With Christmas and the New Year nearly on our doorstep, now is a great time to reflect on so many levels about the year that’s raced by, and look positively to the opportunities that lie ahead into the future.

The year began in horror, grief, destruction and shock with Black Saturday. It reminded us of how unpredictable life is, and how dangerous is the Australian bush.

Most of us know of family or friends or neighbours who tragically lost their lives and know many more who lost their homes and their possessions.

We all know of the increasing amount of choice that local supermarkets and grocery stores are offering us in choosing environmentally friendly products.

And most of us will recall that only a few years ago, Farmers’ Markets and farm gate shops – still very popular in our local area ‐ had been the only way to get wholly natural products without the sometimes many layers of plastic and cardboard.

Alongside these local efforts to reduce, re‐use and recycle and to protect and develop local reserves and natural parklands, our community is responding to environmental awareness in growing numbers.

Since my election to Parliament, I have joined with many others as a supporter of the vital work done by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. And whilst the JDRF is an Australia‐wide organisation body, supporting many thousands of Australian children and their families right across the country, I am strongly reminded of the real impact diabetes has in our community on the occasions I visit local schools and sporting clubs right here in Melbourne’s outer‐east.

Every weekend it seems, we pick up the Sunday morning paper, or turn on the television news to read or hear about yet another violent attack in our city.

The sorry story repeats itself like the movie Groundhog day.

Teenagers or young adults minding their own business, attacked and bashed by groups of alcohol and/or drug fuelled thugs.  More often than not it’s in the centre of Melbourne, parts of which have become a war zone.

But equally it can happen in the suburbs.  Birthday parties can be gatecrashed when invitations are forwarded and forwarded again through simple text messages, emails or through social networking sites which are slowly becoming a normal part of our day.