Welcome to 2025, which has unfortunately begun with a severe weather event impacting North Queensland. Our thoughts are with everyone affected as we move forward in recovery. During times like these, we are reminded of the resilience of our communities and the strength that comes from coming together to support one another. In this spirit of community, we also extend a warm welcome to the new families of serving veterans who arrived in Townsville last month and hope they feel supported as they settle in. We also had a change in Patron. Brigadier Ben McLennan, as the new Commander of 3rd Brigade, is our new Patron. He has been in Townsville for the last four years and is very familiar with our operations. He is a very strong supporter, and we look forward to working closely with him and his staff.

The Remembrance Path is laid; come for a look. The PM has recognised our employment successes. The Federal Government has accepted the Royal Commission recommendations relating to hub operations funding. The big February event is the next Career Connections Showcase. Banjos will be back. A $200 furniture voucher for new families from Betta Electrical in partnership with the Oasis Townsville and Operation NAVIGATOR to commence Phase 2. Even bigger markets are coming soon, and so much more.

Winning two awards at PM’s National Veteran Employment Awards is a great way to end a very successful year. November was a big month. Phil Thompson, OAM, MP has laid the first paver in our Path of Remembrance. Our “All Things Housing Expo” was a massive success. Our final Townsville ESO Leadership Forum was very productive. Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC) held another successful series of information sessions at Homebase. The last Banjos for 2024 was a ripper with over 100 attending. Next year is looking busy already. Check out the website What’s ON. We’ve got the popular cooking sessions starting early in January. There is considerable excitement building over the Digital Skills Courses commencing in Feb. Get the word out about the next Career Connections Showcase on 26 Feb. Our operating hours for the festive season are up on the website - closed from 17 Dec – 5 Jan. Have a great Christmas shutdown, and travel safely.

First, we have been named finalists in the PM’s Employment Awards for Small Businesses. Operation Navigator is booming thanks to support from commanders. The medical community is seeing the opportunity to support veterans through transition by collaborating with veterans’ and families’ hubs. Last month, 4Regiment made us proud by raising funds for our hub operations in support of veterans and families. We had a most outstanding Trick or Treat Twighlight Market. RSL Queensland supported partners of veterans from Homebase. Cooking was a hit – again! Next month will be the busiest month ever, including laying the first paver for the ‘Path of Remembrance’ and an ‘Everything Housing Expo’. Defence will hold the second Transition Seminar in Townsville for the year at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre. We have Commonwealth Superannuation visiting again to talk about simplifying super. And we’ll host the last ESO Leaders Forum for the year to keep us all on the same page. Our collaboration with the Queensland Government on Our Thriving Digital Future is one to look out for early next year.

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide (RCDVS) saw the value in what the hubs could bring to the veteran community by recommending “Ongoing funding for Veterans’ and Families’ Hubs”. We hope this month all the parties contesting the Queensland Election have read the Final Report and recognise their role in addressing this national disgrace, especially in Australia’s largest garrison city. We’ve had some very encouraging visits including from a few VIPs to the leadership teams of some of the other Hubs. Our Military Advocacy Community of Practice is developing exceptionally well and rapidly. Last month the Combined Modelling and Lego Expo and the 4WD Course were very popular, so we’ll do more. In October, we have the 4 Regiment Gun Push, more cooking with Alliance Rehab, and our now well-established Craft Twighlight Markets. November will be busy too with reps from the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation returning for their quarterly presentations and interviews, the laying of the first paver in our Path of Remembrance, and our inaugural Housing Expo. And did I mention we are expanding our solar, adding batteries and expect to be close to off-grid-soon.

This month is more packed than usual with activities and info sessions. The date for the last Twighlight Markts for the year is set and expressions of interest for stalls are coming in fast. Our sponsoring unit in 3rd Brigade, 4th Regiment, is reviving the famous Gun Push to raise money for The Oasis Townsville. We’ve closed the books on the pavers for the Path of Remembrance and the date to begin laying is set. Our first Education Expo had great representation from the best academic institutions for veterans and partners in NQ. Our Podcast has taken off and the feedback is outstanding. Last month we were very proud to be named as finalist in the Townsville Chamber of Commerce Employer of the Year. Hut 5 now has a name.

Last month’s Career Connections Showcase was the biggest and best yet with over 60 job seekers attending. There were over 1000 participants in activity at Homebase last month, and significantly more if we count drop-ins, info seekers and coffee drinkers, and a few particular popular activities are growing fast. Our Townsville ESO Leadership Collaborative meeting had every ESO singing off the same music sheet. We had a few visitors of note to see first-hand the innovative Homebase model from senior ranks within both DVA and the Queensland Government. The Oasis Townsville has been recognised as a Veteran Employment Supporter and is a finalist in the Employer of the Year category of the Townsville Chamber of Commerce Awards, with the winner to be announced this week. We have announced we will expand operations to include Queensland’s uniformed services personnel and their families, if supported to do so by the Queensland Government. August’s big events include our inaugural Education Expo, the naming of Hut 5 after a very local WWII veteran, and our signature cooking class for veterans young and old. We are also excited about how quickly our Homebase Podcast has taken off. Longer range will be our first adventure into 4WD – start your engines! Finally, we are very pleased to announce that we almost have enough pavers named in honour of our community's loved veterans to construct our Path of Remembrance and expect to commence construction in late September.

