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.

The highly successful Small Business Expo is coming to Upper Mt Gravatt in 2018 and local small businesses are encouraged to enquire now, Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta said today.

“This is a great opportunity for small businesses, particularly those without physical stores, to book a trade table where they can showcase their products and services,” Mr Vasta said.

“It’s also a great opportunity for business owners to learn the latest business tips and industry insight to help bolster their business, as well as connect with other business owners in the community. Over 600 small business owners are expected to attend.”

The Brisbane Expo will include:

• 200+ trade tables featuring small businesses from across Brisbane, Gold Coast and Logan;

• 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;

• Food trucks and live music.

Small business owners will be able to attend a How To Sell From a Trade Table workshop prior to the Expo and is included in the trade table fee.

Organiser Paula Brand from Small Business Expos said it would be a fun event that would recognise and celebrate the hard work that small business owners do every single day.

“The Expo is now in its seventh year and has never been held in Brisbane before. I’d like to thank Mr Vasta for helping bring the Expo to Upper Mt Gravatt this year,” Mrs Brand said.

Date: Friday 4th May 2018
Time: Open from 10am to 4pm (Official Media and VIP Launch is at 9.45am)
Address: Hibiscus Sports Complex, 90 Klumpp Road, Upper Mt Gravatt
Price: Free entry

To showcase your business and receive an info pack please email paula.brand@livingwithit.com.au.

Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta said it had been a productive and successful year for the Bonner electorate, with his constituents benefitting from a number of projects and initiatives he had fought for and delivered in the area.

Mr Vasta said he was pleased that many local projects he had delivered Federal funding for had been completed this year:

• Wynnum Manly Seagulls Clubhouse dressing sheds upgrade ($400,000);

• Manly Bowls Club second green enclosure ($1.15m);

• Mt Gravatt Bowls Club new surface and shade system ($178,000);

• Wynnum Manly Men’s Shed installation and fitting out of new sheds ($100,000);

• Mt Gravatt Men’s Shed solar panels and facility upgrades ($22,612);

• Eastside Community Church fencing, shade sails and path upgrade ($20,000);

• Hope Foundation new equipment and supplies ($70,000).

Mr Vasta said works were now underway, or were soon expected to be underway, for several more important infrastructure projects in Bonner:

• Rickertt Rd-Green Camp Rd intersection upgrade ($10m): construction expected to begin mid to late 2018;

• M1-Gateway Motorway merge upgrade at Eight Mile Plains: construction to begin early 2018 after the Commonwealth Games;

• NBN rollout: over one-third complete in Bonner, with all premises to have access by 2020;

• Moreton Bay Discovery Centre extension to house Moreton Bay Discovery Museum displays ($450,000);

• Australian Academy of Martial Arts Karate-Do Club Dojo training hall ($185,000).

Mr Vasta also secured funding for the following projects under Round 3 of the Stronger Communities Programme:

• Moreton Bay Girl Guides flooring upgrades ($8,901);

• Silky Oaks Children’s Haven multi-purpose community hub area makeover ($9,475);

• C&K Tingalpa & District Kindergarten toilet upgrades ($2,574);

• Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia Belmont gravel car park upgrade ($20,000);

• Manly Community Kindergarten sensory garden ($2,521);

• Wynnum General Gordon Community Pre-School and Kindergarten outdoor play space upgrade ($6,750);

• EDit (Ex-Defence Integration Team)’s work helping local ex-defence personnel back into the workforce ($6,000);

• Mt Gravatt Men’s Shed new awnings over verandah ($6,630).

In 2017 Mr Vasta launched the inaugural Bonner Volunteer Awards as well as the inaugural Bonner Bright Star Awards, both of which attracted many nominations and helped recognise outstanding local volunteers and local students in the electorate.

Mr Vasta held the first Bonner Seniors’ Expo to provide a helpful and entertaining event for older people who live in the electorate. The Expo was a success with hundreds of locals attending on the day.

Mr Vasta’s Coffee with a Cop community safety events also proved popular, with locals benefitting from the opportunity to chat face-to-face with local police and other organisations about keeping their homes and businesses protected from crime.

Mr Vasta said fixing the Lindum intersection would be one of his top priorities in 2018, and encouraged locals to sign his petition online. His petition, to be presented to Federal Parliament in February next year, has attracted over 2,500 signatures in a short amount of time.

He said he would continue to fight for important projects in his electorate and thanked those who had helped him deliver vital funding for the area.

The inaugural Bonner Seniors’ Expo hosted yesterday by Federal Member Ross Vasta MP was a huge success, with over 300 locals from across the electorate attending and 55 stallholders participating on the day.

“I’m proud to support our valuable local seniors and help them find out what services they can access in the community and how,” Mr Vasta said.

“So many people have told me how much they’re enjoying the Expo and how much useful information they’re getting out of it. They’ve told me they’re hoping it becomes a regular event and I’m definitely looking at bringing it back even bigger and better next year!”

