Last week I spoke here on a much-needed infrastructure upgrade in my electorate, the dangerous Lindum Station Crossing intersection which I’m currently running a petition to fix. For years residents have called for a solution all while it’s been kicked around like a political football. Some people have asked why I’m bothering when fixes and funding have been promised many times before, all amounting to nothing.

There’s another major thoroughfare in my electorate that suffered from a lack of funding for years as well. Motorists were clamouring for a solution. Some local representatives put it in the too-hard basket, just as they have with the Lindum Crossing. They said it couldn’t be done. Well at the last election, I fought for and won Federal funding to go toward an upgrade of Green Camp Road between Manly Road and Rickertt Road at Wakerley.

This Federal commitment was matched by Brisbane City Council. Thanks to the efforts of Doboy Ward Councillor Ryan Murphy, Council also committed funding to upgrade the intersection of Green Camp and Tilley Road. Council then sought further Federal funding to upgrade the entire Green Camp Road Corridor. I was happy to help secure this funding, bringing the total Federal commitment to $10 million alongside Council’s $18 million investment.

Once complete, the corridor upgrade will improve safety for road users, improve the reliability of travel times, provide improved facilities for cyclists and pedestrians, and help cater for existing and future traffic demands. Green Camp Road will be widened between Manly Road and Rickertt Road, helping ease congestion at peak times.

Council are now planning and carrying out the project. Over the last year Council has carried out geotechnical investigations and land resumptions. Council is now finalising the detailed design for the project, and has invited construction tenders so that a contractor can be appointed. It’s expected that the successful contractor will be announced in the new few months. Construction is on track to start after the Commonwealth Games in mid-2018, and be completed in mid-2019, weather and construction conditions permitting.

Local residents, businesses and the broader community will be kept updated with more information as the project progresses. I will be providing more details on road closures and construction impacts that can be expected during works once they’re available. Locals can call the BCC Community Hotline on 1800 884 681 for the latest on the upgrade.

I couldn’t possibly have delivered a massive undertaking like this project on my own. Thanks must go to Council—Lord Mayor Quirk, Councillors Adrian Schrinner and Ryan Murphy—as well as my Federal colleagues, Minister for Urban Infrastructure as well as the Member for Bowman. The Commonwealth and Council have come together to make this upgrade a reality. It’s only a matter of time before this happens for the Lindum crossing as well. This is my current priority and I intend to follow through once again for my constituents.

The Small Business Expo has had a great run on the Gold Coast and in Logan over the last six years. Now for the first time the Expo will be coming to Brisbane on Friday, May 4th, and I’m thrilled to say the organisers have chosen the Hibiscus Sports Complex at Upper Mt Gravatt as its venue.

I asked organiser Paula Brand to bring the Expo to Upper Mt Gravatt and I’m thrilled she agreed. The Expo is a great opportunity for small businesses in the area, particularly those that don’t have a storefront, to book a trade table where they can showcase their products and services.

There’ll be over 200 trade tables on the day featuring businesses from across the region. Registrations for trade tables are open now and I invite Brisbane businesses to contact my office for further information.

Over 600 small business owners are expected to attend the Expo. It’s a great networking opportunity. Attendees will also be able to learn the latest business tips and industry insight to help bolster their business, with five speaker presentations from some of Australia’s leading business experts including local success story, Phillip Di Bella from Di Bella Coffee, and Glen Richards from Network Ten’s popular Shark Tank Show.

I’ve also secured a very special guest to open the Small Business Expo: the Minister for Small Business. I thank him for his support and I can’t wait to see everyone at the Expo in May.

Today isn't the first time I've mentioned Red Frogs here, and it certainly won't be the last. No, I'm not talking about my alleged chamber lolly stash! Last Thursday, I was delighted to have the Red Frogs founder, Andy Gourley, join me for another student leaders afternoon tea for over 60 primary and secondary captains from across my electorate. Students who attended last year's event got so much out of it that I had to do it again, and I had to bring Andy back.

