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North Lakes author, M.J.T. Meijer, will have three series published by a US and UK based publishing house.

Having signed a traditional publishing contract with Crimson Cloak a little over a year ago, Meijer’s first thriller in the first series, Disbelief, is about to hit the world market. The official launch was held at the North Lakes Hotel on the 22nd June.

Disbelief, the first in the ‘Ben Smit’ series, will be closely followed by Disregard, to be published in November of this year, followed by Disorder. The ‘Sam Jansen’ series is of the same, fast-paced and thrilling genre with titles including Misguided and Misjudged, while the third is a humorously lighthearted, cozy crime series: ‘Mum’s the Word’, which includes A Spade, and A Bottle of Port.

With seven finished books under her belt, all of which are under contract for publication by Crimson Cloak, including any future books she writes in those series, Meijer can look forward to at least three more years of book releases.

A proud Australian citizen today, Meijer was born and raised in the Netherlands, and relocated to Dubai before moving to North Lakes ten years ago. Struggling with the task to requalify to continue her hypnotherapy career in Australia, she decided to take a year’s leave to write the book she’s always wanted to read and discovered a  passion for writing.

In November 2016, Meijer submitted her short story Perception to an online magazine’s annual competition open to writers from all Commonwealth countries. After the judges reviewed the thousands of entries, her work was shortlisted for inclusion in an anthology and Meijer gained the confidence to submit her finished manuscripts to publishers, ultimately resulting in the three-series contract with Crimson Cloak Publishing.

Meijer’s short story, Skydogs, inspired by her visit to a remote mining community in Australia, has also found a place with Crimson Cloak in Equine Adventures, an anthology that contains stories donated by authors and of which the proceeds are  donated to charity.

A passionate author, Meijer co-facilitates a monthly writers group that meet in the North Lakes library every first Saturday of the month and plans to write for many years to come.
To purchase the book, visit – www.crimsoncloakpublishing.com/mjt-meijer.html

Residents to benefit from increased safety and security when exploring the Redcliffe Peninsula shared pathway thanks to the Safer Communities Fund.

The Federal Member for Dickson Peter Dutton and the Federal Member for Petrie Luke Howarth announced $1 million for the Moreton Bay Regional Council to install CCTV along the 12.3 kilometre shared path from Kippa-Ring to Petrie.

The funding will provide for the installation of CCTV to boost security for residents who wish to ride or walk along the shared path providing access to the local retail and visitor hubs such as Petrie, North Lakes and the Redcliffe Peninsula.

Federal Member for Dickson Peter Dutton said it ensures that people could get active with the added comfort that measures were in place to keep them safe. CCTV will discourage anti- social behaviour and allow people to enjoy the local surrounds.

“These grants are important as it ensures that community organisations or local councils are able to upgrade security that benefits the wider community,” Mr Dutton said.

Federal Member for Petrie Luke Howarth said he was proud to be able deliver CCTV cameras for the local community.

“I believe every person has the right to feel safe and protected. As a husband and father of three I want everyone in our community to feel safe when they are walking to and from, home, school or work.”

“These cameras will serve as a deterrent to crime and offer more security to locals who use these walkways. These are important projects for our electorates,” Mr Howarth said.

Round three of The Safer Communities Fund was announced recently in the 2018 Budget and applications will be open in mid 2018.

The Safer Communities Fund is the Turnbull Government’s crime prevention program that provides grants of up to $1 million to community organisations and local governments for infrastructure that prevents crime and increases security.

Calling local community groups to put forward projects under the Dignity First Fund, to help homeless people in our community.

Chris Whiting wants to see ideas for projects that will meet the immediate need of homeless Queenslanders, and to help them reconnect and engage with the community.

“The $2.5 million Dignity First Fund is designed to support practical projects that can make a difference in preventing or reducing homelessness, and assist people to live with dignity,” Mr Whiting said.

“Everyone deserves somewhere safe and secure to live, which is why we are 8 new apartments in Deception Bay, due to come online shortly,”

“There are many actions we can take to make being homeless a little less uncomfortable, and help people to develop social and community connections,” Mr Whiting said.

Chris Whiting said that he is keen to see applications that support the widest range of people.

