Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Monday I ran the Gold Coast North Fadden Seniors Forum and Expo, which was the inaugural seniors expo in the northern part of the Gold Coast. We thought we would take a toe in the water approach and have a small expo at the start, but after two days of having 600 people respond we unfortunately had to say sorry to 400 others who wanted to come along. I take the opportunity to apologise to them that the venue could not actually cope with the extra 400 people. And to those wonderful senior Australians who did come and had to park a long way away and walk, I again apologise. Next year we will move to a much bigger venue, something perhaps like Southport Sharks where the parking is so much easier and we can get courtesy golf buggies to move people quickly. And of course the venue is so much larger.

It was a fabulous day last Monday. Our MC for the day was the legendary Mr Normie Rowe AM, who kept people suitably entertained and kept the morning moving along. So good was Normie that the program went 1½ hours over schedule, mostly because of Normie’s repertoire of songs, poems and hilarious anecdotes. We will certainly look to using Normie again. He is a great Australian and a legendary entertainer, a fine Vietnam veteran and a tremendous bloke. So a big thank you to Normie Rowe.

Let me thank also the venue and the manager of the Arundel-Parkwood Community Centre at Napper Road, who went out of their way to help us, and the Arundel Primary School, who allowed us to use car parking there and were so generous with their time. We also thank our great sponsors. You cannot put on what turned out to be a significantly large event without people helping you. It was great to see so many community sponsors: 4CRB local radio, Bendigo Bank and the chairman Robert Knight, Helensvale Surgery and Coomera City Medical Centre, Dion Raju, the principal partners there Kent and Campbell, and Zarraffa’s Coffee that provided a thousand bottles of water so that senior Australians could have continual water during the day, which was tremendous. There were also Dr Roger Welsh of the Vision Centre, Andrea Johannson from Albert River Winery, Andrew from Super Butcher, which was great, Noodle Box, Bakers Delight and Telstra. That is a great bunch of community groups which came on board.

I would also like to thank our fabulous exhibitors. We had over 50 stalls where senior Australians could come along and get information that would help them in terms of lifestyle, care and moving forward with their lives. There were the Gold Coast City Council community services, Gold Coast Stroke Support, the Lions Club of Helensvale, the District Crime Prevention Unit of Queensland Police, Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Volunteering Network Gold Coast, Salvation Army, Volunteering Gold Coast Transport Service, HACC services, Elan Medical Supplies, Relationships Australia, Lifeline Queensland, 501 Hostel and Aged Care Services, Independent Retirees Association, Transcord Community Transport, Commonwealth Carer Respite Centre, Probus Club of Hollywell, Blue Care, Cancer Council of Queensland, University of the Third Age, Kin-Kare, which is grandparents raising grandkids, Red Cross in Helensvale, Centrelink, Animal Welfare League, Breastscreen Queensland, St Vincent de Paul, the RSL subbranch, Alzheimer’s Australia, Paradise Lakes Care Centre, Queensland Bowel Screening Program, Meals on Wheels Southport, Council of the Ageing Queensland, Gold Coast Prostate Cancer Support Group, Amputee Advisory Association and my great Rotary Club of Coomera River Midday. I say a tremendous thank you to all the exhibitors who came and gave their time voluntarily to assist senior Australians in the northern Gold Coast.

I would also like to thank the some 20 volunteers we had on the day to provide support, to serve tea and coffee, to serve morning tea and indeed just to serve our senior Australians in the northern Gold Coast. I especially thank Kay and Kate, who worked so very hard. They are also two of our great volunteers in police who serve the northern Gold Coast with their time so generously.

All in all it was a fabulous Fadden Seniors Forum and Expo. I am certainly inspired to do it bigger and better again next year as a great community service and outreach to that very special group of people called senior Australians. I can guarantee them that we will have a bigger venue and will not turn anyone away next time. I will ensure that parking is simple and easy and we will not get in the way of school kids by parking at schools. The morning will run I think a little easier because senior Australians can get there so much easier. Thank you again to all those who attended, to the sponsors and to the exhibitors. I look forward to running it again next year.