Andy does such amazing work for young people across the country. He's a great mate of mine and a wonderful role model for young kids. Once again, he gave a great talk sharing his inspiring story and his personal thoughts on how to be a good leader. The students were once again terrific. They had some really thought-provoking questions for Andy, ranging from what inspired him to start Red Frogs to obstacles he's encountered, whether he had any regrets and how he has inspired others to get involved. Andy said that he had people come up and tell him that he had saved their lives and that parents had written to him and thanked him for his work. He told the students to trust their gut and that, through consistent work, they can transform small things into great things. I have no doubt the students learned a lot from Andy and from each other, and I wish them every success in the future.

Over 60 school captains from primary and secondary schools across the Bonner electorate attended the second Student Leaders Afternoon Tea hosted by Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta yesterday.

The students enjoyed a captivating talk by Red Frogs founder Andy Gourley and had the opportunity to ask questions about his work and what they could do to make a difference in their leadership roles.

“When we did this last year the students got so much out of it I had to hold it again,” Mr Vasta said.

“Andy is a superb role model for young kids and his story is an inspiring one everyone can learn from.”

Mr Gourley, a former Holland Park State High School student, spoke about how he started Red Frogs, and shared his general principles on being on a good leader.

“You can achieve a lot with others as long as you don’t mind others taking the credit,” Mr Gourley said.

“Learn the art of being second. Learn to champion others over yourself. Good leaders are culture setters—people will do as you do, so set a good example. Don’t be a whinger and never criticize others for not doing something if you’re not willing to either. And always be willing to learn from others.”

School captain of Mansfield State High School Clive D’Silva said one of his main goals as a school leader was to strengthen ties within the school community and the wider Mansfield community.

“Becoming school captain has motivated me to be the best version of myself I can be, so that I can set a good example for other students,” Mr D’Silva said.

Questions from students to Mr Gourley ranged from what inspired him to start Red Frogs, obstacles he’d encountered and whether he had any regrets, and the best reactions he’d had from people he’s helped, to how he inspired others to get involved.

Mr Gourley said he’d had people come up to him to tell him he’d saved their lives, and that parents had written to him to thank him for his work. He told the students to trust their gut, and that through consistent work they could transform small things into great things.

“More good leaders are needed through the education system, and to encourage this Red Frogs offers student leader training seminars across the country for schools and universities,” Mr Gourley said.

“I had a lot of great questions today—this is definitely a room full of leaders.”

Student leaders from the following schools attended the event:

• Manly West State School
• Lota State School
• Belmont State School
• Wondall Heights State School
• Brisbane Bayside State College
• Moreton Bay Boys’ College
• Citipointe Christian College
• Holland Park State High School
• Mt Gravatt High School
• Mansfield State High School
• Wishart State School
• Rochedale State High School

Mr Vasta said he hoped the students had enjoyed their red frogs and had gotten the most out of meeting Andy and leaders from other schools.

Representatives from local cold chain logistics companies had the opportunity to discuss energy prices and energy security with the Federal Minister for Energy and Environment, the Hon Josh Frydenberg, at a Q&A session hosted by Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta this week.

Minister Frydenberg said he understood power bills were a major expense for cold-storage businesses in Australia, and that they had an impact on their ability to compete with overseas companies.

“The Turnbull Coalition Government’s National Energy Guarantee will drive power prices down and improve reliability as we transition to a lower emissions future,” Minister Frydenberg said.

“The National Energy Guarantee is supported by industry and experts. It is truly technology-neutral, offering a future for investment in whatever technology the market needs – solar, wind, coal, gas, batteries or pumped hydro storage.”

Mr Vasta encouraged attendees to share real-life examples of their power bills and usage, and what businesses had been doing to offset power price rises.

Paul Fleiszig from Oxford Cold Storage, Australia’s leading privately owned cold storage company, said their power bills had risen dramatically even as they’d lowered their power usage.

“The local market is finding it harder and harder to compete. We’ve done everything to improve margins. There are no margins left,” Mr Fleiszig said.