Lota residents Sydney and Carol Lawrence thanked Mr Vasta for holding the Expo and said the local area needed an event like it.

“It’s drawn some great crowds and hopefully it can become a feature event for the community,” Mr Lawrence said.

“We’ve discovered a lot of new things today that we wouldn’t have known about otherwise.”

Barry Tewes from Upper Mt Gravatt said he’d recently gotten on the pension, and had come along to the Expo to find out what was out there for him.

“I’ve discovered lots of things I didn’t know about and found out about some good activities. This is a great event that deserves to grow bigger next year. I hope it does,” Mr Tewes said.

There were several informative talks held throughout the day and information stalls run by local activity groups.

“It’s great to have all these different groups and organisations under the one roof for people to discover,” Mt Gravatt Men’s Shed committee member Bart McKnight said.

“This event will really benefit the people coming along today.”

Past President of the Lions Club of Brisbane MacGregor Kathy McCarthy said it was an excellent event with a great turnout.

“It was so good of Ross to organise it. There are so many stallholders here, and there’s such a good variety of stallholders too,” Mrs McCarthy said.

She encouraged seniors to attend their MacGregor Lions Health and Wellbeing Expo to be held in Mt Gravatt next March.

CEO of Tyack Health, Joel Tyack, spoke on how people can stay healthy and active in their older years.

“I think the Expo is a fantastic initiative. I can tell from people’s enthusiasm that they’re really enjoying it,” Mr Tyack said. 

“It’s a great way for people to get out and about and enjoy themselves.”

Sailability Bayside volunteer Geoff Grace said the Expo would help people know what was available in their local area.

“It was great of Ross to set this up and bring so many local organisations and businesses together at one event for people to find,” Mr Grace said.

Mr Vasta said he hoped the Expo had helped and entertained everyone who attended, and encouraged attendees to contact his office to share their feedback with him.

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.

Federal Minister for Communications, Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield, today provided locals from Mount Gravatt, Carindale, Wynnum and surrounding areas with an update on the NBN rollout across Australia.

Residents had the opportunity to ask nbn-related questions to the Minister, as well as representatives from nbn co and Telstra, at a community information session hosted by Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta.

“The nbn rollout is now one-third complete in Bonner, and I’m pleased to say a third of premises with access have taken up an nbn service,” Mr Vasta said.

Minister Fifield said the nbn was now available to over half of all Australian premises, with 75 per cent expected to have access by June 2018 and all premises to have access by mid-2020.

“The nbn is one of the biggest infrastructure projects ever carried out in Australia. With such a massive undertaking there’ll inevitably be a small percentage of people with issues. This is not to diminish their experiences and nbn co is working hard to improve the consumer experience as the rollout is completed,” Minister Fifield said.

“When the nbn falls short of people’s expectations, often it’s an issue of retailers not purchasing enough capacity to service their customers. The Government is ensuring accountability and has funded the ACCC’s Broadband Performance Monitoring and Reporting program.”

“Under this program, the ACCC is implementing real-time speed testing at 4000 volunteer sites across the country. This will provide invaluable information on broadband speeds to consumers and motivate retailers to provide the best speeds possible.”

Minister Fifield said the ACCC had published guidelines for retailers on how they should advertise their NBN service speeds. The guidelines advise retailers to clearly advertise the minimum speeds consumers can expect to achieve during peak evening periods, rather than the maximum speeds that may be delivered during off-peak periods.

“The ACCC has made it clear that if retailers fail to meet these guidelines, more formal action will be taken,” Minister Fifield said.

Mr Vasta encouraged people to sign up for broadband performance consumer updates on the ACCC website. 

He asked those with further issues or questions on the NBN rollout to contact his office or visit the nbn co website.

The NBN rollout continues to be an issue of high concern to my constituents. I am pleased to have another positive update for Bonner locals.

NBN Co has advised me that 21 per cent of the NBN rollout is complete in Bonner, thanks to the Coalition government's revised rollout plan. Every premise in my electorate will have access to NBN services by 2020.

The majority of residents and businesses in Bonner will have access within the next year. Over time, the NBN will replace most of the existing networks as the deliverer of a new service network. This means that, at the end of 2020, there will be further plans for path upgrades and speed building. This will ensure that all users in my electorate will continue to have access to the best service possible.

Many people have been asking me about the NBN and what they should do when it reaches their door. Many of my constituents, particularly older residents, have come to me worried about how the compulsory switchover to the NBN will affect them.

To help answer their questions, I recently hosted three community information sessions with representatives from NBN Co. We first visited the Eight Mile Plains-Wishart area to take questions from local residents and business owners. We held two seniors information sessions for locals from the Wynnum Manly and Mt Gravatt areas.

Many attendees have told me how helpful they found these sessions. Common questions addressed included: what steps people must take to switch over to the NBN; whether extra devices are needed to be installed inside their home; and how people can check whether medical devices connected to their landline will be compatible with the NBN. Attendees also learned how they should shop around for a suitable provider in order to get the best possible broadband speeds to suit their requirements.

