THE ELECTION SPOTS As the FBI was going to print, One Nation and United Australia Party had secured the top of the ballot for the Federal seat of Bowman. Henry Pike ended up in position FOUR of six, with Labor’s Donisha Duff in the final place. It will be vital for the major parties to get the preferences from minor parties; for Labor that means the Green vote will play a role; and the LNP One Nation and the UAP could have an affect. The Greens are in position three on the ballot. May the best prevail on May 21. WHERE TO VOTE Prior to going to press, we could not confirm from the Electoral Commission the where voting in the Federal election was to be carried out on our islands. These were the addresses at the 2019 election, and we hope they are the same? • Amity Point Community Club, Wallum Creek Dr, AMITY POINT QLD 4183 • Coochiemudlo Public Hall, 345 Victoria Pde South, COOCHIEMUDLO ISLAND QLD 4184 • Dunwich State Primary School, 37 Bingle Rd, DUNWICH QLD 4183 • Macleay Island State School, 145-155 High Central Rd, MACLEAY ISLAND QLD 4184 • Point Lookout Bowls Club, 75 Dickson Way, POINT LOOKOUT QLD 4183 • Redland Bay Community Hall, 5-9 Weinam St, REDLAND BAY QLD 4165 • Russell Island Recreation Hall, 1 Alison Cres, RUSSELL ISLAND QLD 4184 FOR THE RECORD You will notice a Federal Election feature further inside this edition in relation to the seat of Bowman which covers the distribution area of The Friendly Bay Islander. Not every candidate is featured, and there is a reason for that. We put a proposal to all the candidates to participate on the basis that they must have a paid advertisement. On having a paid advertisement, we offered all editorial space to go with their paid advertisement. All candidates, except one, accepted the proposal and paid for various sizes in the feature. That is why one of the candidates for Bowman,and their party, do not appear in the feature. We make no apologies for our position. We have shown no favouritism to any candidate in any way. The information is provide for you, the readers of The Friendly Bay Islander and the people of the six islands that are included in the Bowman Federal electorate, to make up your own minds who or what party to vote for. POSTAL VOTING AND PRE-POLLING You are eligible to apply for a postal vote if you are unable to get to a polling place on election day. We encourage you to apply as soon as you know you are eligible. If you do not apply as soon as possible, you may have to choose an alternative way to vote. An alternative is to vote at a pre-polling booth on the mainland. If you are a registered general postal voter and your postal address has changed or you have been affected by events such as natural disasters, you can update your postal address online. Ballot papers must be completed and witnessed on or before election day. You are encouraged to do this as soon as possible after receiving your vote. Please follow the instructions on the inside of the postal vote certificate. Once you have completed your postal vote, return it inside the white return envelope provided. The address to use to return your postal vote will be printed on the materials you received. THE JETTY MOVE The Russell Island jetty was supposed to have happened on the last day of April. We are not sure whether it occurred or not because we were told that the move may have been postponed again. But, if you can see it on the Russell Island waterfront, you will know the move has happened on schedule. If it isn’t, you know the move is yet to occur. So there! KENEALLY APOLGISES TO ANDREW LAMING In an extraordinary development last week, Labor Senator Kristina Keneally has finally apologised for her commentary about Andrew Laming over 12months ago. The outgoing Member for Bowman says he ‘deeply appreciates’ her decision. This is the highest profile apology so far. Andrew Laming has always said the claims made against his character are ‘baseless’ and now he has a major public apology and some defamation legal actions in his favour, to prove his point. Those claims saw the end of his political career, despite a determined fight back. In his final column in this edition as the Member for Bowman, he says he is ‘looking forward to continuing to serve each of your Bay Islands in a private capacity. You can reach him on lammo@outlook.com.au any time.
SUBMARINERS REMEMBERED
On the day before Anzac Day a special ceremony was held at the Dalpura boat ramp on Macleay Island. The family of the late 'Bronco' McGinn, an old time submariner who resided on the island for a number of years, met for a special ceremony to spread the ashes of his son, Gary (also an ex-serving submariner). They were committed to the Bay off Dalpura boat ramp along with some of 'Bronco's' ashes as well in a joint ceremony for father and son. Family and ex-submariners attended to farewell two shipmates. The Submariner's Prayer and the Submariner's Ode were recited at the ceremony.