Anger at tree removal
ARE Council pushing though preliminary works for ‘Our Place’, like removing 19 trees, because if it doesn’t get built there then all the money spent on it so far is wasted?
In regard to this waste of ratepayers’ money, the buck stops with the CEO and director who should have done due diligence on this site option.
Surely someone should have foreseen that it is incongruent to place a large modern building within the heritage museum/park, and obviously not going to comply with heritage protection rules in keeping the integrity of the Pioneer Settlement.
This was glaringly obvious to many in the community with a knowledge of heritage and who were part of the establishment of our best tourism asset.
But although these people spoke up strongly and clearly, they were ignored, repeatedly.
There is something very wrong with council’s consultation processes, repeatedly getting it wrong.
Of course removing all the trees, exactly the same trees that were earmarked in preliminary works, makes council think it’s business as usual.
Push through.
Hedging their bets that the Heritage Listing will fail.
Pretty expensive gamble and not just financially.
Because this arrogant action has upset many people.
To some this desecration is a crime, leaving a scar, making us less prepared for a hot summer, climate change and reducing habitat.
A dangerous precedent if the same criteria were applied to all our river precinct trees.
With satisfaction surveys already rating poorly, at election time, councillors may feel this.
It is not representing the community or being fiscally responsible to just pass things off as ‘operational’.
Jacquie Kelly, SWAN HILL.
Murray irrigators fume over Ryan’s comments
IT is so sad when elected politicians make statements on subjects they blatantly don’t understand, especially when it comes to floodplain harvesting.
In response to Steph Ryan’s letter to The Conversation, “Political games cause further pain” (5/10/21), The National Party claim floodplain harvesting is legal based on advice from Bret Walker SC, given to the NSW Upper House committee into floodplain harvesting.
However this is only half the story, and was clarified by Mr Walker later in the hearing; yes the practice of flood plain harvesting is legal, but he went on to say without a license, it remains an unlawful activity and no floodplain harvesting license has been issued in NSW.
Both Victorian and NSW Murray irrigators have lost access to 720GL of irrigation water annually because of floodplain harvesting, while storage in the north has increased from 574GL to 1395GL over the past 27 years.
Under the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement, 1850GLs of water must be supplied to SA annually, and traditionally, 39 per cent or 720,000ML comes from the Darling River.
Increases in storages and the continual take of water from northern floodplains has decimated baseline flows into Menindee (1721GL) and bled the Darling River dry forcing the shortfall onto Victorian and Riverina irrigators.
This has impacted allocations while destroying the environment and the delicate balance of Murray River ecology, because it is continually in flood, delivering unnaturally high volumes to SA.
Helen Dalton, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers, Labor, and the NSW Greens have been the real shining lights and have fought tooth and nail to return the water back to the Darling River and southern basin communities, while all The Nationals have done is try to divert the Darling River’s natural flood flow to their Northern Basin donor mates, and attempted to legally justify their alleged illegal actions by creating a new water cap, far above what was agreed upon in 1994.
Geoff Kendall, CENTRAL MURRAY ENVIRONMENTAL FLOODPLAINS GROUP.
Regional roadmap proposed
VICTORIANS are looking for an iron-clad guarantee we’re on the road to reopen, rebuild and recover.
Mixed messages and the Premier’s condescending lack of trust in Victorians has left us without hope that Labor’s roadmap will deliver us the freedoms it promises.
As double-dose vaccination rates reach 60 per cent in regional Victoria, we deserve to know 18 months of sacrifice won’t be for nothing.
The Nationals’ alternative roadmap delivers certainty and a positive way forward.
Under Labor’s roadmap, when regional LGAs do hit higher vaccination thresholds we’ll still wait weeks to reopen due to lower rates in Melbourne (only 51 per cent of Melburnians have been double dosed).
The Nationals’ alternative roadmap calls for regional Victoria to be unshackled from Melbourne, to allow us to move to the next phase as soon as we reach key milestones.
Common sense changes, like rolling out rapid testing, will build confidence that we’re doing everything we can to keep protecting our health when we do reopen.
For regional hospitality, it should include an immediate return to density limits of one person per four square metres, not patron caps, for LGAs that aren’t in lockdown.
Our schools and childcare in regional areas that aren’t in lockdown should be able to fully reopen – immediately.
And at the 70 per cent milestone, all country community sport should return for fully vaccinated Victorians, with an adequate number of players for competition.
What regional Victoria needs is a plan for recovery, not a fake lifting of restrictions that stops us building a post-COVID future.
Peter Walsh, THE NATIONALS.
