PORT MACQUARIE/HASTINGS NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2018 Website:

Transcription

1 PORT MACQUARIE/HASTINGS NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2018 Website: President: Joan Lundstrom Committee Members: Vice President: Nicola Herbert John Banks Treasurer: Erica De Carlo Sandra Banks Secretary: Lynda Walters Lee Brown Public Officer: Erica De Carlo Ian Richardson Judith Clegg NEXT MEETING: 11 th DECEMBER ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY As is traditional our last meeting for the year will be celebrated with our Annual Christmas Party which will be held at the Port City Bowling Club on 11 th December 2018 commencing at 12.00pm. So dress up in your best Christmas costumes and come and join us for this special Christmas function. PRESIDENT S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE As your new President I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year. National Seniors is full of fun, with vibrant and active members who make it a joy for our committee to organise interesting meetings and fun social outings. I believe our Christmas party this year with a record of over 60 people attending is testament to that. Next year promises to be even better with great guest speakers already organised and fun activities starting with our breakfast at McInherney Park in January I want to take the opportunity to thank my hard working committee and all those members who have contributed to the successful running of our meetings and outings. So enjoy the Christmas Spirit and precious time with your family and friends over the Christmas and New Year period. Joan Lundstrom. President.

2 MINI GOLF PRESENTATION At our last meeting in November 2018, Joan presented the special Trophy to the winning team members of the mini golf challenge, who were Brian, Marlene, Graeme, and Lynda, congratulations to everyone. As special recognition to all the participants who scored a Hole in one, a Certificate of Achievement was presented. Well done to all these clever golfers. EVENING PICNIC AND OBSERVATORY VISIT A planned evening picnic and visit to the Observatory at Rotary Park on Wednesday 28th November 2018 was regretfully cancelled due to torrential rain and high winds. Hopefully we can reschedule this event in the New Year when the weather is more stable.

3 NATIONAL SENIORS 2019 TRIP AWAY. Your intrepid National Seniors tour planners John Urquhart and Mal Brown are developing our annual trip away for Expressions of interest are now being sought. We are going to Canberra in early April and we will be away for 5 nights (6 days). Included in our tour will be an overnight stop in Bowral where we will visit the International Cricket Hall of Fame. Our second day will be Murrumbateman, about 30 minutes from Canberra where we will visit Canberra s best wineries and sample some of the best cool climate wines in Australia. Day 3 will involve visits to the War Memorial and the Tulip Gardens. On day 4 we will visit some of the following; the Old Parliament House, the National Library, the new Parliament House and Questacon Science Centre. Day 5 we will explore Trove Canberra (an Australian made art and jewellery centre) and other local sites such as Lake Burleigh Griffin before travelling to south western Sydney. Day 6 we will tour the Mt Annan Australian Botanic Gardens before travelling home. Some interesting restaurants and clubs will be included in the itinerary, such as the Hellenic Club in Canberra. Deals are still under negotiation but at this stage cost per person will be approximately $800. (Based on share room, share petrol, meals and entry fees; alcohol not included). Carpooling is encouraged. Please indicate your preliminary interest by registering with Erica at either the Xmas Party or at our February meeting. Confirmed numbers will be required at our March meeting. A great time is assured. ************************************************************************