The first two rounds of the Dignity First Fund have supported 53 projects across Queensland, including the Jack Reed Barbershop locally.

Other projects supported by the fund include mobile laundry and shower facilities, vending machines that provide free sanitary items and driver training programs.

Applications for the Dignity First Fund 2018 opened on 21 June and will close on 17 August.

For more information and to log an application visit www.how.qld.gov.au/DignityFirst

The Lakes College has finished the first drama festival of the season at Redcliffe Mousetrap Theatre.

This year, the College had two teams take part, Grades 7-12, Eyes to the Floor, along with the senior extension team, Imminence. All students that took part did an incredible job.

The two teams both competed in the youth section and received the following awards:

1. Imminence received 2nd
2. Eyes to the Floor received 3rd
3. Imminence received adjudicators choice
4. Opal Francis received Best female actor in the youth division
5. Clara Alekson ( Teacher) received best director for the youth division
6. Premiers Cup is awarded to any play or person in the festival within any section (junior, open or youth) that provides the biggest contribution to the festival. This was awarded to Eyes to the Floor for the cast choreography, directing and the Australian history it brought to the stage.

The Lakes College students worked really hard in their preparation leading up and during the Drama festival. The College is so very proud of the students. For the students to do so well is a great honour bestowed upon them.

Moreton Bay’s show holiday for 2018 is Monday, August 13.

During the public holiday, kerbside waste collections will continue as normal, however council’s customer service centres and libraries will be closed.

To coincide with the 2018 holiday, the annual Caboolture Family Fun Day sponsored by council will offer free rides, activities and stage shows at Centenary Lakes from 10am to 4pm. For more information visit www.visitmoretonbayregion.com.au

Monday, August 12 will be Moreton Bay’s public holiday for the Royal Queensland Show in 2019.

The 2019 Ekka People’s Day public holiday on Wednesday, August 14 is for residents and businesses in the Brisbane City Council area only and will be a normal business day in the Moreton Bay Regional Council area.

The next step in the modernisation of the public transport ticketing system is nearly here for Queenslanders!

Local commuters using buses and the Redcliffe and Caboolture rail lines can soon use their smart phones and smart watches to pay for trips.

“go card has served South-East Queensland commuters well for the last decade, but we are now delivering a new payment system with more flexibility, increased accessibility and security,” said Chris Whiting MP.

“Having a more convenient payment system will also encourage more people to use public transport.

“Commuters will be able to set up an account via a new app or web platform and have the choice of several payment methods — including go card and paper tickets.

“They will also be able to use major contactless credit and bank cards without the need to set up an account.

“This is about embracing technologies that have become available since the go card launched in 2008.

“It took a Labor Government to modernise and integrate ticketing across South East Queensland, and the Palaszczuk Labor Government will now again transform the system by delivering this new ticketing solution,” said Chris Whiting.

Chris Whiting said the new system would be an Australian first, building on proven technology used by millions of people in London, Chicago and Vancouver.

Current go card operator Cubic will deliver the new system in 18 regional areas and the metropolitan south east.

The new system would also include additional encrypted bank grade security and privacy protection for commuters.

The industry-leading koala monitoring program at The Mill at Moreton Bay has been extended.

Moreton Bay Regional Council Lifestyle and Amenity Spokesperson Councillor Denise Sims announced The Mill koala monitoring program would move into phase three, after the first two phases of the program saw more than 50 koalas tagged and monitored together with 15 joeys.

Specialist koala experts Endeavour Veterinary Ecology (EVE) will continue their work on-site with council for another two years and tag, track and provide health checks for the local koala population.

“Thanks to the efforts of EVE, local groups and council’s environment officers, 71 koalas and joeys are being monitored at The Mill and have received all-important check-ups and treatment,” Cr Sims said.

“This next phase will ensure local koalas will be well looked after while construction occurs so they can flourish in the 92-hectares of habitable reserve guaranteed to be delivered as part of The Mill project.

“Dr [Jon] Hanger and his team have worked closely with council and local authorities to tackle challenges like wild and domestic dogs, disease and weeds, not only on this project, but on a number of other game-changing initiatives including the construction of Redcliffe Peninsula Line.

