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World’s Biggest Garage Sale in Morningside Wants You to Repurpose With a Purpose

With Brisbane’s kerbside collection back on track, the World’s Biggest Garage Sale in Morningside is encouraging locals to “repurpose with a purpose” in order to maximise the country’s circular economy.

With a mission “to activate dormant goods for good as a way to make a purposeful profit that creates a positive impact on people and the planet,” the local community garage sale site hopes that the public will carefully consider donating some of their “junk” to the World’s Biggest Garage Sale instead of throwing everything on the kerb.

CEO and founder Yas Grigaliunas said that people might be surprised to know that they get a lot of enquiries for broken and useless products that could be repurposed into all sorts of things. Grigaliunas said that this is the essence of a circular economy.

“It’s not about just throwing your junk out on the kerb,” she said in a radio interview with 4BC Afternoons. “If you’ve got something idle in your home, and you do think no one else is going to want this, you would be remarkably surprised.”

World’s Biggest Garage Sale has invested in tools and people to repair, restore, and extend the life cycle of items. Products that remain in circulation for at least 20 percent longer helps with carbon neutrality. The group has also partnered with businesses, government entities, and various community groups to create solutions for a sustainable future.

With a goal of achieving a world without waste, the organisation has been hosting periodic events to educate and empower people to make changes as a consumer. The group is also always looking for volunteers to help out on their Morningside site.

“Our lives are a gift and with it, we can make an impact and bring about a better world that we all want to see,” Grigaliunas said. “The alternative is apathy, to not bother – but if you wait for someone else to do something, you will be waiting a long time.”

Follow World’s Biggest Garage Sale’s Facebook Page for more tips and activities on becoming a smarter, wiser consumer with a purpose.

Drones to Catch Hoons to be Deployed Following Gateway Bridge Incident in Murrarie

Traffic cops have long witnessed hooning on the Gateway Bridge. This dangerous escapade on the bridge linking Murrarie and Eagle Farm will soon be contained with the help of a fleet of hi-tech, airborne surveillance drones.

In its bid to reinforce and strengthen its crackdown on hooning activities, the Queensland Police Services (QPS) has invested in covert drones to catch more offenders on the road. Officers are currently under training to learn how to become drone pilots as the agency increases its crime-fighting tools.

In Gold Coast, drones have been a successful part of Operation Tango Vinyl, which has led to the arrest of 99 individuals who were charged for dangerous driving. More than 20 vehicles were also seized whilst 400 people were issued infringement notices.

Highlights

Queensland Police Services is preparing to launch a fleet of drones to tackle hooning across the region.
Officers have been undergoing training to become drone pilots.
Drones have been effective in Gold Coast, where the QPS conducted Operation Tango Vinyl, which led to the arrest of 99 offenders.

Meanwhile, a QPS spokesperson said that video of the hooning incident in Gateway Bridge led to the arrest of motorists who were also charged for not wearing a seatbelt and for driving under the influence of alcohol.

The cops are also investigating a lead into another vehicle that dangerously drove on the bridge. Its hooning video has gone viral on social media.

@hootr7
##infamous ##skids ##brisbane ##gateway ##FTP
♬ original sound – rarehoot

“These changes will provide police with enhanced flexibility when dealing with gatherings of hoons,” Police Minister Mark Ryan following the announcement of the QPS’ investment in these drones.

“For example, if dozens of cars were hooning in a particular location, police would be able to use these new hi-tech cameras to capture images of all the vehicles. The high-resolution images would allow police to identify each vehicle, and then proceed to take action against the registered owner unless the owner could demonstrate they weren’t driving at the time.

“The expanded laws would apply to a greater range of traffic offences caught on camera. An offender would no longer be able to avoid prosecution by simply masking their identities and denying they had been behind the wheel.

“There’s no apology for targeting these reckless drivers.”

Morningside Bush Dance Club Reactivates Monthly Saturday Dances

“It takes more than a pandemic to kill dancing!” the enthusiastic members of the Morningside Bush Dance Club said as they announced the return of their monthly Saturday dances.

