CARINA MEN’S SHED OPEN DAY

Date: SATURDAY 16th JUNE 2018

Time: 10 AM TO 3 PM

Address: CLEM JONES CENTRE, 56 ZAHEL STREET, CARINA QLD 4152

·        DECORATIVE GLASS WORK, LEADLIGHTING, WOODWORK, LEATHERWORK AND
ARTWORK ON DISPLAY (SOME OF THESE ITEMS WILL BE AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE)

·        SURPLUS TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

·        MEMBER HOBBIES WILL ALSO BE DISPLAYED

·        TALK TO OUR MEMBERS ON THE BENEFITS OF BELONGING TO OUR SHED

·        ENJOY MUSIC PROVIDED BY OUR NEWLY FORMED BUSH BAND “THE CORRUGATED
SHEDDERS”

·        ENJOY A SAUSAGE AT THE SAUSAGE SIZZLE 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Website: www.mensshedcarina.org.au

Telephone: 07 3395 0678

Federal Member for Bonner Ross Vasta today thanked everyone who has put in nominations for the second annual Bonner Volunteer Awards.

The Bonner Volunteer Awards recognise individuals and groups that have demonstrated outstanding volunteer qualities, made a significant and lasting contribution to the community, and set a good example for fellow volunteers and inspired others to volunteer.

“It’s great to hear about so many dedicated and hard-working volunteers in Bonner, especially during National Volunteer Week this week,” Mr Vasta said.

“These men and women are making a real difference in our community and they all deserve to be recognised.”

Mr Vasta will be presenting this year’s winners with their awards at a special ceremony on 1 June 2018.

Nominees this year include:

• Brad Abell – Vice-President and under-10s coach at Carindale Cougars Junior AFL Club;

• David Harvey – Coach, manager, game official, and club referee at Bayside United Football Club;

• Jason Lavender – President and coach at Bayside Jets Basketball Club in Carina;

• Lyn Felschow – Holland Park Meals on Wheels volunteer and church volunteer;

• Marian Sheffield – Community volunteer for a number of clubs in the Wynnum-Manly area including Acacia Bayside Swimming Club and Annette Roselli Dance Academy;

• Michael Lakeman – Leader at Manly Lota Scouts Group;

• Phil Young – Assists elderly people at local Carindale complex;

• Bruce Meers – Carindale local and life-long volunteer for a number of local charities and clubs;

• Gloria Guthrie – Volunteer at Mackenzie State Special School library;

• Jacqueline Park – Volunteer reading tutor at Upper Mount Gravatt State School;

• John Power – Volunteer at St John Vianney Catholic Parish of Manly and Gumdale;

• Alex Wright – Mansfield local and long-time volunteer for a number of clubs and organisations including Volunteer in Policing and Mansfield Neighbourhood Watch;

• Joseph Dawson – Rosies Friends on the Street volunteer;

• Carindale Cougars JAFL Club – A small, grassroots football club that has grown to over 100 members on the back of many dedicated Bonner parents who volunteer their time with the club;

• Gumdale Hub – Linda Pascoe has brought the community together to fight crime in the area through this local Facebook page;

• Making a Difference Team – This Manly West-based team regularly helps and organises donated items for the homeless or people trying to restart their lives.

It's National Volunteer Week, and another good opportunity to recognise the outstanding contribution our volunteers make to our community.

Last year, I had the opportunity to do just that with the first annual Bonner Volunteer Awards. There were many worthy winners, and so many make such a difference in our community. These include Beryl Acton. Beryl has been running sewing workshops and classes at St Bart's Anglican Church at Mount Gravatt for the past few years. She also offers to do free mending and alteration work for the Hope Chicks, who provide work for vulnerable and disadvantaged women. The Chicks love her sweetness, patience and cheerfulness. She genuinely loves the women and doesn't ever lecture or judge. She pops in from time to time, regardless of sewing workshops, just to see how everyone is going.