“Together with our management plan for the site, which will see more than 46,500 koala trees planted, today’s announcement demonstrates council and our community’s commitment to the local koalas population.

“Through this program and the key actions of our koala management plan, council, EVE and local groups are working to make sure the 71 koalas will thrive for years to come.”

EVE’s Dr Jon Hanger said The Mill’s koala population had made huge strides since monitoring began.

“In fact, what we’re seeing is the koala population at The Mill site is healthier and reproducing at a greater rate than other urban koala populations in South-East Queensland,” Dr Hanger said.

“We’ve made great progress so far, and it’s important we don’t take our foot off the pedal.”

Learn more about Endeavour Veterinary Ecology here.

Moreton Bay Regional Council has announced one of the first smart technologies to be delivered at The Mill at Moreton Bay: a smart lighting and city network system.

Council today awarded a $970,000 tender at its coordination committee meeting for the rollout of smart lighting and smart city network technology services at The Mill at Moreton Bay, Petrie.

Anchored by the new USC Moreton Bay campus, The Mill at Moreton Bay PDA will deliver a world-class innovation and knowledge precinct adjacent to Petrie train station, and is expected to support 6,000 jobs, 10,000 university placements and $950 million in economic activity by 2036.

Innovation Spokesperson Councillor Darren Grimwade said the smart technology would include road, street, park, open space and other public lighting solutions with the ability to deliver and complement other services like wi-fi, smart parking sensors, CCTV and electric vehicle (EV) charging ports.

“Today’s announcement will deliver approximately 40 street and public area lights in the first stage of The Mill development and additional lighting as future stages progress,” Cr Grimwade said.

“Smart street lighting networks are considered foundational technology to supporting other smart city initiatives, and The Mill’s network will have the capability to host other innovative services such as wi-fi, smart parking sensors, CCTV and EV charging.

Division 7 Councillor Denise Sims said with the ability to be controlled remotely based on weather conditions, or dim and brighten automatically via motion detectors, the software-controlled smart street lighting would reduce the overall electrical demand for the site and also improve community safety.

“Providing council with real-time communication of the lightings’ performance, this technology will also help to improve maintenance processes,” Cr Sims said.

Cr Grimwade said the smart lighting technology could also be rolled out across the region on new projects and upgrades once council develops its planning and policy framework for the use of the technology.

“The Mill will feature Queensland’s first new university campus in over two decades and will act as ground zero when it comes to government, business and industry implementing innovative technologies in the region,” Cr Grimwade said.

“Deploying the technology at The Mill first will show us what systems are available and what will work best elsewhere across the region.

“As a council and community we’ve made great strides in implementing innovative technologies, from the five-star green-star Corso at North Lakes to open data systems, and today’s announcement marks the next step in creating a smart region.”

Moreton District police have recently identified an increase in burglars targeting retirement villages and unit complexes.

Most of the facilities have an onsite manager or a body corporate. It is helpful to give your after-hours key holder information to police. Any information provided by key holders remains confidential.

Here are some safety tips for people who are living in multi-residential facilities:
– Know your neighbours – it helps to be aware of each other’s habits.
– Report any suspicious behaviour, such as persons loitering at entry/exits of the facilities.
– Visitor access is commonly used through an intercom system. This is an invaluable tool as the occupants can control who enters the facility. If you do not know the person entering, refer them to the manager’s office.
– Communal areas should always have doors closed if no one is in attendance. Do not prop open doors and do not lend keys to anyone.
– Elevators and access to levels should be regulated by the manager. Occupants should have access to their level, laundry, communal area, carpark and ground floor.
– Have a deadlock on your front door. Always key lock and minimise who has a duplicate of your keys to your unit.
– Balconies need to be locked and secure. Do not have wheelie bins directly under your balcony for easy access.
– Ensure lighting is illuminating the entry, exit, fire exits, stairwells and other vulnerable areas.
– Be mindful of heavy vegetation, shrubs and hedges. A maximum of 1 metre high is encouraged so it is hard for offenders to hide behind them. Maintain good vision around the grounds.
– Garage and vehicle security is a vulnerable area. If entry is gained by an offender the whole building is at risk. Always ensure the garage or gate closes behind you; lock your vehicle.

More information in multi–residential security