youth Week event happening locally is the YOUth Spark Fest from 4-7.30pm on Wednesday, 5 April. This exciting community event will be at Bandstand Park, Wynnum Foreshore, and it’s completely free! It will include an open air cinema and hundreds of beanbags, popcorn, a coffee cart, BBQ, inflatable soccer, lantern making, candle making, face painting, photo booth plus lots more. Enjoy tunes from 4pm by a local DJ in the lead up to movie time at 6pm.

Last Saturday I attended the 60^th anniversary celebrations of Pet City in Mt Gravatt. This is an amazing feat for an independent, family-owned store. I’d like to speak today about the dedicated people who’ve made this milestone possible, their contribution to the wider community, and other small business news in my electorate.

Pet City was opened by Evio Contenati as Mt Gravatt Produce Agency in 1957. By the early 1970s the business had evolved to better meet the needs of pet owners, and the name Pet City was adopted. Today it’s a local business icon in the Mt Gravatt community and a multi-award winner in the pet industry.

The current store owner and Evio’s daughter, Kim Peries, has done an outstanding job building Pet City up. Under her guidance Pet City has partnered with local schools, respite centres and charities such as Rotary. Kim is also the Vice President of Southside Chamber of Commerce, which provides support and networking opportunities for local businesses.

I’m proud to support Southside Chamber of Commerce’s work helping small businesses in the area grow. Their new President, Kathleen Lewis has kindly agreed to partner with me on an upcoming Q&A I’m hosting for Minister for Small Business, the Hon Michael McCormack. The Q&A will be open to small business owners in the area to come discuss negative and positive experiences with the Minister. It’s a great opportunity and I encourage local business owners to attend.

A few weeks ago I had the great pleasure of hosting a Student Leaders Afternoon Tea for new school leaders from around the Bonner electorate. Joining me on the day was my good friend Andy Gourley, the CEO of Red Frogs who’s such a positive role model for young people today. The event celebrated the achievements of these exceptional young people and gave them a valuable one-on-one with Andy.

Student leaders from Manly West State School, Mt Gravatt East State School and Clairvaux College, along with over 40 students from other local primary and high schools, attended the event. I was impressed with the insightful questions they presented to me and Andy. I have no doubt these young men and women have very bright futures ahead of them.

The students were captivated by Andy’s talk on how Red Frogs came to be and the amazing work Red Frogs volunteers do. Andy did a great job of inspiring the students to be the best they can be in their new leadership roles. As he told them: “Leadership influences others and passion creates change, so you need to become the change you want to see in the world.”

It was wonderful to see such a strong turnout of student leaders in our community and to be able to connect them with such amazing influencers like Andy. I received great feedback on the event from the schools that got involved and I was glad to hear students left feeling empowered to make a difference in their school community.