WOOLIES DELIVERY ISSUES
Federal MP Henry Pike and LNP State candidate for Redlands, Rebecca Young, have gone ‘into bat’ for islanders not happy with the Woolworths grocery delivery service. They have received a reply from Managing Director of WolliesX, Sally Copland. She recognises that SMBI residents have experienced difficulty in placing their home delivery orders, due to online booking slots reaching capacity. She says they continue to service the islands daily with around 670 delivery orders every week. As a result of the request from Henry and Rebecca, Sally Copeland has announced Woolies will be increasing delivery capacity with an additional 10-12 vehicles each week to the islands, starting this month. All SMB islands will receive the additional delivery services, ‘dependent on the availability of barge services’.
NEW DOCTOR AT MACLEAY MEDICAL CENTRE
The Macleay Island Medical Centre continues to grow and evolve. Just like its next door neighbour Pharmacy Essentials, the Medical Centre is growing continually. The Medical Centre started out with one doctor, then two, and now has four doctors on their staff. The latest to arrive is Dr Andy Hsu MD who has a PHD and FRACGP. Medical consultations are now easier than ever with Phone Consultations taking a huge workload off islanders who may have difficulty getting to the surgery, or who may live on one of the other islands, other than Macleay. The team at Pharmacy Essential under Pharmacist George Economous, are now becoming ‘expert’ in their use of their massive new computer system, that sorts, prescribes and delivers medicines as required in seconds. All positive changes for medicine on our islands.
TRAVIS THE RACQ MAN
Travis Place is a man we know well. Travis is a ‘can do’ man not only with computer systems, knowledge and more, he is also the creator of the Bay Island Information App that mot of us has in our phones to ‘dial up’ the ferry timetable that is so handy for islanders. He is also the man behind Island Car Keys and can replace keys or provide extra keys for any make of car. And to top it off, he has recently been appointed the RACQ man on Russell Island. Yes, Travis just happens to be very handy mechanically, with a penchant for European cars in particular. Is Travis Place the most useful person on our islands? We think maybe he is!!
TOONDAH HARBOUR POORLY NAMED
With all the recent drama about Toondah Harbour, from our pojnt of view, the ‘Harbour’ is poorly named. It is definitely not a Harbour in anyway shape or form. To be honest, it is more like a swamp. If Minister Plibersek had visited as she claims, she obviously did with her eyes shut. Did she miss the hundreds of cars parked literarily everywhere and anywhere? Did she miss the swamp-like state of the foreshore? Did she miss the sub-standard mooring amenities that the island operators are forced to contend with. Did she not witness the continual dredging in place to allow the area to act as a very poor port of some sorts. Is she unaware that the current sub-standard area is supposed to be the ‘gateway’ to one of Australia’s pristine island environments; does she escape the fact that the proposed PDA and plans for Toondah Harbour were to the ‘highest standards’ of future care for the environment and sustainability, but in an attractive way that could be enjoyed by more Queenslanders and visitors, who will always continue to come via this gateway. It seems good, controlled development will never be allowed, under any circumstances. What a huge waste of money and time this has been. So much for being declared a Priority Development Area (PDA)! It is now a Priority Damaged Area!
KEEP YOUNG PEOPLE SAFE ONLINE FREE FORUM
Redland City Council recently held a free forum to provide parents, carers and educators with information on how to keep young people safe online. The Tech Savvy Tech Safe Forum was held at Redland Performing Arts Centre. Mayor Jos Mitchell said the delivery of the forum aligned with a number of actions outlined in the Redlands Coast Young People’s Action Plan 2024-2027. Council delivered the forum in partnership with key child safety agencies including Queensland Police Service, Australian Federal Police and its education program ThinkUKnow, Centre Against Sexual Violence, Kids Helpline and Crimes Stoppers Queensland. There is more information on the Redland Performing Arts Centre website.
TOOLKIT TO HELP LOCAL RETAIL
As part of Queensland Small Business Month, Redland City Council launched a toolkit to support local small retail businesses. The Redlands Coast Local Retail and Activation Toolkit aims to help businesses in suburban retail strips drive customer growth through collaboration. Of the more than 12,500 registered businesses in the Redlands, 98 percent are small businesses – about 57 percent are non-employing such as sole traders; and about 41 percent are micro or small businesses employing less than 20 staff. The toolkit provides information and tips on how to enhance the customer appeal of retail precincts where small businesses operate. For more information go to Redland City Council’s website.
MAYOR JOINS DELEGATION
Redland City Mayor Jos Mitchell joined a delegation of 11 south-east Queensland mayors who descended on Queensland Parliament in recent days, calling for urgent infrastructure funding to respond to rapid population growth and the housing crisis. The Mayor said councils needed more support from both the state and federal governments. The Mayor said she would also continue Council’s advocacy for regional status recognition for Redland Coast islands with regards to state and federal planning and funding.