Then there's John Bettenay. John has been a member of several Queensland Rotary clubs since 1975, and has held various executive committee positions at both club and district levels. He joined the Rotary club of Mount Gravatt in 1996 and has been an active member of the club and its activities in the local area since that time. He has hosted international exchange students, been a member of the board of directors, is current Treasurer for the Mount Gravatt club—a position which he has held for many years—and always supports the club's regular fundraising efforts.

I'm pleased, again, to be holding the Bonner Volunteer Awards this year. There were four categories this year: youth, adult, senior and group organisations. Nominations have just closed. There are a number of outstanding candidates, and it's been difficult to pick just one winner in each category. I will be holding a presentation ceremony soon. I look forward to meeting the winners and thanking them for the very important service they provide to the community. I also look forward to updating the chamber on these volunteers and sharing their vital contributions to the community.

This is fantastic news for locals in my electorate. My Queensland LNP colleagues and I have been fighting hard for this funding. People have been telling us just how bad congestion is on the M1 and how dangerous it can be on their daily commute. I've been hearing the same story across Bonner. It is people power that has secured this funding for the M1 as well as for the Brisbane Metro. It's people power that I'm sure will lock in funding for two other critical projects that I'm fighting for in Bonner. One billion dollars in funding—what an outcome! I must thank the member for Forde for leading this fight, and my constituents who get at stuck at the M1-Gateway merge every afternoon certainly will.

Many people have told me how thrilled they are with this outcome. It means they'll be able to get home to their families sooner and safer. I know the coalition's campaign and the community's angst about these commitments is what finally drove the Queensland government to commit to match our federal commitment and deliver for the people of South East Queensland. And now $300 million for Brisbane Metro—another awesome outcome that will reduce congestion for Bonner constituents. I have tirelessly campaigned for this funding with Trevor Evans, the member for Brisbane. It's another funding commitment that shows the coalition government is listening to locals. Then there is the $10 million I helped secure with the member for Bowman. This funding will help upgrade the Green Camp Road corridor, including the notorious Green Camp Road-Rickett Road intersection. More congestion busted; more people who enjoy a much safer drive, whether it's to school pick-up or work.

That's why I'm now fighting hard for two other critical road projects in Bonner. I know the government is listening. Locals are asking us to invest in critical infrastructure to reduce congestion and improve safety, and that's exactly what we're doing. It's what we'll continue to do for dangerous black spots like the Lindum station crossing. Recently over 4,000 locals signed my petition to fix this dangerous intersection. Last week the Minister for Infrastructure came to inspect the Lindum crossing in person and to discuss the new Urban Congestion Fund announced in the budget this month. We are investing $1 billion in congestion-busting projects like the Lindum station crossing. I also took the minister to the Newnham Road and Wecker Road intersection at Mount Gravatt East. This is another notorious intersection in my electorate. The RACQ recently named this intersection as one of the worst in Brisbane for serious crashes and casualties. The minister agrees it's an absolute hazard. I've started a community petition calling for funding to fix the Newnham Road-Wecker Road intersection. It has already gathered almost 1,000 signatures. It's people power in action again.

Works have now started on the M1 Gateway merge upgrade and the Green Camp Road corridor upgrade. Brisbane City Council expects tenders for the Brisbane Metro will go out as early as the second half of this year. I'm proud to have secured funding for these vital projects to get my constituents home sooner and safer. I'm fighting just as hard for the funding to fix the Lindum crossing and Newnham Road intersection.

Lytton company Advanced Robotic Technology (ART) is one of the successful recipients of a grant provided under the Accelerating Commercialisation element of the Australian Government’s Entrepreneurs’ Programme, Federal Member for Bonner Ross Vasta said today.

ART has developed an advanced robotic structural steel processing system that has the potential to help Australian firms better compete with cheap imported fabricators through lower costs, quicker turnaround and superior accuracy.