After sidelining and shelving their dancing shoes for most of 2020 due to the pandemic, the members are happy to return for the monthly dance classes and experience an afternoon of fun and fitness for the locals.

Happening from June to November 2021, the Saturday dance classes allow participants to have a ball and recharge their life. It’s also a chance for members of the community to catch up and socialise with each other — even just once a month!

“It’s fun and a good way to get out and meet people, that doesn’t cost the earth,” one member said.

“It’s where I met my wife,” Les, one of the dancers, said.

Boosted by a live band to make dancing even more fun, this year’s Morningside Bush Dance Club classes will be held every fourth Saturday of the month or on the following dates:

24 July
28 August
25 September
23 October
27 November

The venue is at the Morningside School of Arts on the corner of Wynnum & Thynne Roads. Doors to the school will open promptly at 1:30 p.m. but the classes will run from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. with some light afternoon snacks.

But this event is also an informative exercise as participants could also learn about the heritage of Australia and the origins of Colonial dances that have evolved into modern-day bush dancing.

“Dancing will never do any harm to the world, so come and dance up a storm,” said the organisers Vic and Jan.

Tickets go for $10 each but children below 12 can join for free.

“Though the organisation is not a business, there is a modest charge to cover the cost of renting the hall and afternoon tea.”

To join, contact Jan or Vic on 34117679 or email colonialdance@optusnet.com.au. Check out this website for some great photos of events through the years.

Kerry Foods Murarrie to More Open Jobs for New Food & Technology Centre

More job opportunities will soon open up at global food brand Kerry Foods as it plans to create a new food and technology centre at its Murarrie facility.

The Irish company is expected to hire some 55 new workers, who will join the current 190 employees at the east Brisbane site. Kerry Foods is also moving its Australia and New Zealand headquarters from Sydney to Brisbane in a bid to ramp up its presence in this region. However, the Sydney facility will still be retained as a research and development hub.

Kerry Australia and New Zealand General Manager Christine Giuliano said that the new food and technology centre will be in line with the company’s goals to innovate and create more value for the benefit of their millions of consumers.

The Murrarie team is expected to work with the company’s expansive R & D networks around the world and provide local suppliers access to global industries to “ultimately deliver exciting products that resonate with the local market.”

Along with generating new products, the Murrarie facility will also help cut down the time it takes to bring the products to the customers in Australia, where the grocery sector is the largest manufacturing sector with a $50 billion annual turnover.

Ms Guiliano also said that they will create an employment program for Queensland graduates in partnership with universities.

“We are committed to investing in local talent and developing the next generation of Australian food scientists. Considering Queensland’s alignment with Kerry’s growth strategies, we are looking forward to supporting a strong, sustainable and critical food and beverage manufacturing sector in the region,” the general manager’s statement read.

Kerry Foods increased its investment in Queensland because of the state government’s Advance Queensland Industry Attraction Fund.

Artistic Morningside 30-Year-Old Goes Back to School with NDIS Support

Despite being a serious mental health disorder, schizophrenia hasn’t stopped an artistic Morningside local from going back to university, thanks to the support of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Nathan Coyne, 30, has recently re-enrolled at a university where he’s taking two art classes and a photography class under the school’s Art from the Margins program. But before he could return to school, he had some help and preparation from NDIS.

As someone who has schizophrenia, Nathan needs to regularly visit a community garden for his mental health and fitness. These visits, as guided by an NDIS support staff, are a significant aspect of Nathan’s his social behaviour improvement.

With improved social behaviour, Nathan has been able to join group activities with other NDIS participants, such as art gallery visits, cooking and gardening, or even a quick trip to the circus. He’s also able to secure a job three days a week with the Australian Disability Enterprise.

By doing these activities and forging a routine, Nathan has built his confidence to enrol at the university for one term.

Nathan received assistance to apply for and implement his NDIS funding from Carers Queensland’s NDIS Local Area Coordination Partner in the Community Program for the Brisbane region.

His mum, Elisabeth, said that having dedicated support from the NDIS has made a huge difference in their lives.

