Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

New York City has been enjoying the Melbourne coffeehouse experience for a while now. We all know when we travel that coffee can sometimes be a questionable commodity in some foreign markets. Of course, Melbourne has the best coffee in the world. We all do understand this. That's why we have trailblazers in New York City like Nicholas Stone, who is the architect of a magnificent export, a Brighton resident and a former AFL player. He has set up Bluestone Lane cafes in New York. Good on you, Nick! Show them the way.

Embodying the Goldstein entrepreneurial spirit, Nicholas took the style and aesthetic experience of our great Melbourne cafes and transported it to the other side of the globe to educate the antipodes. The first espresso was pulled at Bluestone Lane in 2013. Since then, Nicholas has expanded the enterprise to 30 stores across six cities. With an exhaustive menu now on offer, Bluestone Lane delivers the full Aussie cafe experience and has accommodated celebrities including Hugh Jackman, Taylor Swift, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie. Our Prime Minister has also popped in for a 'spro', which is slang for 'espresso', I'm reliably told. Nicholas has also secured a $20 million deal with private investment firm RSE Ventures to grow his brand in the States and abroad. His enthusiasm is giving Americans a consistent Melbourne-style cafe experience all over America. Congratulations, Nicholas, on your incredible achievements and keep going.

Recently, we had the opportunity to honour some of the high-achieving citizens of Goldstein at our community morning tea. In the wake of Sandringham Yacht Club's being named club of the year at the 2018 Community Clubs Victoria annual awards, Goldstein certificates of achievement were awarded to Commodore Rob Davis; Richard Hewett, the CEO; and Bill Stubbs, one of the committee members—all champions. We also congratulated Mrs Jennifer Simms for her ingenuity in starting a new child-friendly cafe in Cheltenham. She was joined by her husband, James, and their children, Lincoln and Primrose. We also gave Goldstein community service awards to Tim Stroh, who recently published A Deeper Truth, which aims to explore evidence based theories for human nature and behaviour; to Master Benjy Orwin, nine years of age, who started Socks for Support to encourage donations of warm socks for children in need; and to Mrs Shirley Glance OAM, who recently received a Queen's Birthday award, as did Bev Brown. All of the other people who received an award have also made incredible contributions to our community. I would like particularly to thank Bev. She recently caught, or, I should say, saved, a grey-haired flying fox—that's what she does. She was very kind to name it 'Tim', before she released it.