Director of ART David White said the grant funding would enable the company to transition from R&D to a production product.

“This grant will help us cover the costs of building and installing a prototype system here at our Brisbane facility,” Mr White said.

“It will also help us complete and transport a display model they we can use for real-world demonstrations in Australia and overseas. This will help us generate leads with companies that are crying out for this kind of product, because we’ll be able to actively demonstrate the efficiency of this system in an industry neutral environment.”

Mr Vasta, who today visited ART with Minister for Jobs and Innovation, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, said it was great to see a local company receiving government support to develop and build world-class technology.

“This is a world-leading product that will boost productivity and allow workers to move up to higher-skilled jobs,” Mr Vasta said.

Minister Cash said she was pleased to be visiting ART to see how the Government’s funding will assist them to take their ideas to the market.

“The Entrepreneurs’ Programme supports businesses to develop and commercialise ideas that will improve business capability and competitiveness, promote economic growth and create jobs,” Minister Cash said.

Mr White said the government’s support had been invaluable for ART to develop the technology.

“Without the R&D Tax Incentive Scheme, it would not have been viable for us to invest the necessary funds that have been required to develop this level of technology. It’s been pivotal to help us recoup costs, which has in turn encouraged further development,” Mr White said.

“The assistance available through schemes like the Entrepreneurs’ Programme and the R&D Tax Incentive provides a high level of confidence that the Government is backing Australian innovation.”

More information on Accelerating Commercialisation: https://www.business.gov.au/assistance/entrepreneurs-programme/accelerating-commercialisation

More information on the R&D Tax Incentive: https://www.business.gov.au/assistance/research-and-development-tax-incentive

The Turnbull Government has announced in the 2018-19 Budget the listing of a life-changing breast cancer medicine on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme that would otherwise cost patients around $71,820 per year.

Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta, who today attended a Breast Cancer Australia afternoon tea held for women undergoing treatment for breast cancer, welcomed the announcement.

Mr Vasta said the Government’s $703.6 million investment will mean more than 3,000 Australian patients with inoperable or metastatic hormone receptor positive breast cancer will benefit from the 1 July 2018 listing of ribociclib (Kisqali®).

“Hormone receptor positive tumours are the most common form of breast cancer and account for most of the deaths from the disease,” Mr Vasta said.

Minister for Health Greg Hunt, who also attended the Breast Cancer Australia afternoon tea, said by inhibiting two proteins that drive the growth of tumour cells, ribociclib—used in combination with other drugs—will slow the progression of inoperable and metastatic breast cancers in some patients.

Mt Gravatt local Dr David Hunt welcomed the Government’s decision.

“As someone who's lost their mother to breast cancer, I think this Budget decision is close to the heart of many families in our nation,” Dr Hunt said.

“I applaud the Government on this decision. I believe it will help many women overcome this disease in Australia.”

The independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) recommended the listing of Kisqali.

The Committee is, by law and in practice, independent of Government in its deliberations.  By law the Federal Government cannot list a new medicine without a positive recommendation from this committee.

Mr Vasta said since coming into Government, the Coalition has helped improve the health of Australians by subsidising approximately $9 billion worth of new medicines.

Minister for Health Greg Hunt said the Government’s commitment to the PBS is rock solid. 

“Together with Medicare, it is a foundation of our world-class health care system,” Minister Hunt said.

Federal Minister for Urban Infrastructure and Cities Paul Fletcher today joined Federal Member for Bonner Ross Vasta to inspect the Lindum Station Crossing at Wynnum West.

Mr Vasta’s community petition to fix the crossing has gathered almost 5000 signatures.

“This is a terrible level crossing that needs to be fixed. That’s why I’ve got the Minister here today to see first-hand how dangerous it is here,” Mr Vasta said.

“I’m fighting very hard to make sure this crossing is fixed as soon as possible. I want to make sure people can get to and from work on time, and that parents can drop off and pick up their children at the school zone safely.”