“I can go to work and know he has a support worker coming to visit to take him out or just do something with him in the garden,” Elisabeth said. “He has been able to do things that we would not have had time for, which gives him something to look forward to; to have access to different people he has to talk to, to build his social skills.”

“With the NDIS it was the first time that the family was recognised as part of the journey; it is more about what we as a team was setting up, as opposed to just being about Nathan.”

To learn more about NDIS support or to apply for funding, contact Carers Queensland on 1300 999 636, or cq.enquiries@ndis.gov.au

Morningside VR Startup ‘Next World’ Creates New Engineer Training Programs

Did you know that Next World, an Australian virtual reality (VR) startup company based in Morningside, has partnered with an American university to train future engineers?

Next World Enterprises, which currently consists of only 15 members, are planning to double their numbers and move into a larger office by the end of the year. The company is steadily growing and taking more opportunities — one of which is signing a contract with the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) in the United States of America.

The startup specialises in creating VR training modules which helps outfit workers and employees with the skills and know-how necessary to function in their respective fields in a range of scenarios without actually putting them at risk.

Such examples include VR training on how to handle dangerous materials and products, working at heights, as well as other safety procedures that should be trialed and tested in safe and controlled environments.

UDC’s latest course, dubbed Critical Infrastructure, was the result of a collaboration between the university and New World. The course was created as part of the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better economic and infrastructure mandate, aiming to address issues in infrastructure in the United States.

Through the course, Next World will use its VR software to teach future generations of engineers the necessary safety procedures and standards needed to build bridges, highways, roads, and other aspects of infrastructure.

The Next World Enterprises office can be found at 5/525 Lytton Rd, Morningside. For more information, visit their website here. Follow their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates and announcements concerning virtual reality training and upcoming projects.

Low n Slow Meat Co to Open New Morningside Butcher Shop

Did you know that the popular Low n Slow Meat Co restaurant and specialty barbeque butcher shop is opening an all-new branch in Morningside?

Low n Slow Meat Co, a specialty butcher and restaurant founded and owned by Brent and Amy Poulter, is set to open up their first branch in Morningside sometime in mid-May. The company supplies a wide group of businesses such as the equally popular Getta Burger chain, a series of restaurants which the Poulters also own, with meat and other food products.

The specialty butcher, with roots in Tingalpa where its headquarters are located, is set to open an all-new outlet in Morningside. Low n Slow Meat Co provides its customers with a range of meat and barbeque-related goods such as barbeque gear, accessories, fuel, rubs and sauces, as well as a selection of cooked meats and complementary dishes like ribs, brisket, and roasted vegetables.

Photo credit: Instagram/Low N Slow Meat Co

After refurbishing and transforming an old 100-year-old farm building into a new 800-square-metre warehouse and facility fashioned from timber, glass, and steel, the Poulters have decided to stake their claim to set up a back-of-house butcher and smokehouse in Morningside.

One of the primary reasons the duo decided to open up shop in the suburb was to bring in the crowd from Tingalpa and help populate the new precinct, filling it with life and activity as the local community flocks to sample the dine-in menu popular with their Tingalpa customers.

Low n Slow Meat Co Morningside is expected to open sometime in mid-May 2021 opposite the upcoming Revel Brewing Co at 82 Colmslie Road. For more information, visit their website here. Follow their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates and announcements concerning the upcoming branch.

Morningside Property to be Leased to 3M Australia for 10 Years

Did you know that a $5.93-million industrial property in Morningside has been purchased by the Irongate Group and will be leased to 3M, to become the American multinational conglomerate’s headquarters in Queensland?

The site, located on 24 Dunhill Crescent, covers 1,016 square metres of space and will also serve as 3M’s last-mile distribution facility. 3M manufactures more than 60,000 office, industrial and medical products.

Construction on the Morningside property is expected to start sometime in November 2021.

3M has agreed on a 10-year lease, which will have a fixed three percent annual escalations. The Morningside property ‘s settlement date is expected to close by mid-May 2021.

“The property is being acquired on an attractive initial yield with a very strong tenant covenant,” a spokesperson said.

