Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Recently I had the honour of reopening a great local Wynnum business, Wynnum School and Office Supplies. The owners, Phil and Lois Troop, have operated several businesses in the Wynnum area and, in mid-2010, they merged a school supply business and an office products business under one trading name—School and Office Supplies. When the Troops added a novelty paper business to their line-up, they saw it as a great opportunity to expand the store, ultimately moving next door to 1/70 Tingal Road. Not content with this, they also used the space to open the Australian Academy of Maths and English, Wynnum, which I have no doubt will be an invaluable resource to the wider Bonner community. It was this new location that I was very pleased to officially open.

Small businesses like Wynnum School and Office Supplies are the backbone of our economy. At a time when so many small businesses are struggling just to get by, it is extremely heartening to see this great local business expanding with such an impressive new showroom. I have no doubt that their success can be attributed to the hard work of Phil and Lois. I congratulate them on their continued hard work and have no doubt that it will pay off not only for them but for our local community.

Also on Sunday afternoon, I had the great pleasure of attending the Queensland National Rifle Association's Queen's Prize championships. This fantastic facility at Belmont in my electorate of Bonner is a first-class facility. It hosted the world championships last year and will host the Commonwealth Games in 2018. The Queen's Prize is such a well-regarded event that even the Queensland Governor, Her Excellency Penelope Wensley, a fellow patron of the club, was there to lend her support to the event. I was also joined at the event by my good friend and colleague the Deputy Mayor of Brisbane, Councillor Adrian Schrinner, who is a great supporter of the range. The new member for Chatsworth and Assistant Minister for Public Transport, Steve Minnikin, also attended for his first Queen's Prize, and I have no doubt that he will be attending many more in the future, as he has been doing a great job for Chatsworth.

Once again, I congratulate the committee members on such a prestigious event, which provides opportunities for the talented competitors to showcase their abilities, and I look forward to lending my support to this event for many more years to come.