A number of guests shared similar experiences with rising power bills.

Minister Frydenberg said the day’s discussions drove home the importance and urgency of what the Government is trying to do.

“The experiences of businesses here in Bonner is why the National Energy Guarantee is so important as a means to deliver a more affordable and reliable energy system,” Minister Frydenberg said.

Mr Vasta invited attendees and other local businesses to send him further examples of their power bills and usage, which he would present to the Minister to strengthen the Government’s case for change.

I’m happy to report the first Bonner Seniors’ Expo I hosted late last year was a huge success! So many people have told me how much they enjoyed the Expo and how much useful information they got out of it. Over 300 locals from across my electorate came along to enjoy the free entertainment and free information sessions, and to have a chat with the 55 stallholders who took part on the day.

Stallholders included local activity groups, local small businesses, and local service providers including aged care providers from across my electorate. People said the best part of the Expo was the sheer number and variety of stallholders brought together under one roof.

There were also information sessions run by representatives from the Department of Health, Department of Human Services, South Queensland Police, Helloworld Travel Wynnum, Tyack Health and more, which many people found useful.

Lastly can I also thank: the wonderful folks at Waterloo Bay Leisure Centre; local stores Juicy Secrets and Bare Traps for their fashion show; students from the Guardian Angels choir for their beautiful performance; the EACH Zumba group for their entertaining dances and for being up for an encore when the crowd demanded it; and TransitCare for providing free bus trips for people living further away.

I’m humbled by the community’s support for the first Bonner Seniors’ Expo. I can’t wait to bring it back even bigger and better next year.

To help protect our youngest children in Bonner from the devastating consequences of meningococcal, the Turnbull Government will add a quad-strain vaccine to the National Immunisation Program (NIP).

Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta said the new vaccine (Nimenrix) covers against A, C, W and Y strains (MenACWY) and will be added to the NIP ahead of the next peak meningococcal season which, based on previous years, is expected to be in the second half of the year.  

“Meningococcal is a rare but very serious infection that occurs when meningococcal bacteria from the throat or nose ‘invades’ the body. The consequences are devastating for individuals and for their families.” Mr Vasta said.

“In recent years we have seen a rise in the number of invasive meningococcal cases in Australia. In 2017, there were 382 cases reported nationally, compared with 252 cases in 2016 and 182 cases in 2015.”

“Deaths associated with meningococcal have also risen, with 28 deaths in 2017, compared with 11 deaths in 2016 and 12 deaths in 2015.”

“Currently, infants aged 12 months are given a single-strain Meningococcal C vaccine.”

Health Minister Greg Hunt said upgrading to the quad-strain is great news for parents and infants, but it’s only the first step in the Turnbull Government’s broader approach to reduce the impact of meningococcal. 

“In March 2018, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) will consider the listing of a MenACWY vaccine for adolescents,” Minister Hunt said.

“We are committed to strengthening Australia’s world-class national vaccination program and we urge all Australian parents and carers to have their children vaccinated.”

“The announcement follows the decision by PBAC to recommend the listing of Nimenrix for infants aged 12 months of age.”

Mr Vasta said that unlike Labor, the Coalition has a policy of funding all medicines recommended by PBAC.

“This is part of our rock sold commitment to making medicines accessible, and because immunisation is critical to maintaining public health and preventing the outbreak of infectious diseases,” Mr Vasta said.

“Vaccination works and is an effective and safe tool to prevent the spread of many diseases that cause hospitalisation, serious ongoing health conditions and sometimes death.”
 
Mr Vasta encouraged everyone to get the facts about immunisation by visiting https://immunisationfacts.gov.au

You’re invited! We need you!
New players are needed to play at the Manly-Lota RSL Sub-Branch.
When: 10:00am to 12:00pm every Tuesday starting 6th February
Tea & coffee will be provided
BYO morning tea & cup
Cost: $4.00
Come and have some fun and meet new people!
Please call us on 3348 2572 to leave your name & phone number