Our 3rd Anniversary celebration at Homebase showed how The Oasis Townsville is maturing and has become an important hub in the veteran landscape in Townsville. The Alliance Rehab Cooking class was, as always, a huge success. Coming this month is the next Career Connections Showcase put on by our Veterans Business Alliance, RDA TNWQ and the Queensland Government. The Warhammer Tournaments are growing rapidly in popularity, with another one this month. In the months ahead we are proud to introduce the Townsville Military Advocacy Community of Practice with advocates from ESOs in Townsville conducting a special Walk-up and Information Session in September. We’ll also be hosting our first Study Expo with all the educational institutions represented in the region to answer any question about upskilling. We've found the way veterans and families like to learn is to hear others' stories, so we’ve started our own podcast with the first release this month. We are proud to have been included in the book published by the Royal Commission called Shining a Light: Stories of Trauma and Tragedy, Hope and Healing. The sale of pavers for our Path of Remembrance is going well with planned construction on track.

At the end of this week, we will celebrate three years at Homebase with a Grand Open Evening. Last month, we had a few visits from key leaders in the veteran community and had our own representative at the DVA Female Veterans Forum. We are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming support we received from politicians, local dignitaries and business leaders for the story in the Bulletin last month regarding the savings we generate for the health economy. Our founding VBA members and significant contributors have agreed on a revised model for the Veterans Business Alliance. Operation NAVIGATOR is gathering steam, and we are starting to recognise the real information needs of young soldiers, sailors and aviators on their first posting in the ADF to Townsville. The next two significant events after the Anniversary Open Evening will be our Townsville ESO Leadership Collaborative meeting with some special guests; and our fourth Career Connections Showcase. And did we tell you we will begin our own podcast series soon?

It was another successful night at the Twilight Markets in April despite Strand Markets changing their date. The Alliance Rehab cooking classes are also well supported and RSL Townsville Banjo Breaky Gatherings still see over 100 participants each fortnight. A gathering of the ESO community at Homebase identified 12 big issues for us all to work together on for our veteran community. We are grateful to the Cowboys for sponsoring our participation in the ANZAC Day Match ‘Toyota Hilux Torpedo’ for which we received a generous donation. An evaluation, driven by an Australian Government-funded international longitudinal study by Melbourne University, reveals The Oasis Townsville saved the health economy over $2.5mil over the last six months. Two big events coming up are our annual Open Day which this year will be an Open Night. And our second for the year Career Connections Showcase in July.

Operation NAVIGATOR kicked off in February for Block 1. NAV Sessions included sufficient income, meaningful work, and good physical and mental health; most were connections activities, too, win-win. We’ve signed an MOU with Australian Catholic University and an agreement for ACU to evaluate NAVIGATOR. Two ladies represented us superbly at the Veterans’ Families Forum in Brisbane. We have our first Twilight Markets this month, on 12 April. Soon after, we host the first Townsville ESOs Collaborative Forum to nail down the biggest issues for the veteran wellbeing ecosystem in our region. This month, we also have a two-day Story Telling Workshop. All this is building to our annual Open Day - although it will be an ‘Open Night’ this time, given the success of our evening activities in the heat. Fortunately, our new coffee machine has just turned up to enable us to increase production during busy periods. Registrations have already begun for our veterans (both serving and ex-serving) to attend our next increasingly popular Career Connections Showcase in July.

Our Career Connections Showcase last month was the best yet. More of the very popular Alliance Rehabilitation Cooling Classes will come after last month's fully booked class. We had a slight hiccup on the Leisure Expo so had to postpone, but its coming. Operation NAVIGATOR Solid Foundations Workshop has commenced with a fantastic story. It was good to see Defence consulting serving and ex-serving veterans and families on their recent tour to Townsville for the Defence and Veteran Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy Roadshow. Our NAV Sessions are ramping up - do you want an easy way to learn something you should know, and for partners too? The Exposure Draft is out for the proposed legislation, and we have begun actively collecting your thoughts. Coming up in the weeks ahead is the first Twilight Market for the year, a Townsville Hike and Explore Session, and a free Pilates offer by a Townsville business.

Welcome back to 2024 at The Oasis Townsville. Homebase survived TC Kirrily, and we are well and truly back in business. We have a very busy year lined up supporting our connections program, referring clients to the best veteran-supportive services and programs in Townsville and helping everyone plan their future. Banjos and Coffee starts again this Friday 9 Feb and continues every off-pay Friday throughout the year, proudly sponsored by RSL Townsville. We have our third Career Connections Showcase on 21 Feb, and our Veterans Business Alliance members will present to any serving or ex-serving veteran or partner keen to find a second career. Watch out for our first Leisure Expo on 2 March that will take up the entire Homebase. We are also continuing the highly sought-after cooking classes by our partner Alliance Rehabilitation. The newly formed Health and Wellbeing Branch in Defence will be at Homebase on 12 Feb at 1730h to brief serving veterans and partners (and of course any ex-serving veterans and partners too) on the developing Defence and Veteran Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. We have done a complete review of what impact and outcome measures we were collecting to be sure the answers were helping make us better. We’ve had many ESOs in Townsville over the last six months express an enthusiasm to get together and ensure we are all working together – watch this space. Oh... and we have belly dancing starting too – check out What’s ON.