4 FRANKING CREDITS Federal Labor has proposed to stop cash refunds for franking credits. When this policy was announced in March 2018, it would have affected any retiree relying on franking credits to support their income in retirement. National Seniors played a major role in condemning the policy. It would have hit retirees hard, especially pensioners and low-income self-funded retirees. Labor quickly moved to change the policy under pressure from National Seniors and others by introducing a pensioner guarantee. Collectively, 300,000 pensioners would have lost $3.3billion over ten years. Age Pension recipients, non-aged pensioners (carers, disability support pensioners, the unemployed and those on parenting payments) and SMSFs with at least one pensioner or allowance recipient (before March 28) will now continue to be able to receive cash payments for franking credits if Labor wins government and adopts this policy. Unfortunately, Labor s policy continues to impact on vast numbers of self-funded retirees who have who worked and saved hard under the existing tax rules to self-fund their retirement. Because the majority of self-funded retirees own shares hundreds of thousands will be affected. The policy has the potential to hurt many ordinary Australians and not just the wealthiest as Labor has claimed. In some instances, low-income self-funded retirees will be worse off financially than those receiving a part-pension. Unlike Labor s negative gearing policy, there are no plans to grandfather this change. This means that seniors who, in good faith, have planned for their retirement under existing rules will not be spared. National Seniors have joined with several other groups to form the Alliance for a Fairer Retirement System to boost our advocacy efforts to improve the retirement income system. NSA Connect Issue.

5 I HATE IT WHEN I SEE AN OLD PERSON AND THEN REALISE THAT WE WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL TOGETHER. DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Every Day Morning Cruise 10.00am Port Jet Cruise Adventures Office 1 Short St. PM. Every Day Eco Cruise 1.00pm Port Jet Cruise Adventures Office 1 Short St. PM Every Day Sunset Cruise 6.00pm Port Jet Cruise Adventures Office 1 Short St.PM Every Day- Daily Dolphin Cruises am and 2.30pm Cruise Terminal Clarence St. Every Sunday Jimmy s Vinyl Sunday Sessions From 2pm The Westport Club. Every Wednesday & Sunday Open Nights. The Astronomical Society pm both nights Trivia Nights: Every Tuesday at Hibbard Sports Club 7.00pm. Every Tuesday at Westport Club 6.30pm. Every Wednesday at Settlers Inn 7.00pm. Every Wednesday at Port City Bowling Club 7.30pm. Every Thursday at Panthers 6.30pm.

6 REGULAR MARKETS. Every Tuesday Real Food Local Produce Markets. Port Central Forecourt, Time 3pm to 6pm. Every Thursday Kendall Bazaar and The Meeting Place 9am -12pm. Kendall Community Centre. Every Saturday- Flower & Plant Market. The Botanic Merchant. 9.30am to 1.30pm. Bellbowrie St. Every Saturday Twilight Food Market 5.00pm to 9.00pm Town Beach Park. PM Every Sunday- Port Macquarie Art Society Market Bazaar. Hamilton House 198 Hastings River Drive. Time 8am to 1pm. Second Saturday: The Foreshore Market - 8:00am to 1:00pm. (Port Macquarie Hastings Farmers & Artists) Westport Park, Corner Buller and Park Streets, Port Macquarie. Third Sunday Laurieton. Laurieton Riverwalk Market 8:00am to 1:00pm Corner Tunis and Short Streets, Fourth Saturday Wauchope Farmers Markets 8:00am to12:00pm Wauchope Showground, High St. Wauchope. Fourth Sunday The Artists Markets 9am 1.00pm. Maritime Museum 8 William St. Port Mac. 14 th December Port s Biggest Christmas Party. 5.30pm Port Macquarie Panthers. 14 th December Wauchope & Community Christmas Carols. 5.30pm Bain Park Wauchope. 15 th December Party Mega Mix and Buffet. 7.00pm Cruise Terminal Clarence Street PM. 18 th December Seniors and Retirees Big Day out- Entertainment and Buffet Meal am Cruise Terminal Clarence Street. PM ***************** If you know of any member who may be unwell, please let anyone on the Committee know. It is important that we offer support if one of our members is unwell and let them know we are thinking of them. If anyone is in need of a helping hand to do a small job, again, let a Committee member know. We can also arrange for transport to and from meetings if anyone is unable to make their own arrangements. And if anyone is celebrating a big "0" birthday - again, please let a Committee member know. We are now accepting advertisements for the February 2019 Newsletter. Anyone interested should send their advert to sandybanks@bigpond.com the cost is $5 for 40 words and $10 if accompanied by a photograph. This cost covers one issue only. **************** WISHING ALL OUR MEMBERS A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.