The Ironside Group, a property investment and asset management firm, also purchased a 3,250 square metre industrial facility on Mudgee Street in Kingston and has entered into an agreement with Construction Sciences, an engineering firm, for 10 years.

The company spokesperson said in a press statement that it believes in Brisbane’s industrial market. The two new sites are the latest in its acquisitions following its purchase of a facility in Brendale in January 2021 and Pinkeba in March 2021.

Ironside Group’s increasing presence in the industrial market is expected to boost its income and value to 34 percent.

Meanwhile, the planned expansion of 3M will bring in more jobs for Morningside locals and residents of the nearby suburbs.

Will the Junction, Lytton, Colmslie Road Roundabout be Upgraded Soon?

A petition has been submitted asking Council to prioritise an upgrade to the roundabout at Junction, Lytton, and Colmslie Roads as developments in this Morningside precinct continue to raise traffic concerns among locals and cause conflicts among businesses in the area.

Councillor Kara Cook is asking Council to consider setting aside the funds for the Junction, Lytton and Colmslie Road Roundabout upgrades in the 2021-2022 financial year. In a petition via the Council’s platform, which has garnered 594 signatures, Ms Cook said that the designs for this project have been prepared with no funds allocated just yet.

In a Facebook post, Ms Cook said that the Junction, Lytton and Colmslie Road Roundabout upgrade was one of the first issues raised to her when she was elected into office in 2018.

“We know there are detailed designs that have been prepared but we need the money allocated in the budget to do the work,” she wrote. “There has been significant development in the area and increasingly students from Cannon Hill Anglican College are accessing the new service station by foot and as one parent told me “it’s only a matter of time before a child is hit”. The pedestrian access to the site will only increase once Mcdonald’s is open.”

It comes as Australian Country Choice (ACC) filed two lawsuits to push a fitness studio’s opening at the Rivermakers development on Lytton and Colmsie Roads until August 2021.

Photo Credit: Rivermakers Brisbane/Google Maps

TotalFusion Morningside was set to open in December 2020 but with the legal hitches, the establishment had to hold off on its membership applications and let go of the 100 personnel hired for the site. ACC also lodged an appeal to stop Revel Brewing Company from its plans to expand at the same location.

Ms Cook said that this roundabout brings the highest level of traffic, which will continue to increase with more businesses coming to Rivermakers.

Councillor David McLachlan, the Council’s infrastructure chairman, said that funding was allocated for this project in the 2020-2021 budget. Investigation works and other plans for the Junction, Lytton and Colmslie Road Roundabout are part of its “citywide priorities.”

Rising Murrarie Star Eager to Compete in the Paralympics

Patrick O’Brien, a Murrarie swimmer with autism, is well on the way towards a bright future competing in the Paralympics.

Patrick, a 17-year-old with autism and an intellectual disability, swims with Carina Leagues CJ’s Swim Club. He has already won numerous medals throughout his career, competing in the multiclass events from State to National level.

With the aid of his support worker under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, he trains six days a week and enters swimming competitions fortnightly. His journey first began five years ago after attending ‘Learn to Swim’ lessons for the Special Olympics at the age of 12.

“We always wanted him to learn how to swim; he has always loved the water but couldn’t swim,” says Kate Jansons, his mother. “We saw Learn to Swim in Redlands so after a couple of lessons they got him competing. Now he’s on his Paralympics pathway.”

Only three years later and Patrick O’Brien had made it to Nationals, winning three gold medals and one silver medal. During the 2019 World Paralympics trials in Brisbane, he entered the Top 10, and will swim at the Paralympics Trials coming up in Adelaide around June.

Outside of the pool, Patrick receives regular help from his support worker. Much of his hobbies relate to fitness and sporting activities such as athletics and cross-country. “The NDIS has been great at getting him to therapies and into his things, like being able to compete and to keep him safe,” says his mum.

For those interested in learning more about the NDIS, visit their website. Follow their social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for the latest on the services they can provide, as well as any other relevant events, dates, and exciting updates.