Mr Neumann said the successful grants would be those which demonstrate a commitment to honouring Australia’s wartime history, including public ceremonies, memorials and plaques.

“Community events and memorials are vital in ensuring that we continue to remember the role service men and women from Ipswich and the Somerset Region had in Australia’s wartime efforts.” 

Mr Neumann has established a Community Consultation Committee to assist in determining how to distribute the funds to schools, RSLs and local groups in Ipswich and the Somerset Region. 

The Committee is made up of members of the Blair community who each have unique and extensive experience in Veterans’ Affairs. 

Committee members have volunteered their time to ensure that the grants are allocated to local initiatives which will best commemorate peacetime, and the region’s wartime history. 

All eligible not-for-profit organisations, schools and RSLs in Ipswich and the Somerset Region who want to contribute to a significant period in the nation’s history are invited to submit an expression of interest to the Blair electorate office before 28 February 2018.