Little Snappers SwimSmart
IT was great to spend a morning earlier this month at Little Snappers Swim School at Berrinba to announce a funding boost of $5 million towards the Queensland Government’s SwimStart program.
People in Woodridge are like everyone in Queensland, we love the water, whether it be the pool, the surf, river or creek.
That’s why it is so important our children learn to swim.
SwimStart is designed to improve water safety for children up to the age of four, while helping to ease cost-of-living pressures for eligible families.
The program delivers vouchers valued up to $150 per child for swimming lessons.
There is a limit of one voucher per child per financial year.
SwimStart vouchers can be redeemed with close to 180 registered activity providers across the state.
I also know Woodridge families are feeling the pinch from the national cost of living pressures.
Our government doesn’t want those pressures to mean Woodridge children aren’t getting the swimming lessons they need.
That’s why we more than doubling the funding for the SwimStart program to $9.76 million over two years.
It’s also why in 2024 I have announced freezing car registration, freezing public transport fares and delivering free kindy.
This comes on top of the biggest cost of living relief package of any territory or state government including $1.5 billion we are spending on electricity rebates.
Little Snappers Swim School Director Mai Dalle Cort said the SwimStart vouchers were having a real impact in Woodridge.
“Because of the program, more families are now able to access lessons, with close to 15 per cent of our client base using SwimStart vouchers,” she said.
“SwimStart has also enabled families to include siblings, where previously they have had to choose which child could have lessons because of household financial constraints.”
Students in primary schools will continue to receive swimming lessons as part of the Water Safety and Swimming Education program.
Swimming squad training and coaching with registered not-for-profit providers continues to be available through the Queensland Government’s FairPlay Program for eligible 5 to 17-year-olds.
In exciting news applications for Round 10 FairPlay Vouchers opened on January 24.
Students in primary schools will continue to receive swimming lessons as part of the Water Safety and Swimming Education program.
Swimming squad training and coaching with registered not-for-profit providers continues to be available through the Queensland Government’s FairPlay Program for eligible 5 to 17-year-olds.
Police Beat boost
Across Logan there have been more police on the beat focusing on preventing, disrupting and investigating youth crime through community engagement and extreme high visibility patrols in intelligence driven hotspot locations.
The boosted patrols are coordinated in addition to day-to-day policing operations and enable officers to walk through shopping precincts, deploy to hot spot areas, conduct bail checks and engage with young people.
The boots-on-the-ground style operation is also allowing more opportunities for police and PLOs to engage with young people.
Patrols have largely involved a dedicated police presence using marked vehicles and foot patrols in hot spots such as shopping centres, business, retail and restaurant precincts, service stations and other public places.
These extreme high visibility patrols are making a real difference in local communities by helping to disrupt and prevent crime, while also supporting community confidence.
The government’s investment in this ‘boots on the ground’ approach means people are seeing even more police out and about in the community even more often.
Since March 2023, Operation Victor Whiskey Unison has charged more than 940 adult offenders on 1399 charges.
More than 490 juveniles have been charged on 888 charges.
Police have conducted 8870 street checks including 5964 adults and 2906 juveniles.
They have also conducted 1898 crime hotspot patrols, 2950 RBTs and 1664 wandings where they located 30 weapons.
In its most recent deployment to Logan, Taskforce Guardian charged 16 people on 66 offences, including 15 young people on 61 charges.
It was also pleasing to see the success of the R.E.A.P. the Rewards program as highlighted by journalist Chris Manning in last week’s My City Logan.
The touch football program targeting youth offenders has seen more than 50 per cent of its participants get back on the straight and narrow.
The program has only been in operation for eight months and it has expanded from an eight-week trial to 20-week program.
Waitangi Day
AUSTRALIA Day is done for another year, but another important milestone is coming up for many people in the Logan Community, Waitangi Day on February 6.
Australia has no equivalent of Waitangi Day.
Because in the 235 years since European settlement, we have not been able to come close to the Treaty of 1840.
And Australia is the poorer for that.
It’s why the Queensland Government has started the Path to Treaty process.
It’s why we have established a $300 million Path to Treaty Fund in Queensland, to ensure there is funding certainty for the necessary costs that the journey towards Treaty will incur.
We have seen the Opposition Leader throw his support behind Queensland’s Path to Treaty and then backflip, saying if elected he would scrap it.
That is a shame for every Queenslander, and a shame he doesn’t understand how important Treaty is, unlike those in Logan who celebrate Waitangi Day.
The Waitangi at Twilight is an important event for the local community, and I have seen that first hand.
It’s why the Queensland Government was delighted to give the organisers a $10,000 grant through the Celebrating Multicultural Queensland Program to run this year’s event.
Also, I would like to thank the Bendigo Community Bank Logan which donated $7,500 for the important event.