Minister Fletcher said he was pleased to have the chance to visit the crossing with Mr Vasta today and learn more about its congestion problems and accident history.

“There are a number of federal programs under which an upgrade to this crossing could potentially receive funding, including the Black Spot Program and our new $1 billion Urban Congestion Fund,” Minister Fletcher said.

“These are competitive funding programs but I know Ross will be working hard to make the best possible case. I look forward to working with Ross as he does this.”

More information on the Urban Congestion Fund is available at: https://www.pm.gov.au/media/new-fund-bust-congestion-urban-areas

Federal Minister for Urban Infrastructure and Cities Paul Fletcher today joined Federal Member for Bonner Ross Vasta to inspect the intersection of Newnham Road and Wecker Road at Mt Gravatt East.

Mr Vasta recently launched a community petition to fix the intersection that has already gathered hundreds of signatures.

“This is a terrible intersection that needs to be fixed. That’s why I’ve got the Minister here today to see first-hand how dangerous it is here,” Mr Vasta said.

“I’d like to see the Federal Government working with Brisbane City Council to fix this intersection and make sure commuters can travel safely to Bunnings, to the school, or elsewhere in our community.

“I’m fighting hard to ensure this intersection will no longer be a death trap.”

Minister Fletcher said he was pleased to have the chance to visit the intersection with Mr Vasta today and learn more about its congestion problems and accident history.

“There are a number of federal programs under which an upgrade to this intersection could potentially receive funding, including the Black Spot Program and our new $1 billion Urban Congestion Fund,” Minister Fletcher said.

“These are competitive funding programs but I know Ross will be working hard to make the best possible case. I look forward to working with Ross as he does this.”

More information on the Urban Congestion Fund is available at: https://www.pm.gov.au/media/new-fund-bust-congestion-urban-areas

Senior residents in Bonner and their families will benefit from significant aged care quality reforms announced by the Turnbull Government.

At the heart of these reforms, aged care regulation, compliance and complaints handing will be brought together in a new and independent Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.

A new performance rating system against the quality standards will also be introduced providing Bonner residents with access to a comparison tool when selecting aged care providers. This will ensure senior Australians and their families have clear, concise information when choosing aged care options is also critical.

Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta, welcomed the reforms and said they would bring Bonner residents much needed reassurance that everyone receiving aged care is being looked after properly.

“When I speak to people in the community, like residents I visited at Janoah Gardens today, their desire for reform in the aged care sector has been made very clear. They have been urging the Government to make the hard decisions and I’ve been advocating in Canberra on their behalf,” Mr Vasta said.

“This announcement is a significant reform in raising the bar on quality aged care, and sends a strong message to Australians that quality aged care is a top priority for the Turnbull Government.”

Minister for Aged Care, Ken Wyatt, said the reforms would bring confidence to older Australians and their families in deciding on aged care options.

“The new independent Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission will give the more than 1.3 million Australians in Commonwealth aged care support and their families peace of mind that they will receive safe, quality care,” Minister Wyatt said.

The establishment of the Commission is in response to the Carnell-Paterson review into failures at South Australia’s Oakden Older Persons Mental Health Service. The Review, commissioned by the Turnbull Government, found the current aged care regulatory framework does not adequately provide the assurance the community expects.  

The new Commission will start from 1 January 2019 and will bring together the functions of the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency, the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner, and the aged care regulatory functions of the Department of Health. 

The reforms will include development options, in consultation with the aged care sector, for a Serious Incident Response Scheme to ensure the right systems are in place to identify an incident and prevent it from occurring again.

“We recognise that the vast majority of providers give consistent, quality care to their residents. But, as we have seen, there can be failures. We must ensure that disasters like Oakden are never repeated,” Minister Wyatt said.

“Our senior Australians built the nation that we enjoy today. They have rightly earned the respect of the community and must be cared for with the dignity they deserve.”