These NBN information sessions were such a success that I will be holding another one around the Carindale-Carina area in the near future. I look forward to doing more with the NBN as it continues to roll out in my electorate.

Local seniors had the opportunity to learn more about the National Broadband Network (NBN) rollout in and around the Mt Gravatt area, thanks to an NBN information session today hosted by Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta.

NBN Co representatives, Kylie Lindsay and Johanna de Winter, joined Mr Vasta to help answer questions and provide solutions to attendees’ various connection issues.

“I’m pleased to report that 21 per cent of the NBN rollout is complete in Bonner, with all premises to have access to NBN services by 2020,” Mr Vasta said.

“Over time the NBN will replace most of the existing networks as the deliverer of a new service network. At the end of 2020, there will be further plans for path upgrades and speed building to ensure the best service is continually on offer for all users.”

“Right now, 7,500 premises in Mt Gravatt, Mt Gravatt East, Upper Mt Gravatt, Mansfield, and Holland Park West are ready to order NBN service, with 12,900 more premises expected to be ready for service by the end of the year.”

Mrs Lindsay said every household that wanted to keep their landline and internet would be required to switch over to the NBN.

“Every premise in Australia will be connected to the NBN free-of-charge. You will then have 18 months from the installation date to switch over. This will give you plenty of time to shop around and look into the options and packages available to you,” Mrs Lindsay said.

“When contacting a service provider about switching over, ask them: what plan do they suggest, whether there will be any additional installation fees, and if you can keep your current home phone number—in most cases you’ll be able to. Have a good think about what plan will suit you best, you’ll have plenty of time to decide.”

Mrs Lindsay warned that some companies were attempting to take advantage of the rollout.

“If someone shows up on your door claiming to be from NBN Co and saying you must sign up now to keep your landline or internet, this is false. To switch over, you must go through your service provider, not NBN Co, and you will have 18 months to do so,” Mrs Lindsay said.

Mr Vasta asked attendees to report any suspicious doorknockers to his office.

Mrs de Winter said people should also consider any medical devices they had currently connected to their home phone lines, and whether they would be compatible with the NBN.

“If you depend on medical alarms, auto diallers, or emergency call buttons, we recommend that you speak to your medical alarm provider before switching over to the NBN and ensure your medical device will keep working,” Mrs de Winter said.

“For additional support, you can also register your medical alarm with the NBN online at www.nbn.com.au/medicalregister or by calling 1800 227 300.”

In response to questions about whether extra boxes would be required inside the home to be connected to the NBN, Mrs Lindsay said there are a number of different solutions depending on the location of a person’s property and the service NBN Co is able to provide.

“You may have FTTP (Fibre to the Premise), FTTN (Fibre to the Node), or HFC (Hybrid Fibre Coaxial), which will determine whether you have additional devices to be installed at your premise or not. Discuss with your service provider about what will be required to be installed in your home,” Mrs Lindsay said.

Mrs Lindsay said NBN Co understood many people were frustrated about being told one thing by NBN and another by their service providers in regards to solving their connection issues. She said there is currently an ACCC investigation ongoing and that NBN Co is confident there will be positive outcomes for all consumers following the investigation.

Mr Vasta asked those with further issues or questions to contact his office or visit the NBN Co website at www.nbnco.com.au.

Help raise funds for a good cause! The Trivia Night is a fundraiser for the Annual Community Meal held at Mt Gravatt during Social Inclusion Week 2017. You will have the opportunity to purchase your dinner from 6pm (menu available at the Hotel) and join in the fun of the night with wizard questions and raffles. In fact those who do purchase a meal will go into a draw for a special raffle as well. The cost is $10 per person. Get a group of 8 together and have your own table!

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/trivia-night-connecting-communities-tickets-34998495442

This week is National Men’s Health Week. The theme this year was “Healthy Body – Healthy Mind: Keeping the Balance”. It was a great opportunity to raise men’s awareness of the benefits of keeping healthy. I couldn’t think of a better organisation to collaborate on this with than one of my electorate’s local men’s sheds, Mt Gravatt Men’s Shed.

As their President Murray Rogash tells me, men’s sheds are much more than group workshops. They’re health initiatives that improve their members’ physical, mental and social health.

Mt Gravatt Men’s Shed offers a variety of health activities such as fitness classes. It counts among its 292 members a medical doctor, psychologist and Minister of Religion, who help cater to other members’ health needs. It also provides health check-ups to members through the Australian Men’s Shed Association’s Spanner in the Works program.

Last Tuesday I was pleased to contribute to Mt Gravatt Men’s Shed’s health initiatives with a Men’s Health Week morning tea. I was joined by special guest and local GP Dr David Hunt, who spoke on the crucial health issues older men face and the importance of regular check-ups. Dr Hunt has treated a number of men from the Shed. He tells me the Shed has made a positive difference in their lives, and that men’s sheds are a vital community health resource.

No doubt men’s sheds help to save lives. I’m proud to support the men’s sheds in my electorate, and I commend them for their work improving local men’s health.