The tale of two men
THE first man had worked hard all his life, paid his taxes, raised a family, supported his community and respected his fellow citizens.
Sadly, due to the virus he lost his job.
He had a family to feed and keep warm, money was tight so he grabbed his chainsaw and headed out to a little spot where there was that much timber lying on the ground that you could not get a motor bike through in places.
The wood didn’t belong to anyone, it had no rightful owner who had worked hard to obtain it.
It was just lying on the ground. So he selected some good solid pieces and cut them up and put them in the back of his ute.
He was caught by Parks Victoria and given an $8000 fine, his ute and chainsaw were also seized and he faced the prospect of 12 months’ jail.
The second man had never held a job, never paid taxes, had three kids to three different women, had never done anything positive for his community and had no respect for anyone else.
His taxpayer-funded job of couch surfing had just received a 100 per cent wage increase due to the virus, so the man began to smoke even more ice than before.
Now he needed extra money to feed his habit so he went out and started breaking into people’s homes and businesses, helping himself to other people’s property.
Things they had worked hard to buy and held real value to them.
This guy was caught stealing valuables from 10 different people and he too faced the law.
This guy was handed a community-based order, no conviction was recorded and he was told to be a good boy and left the court without any monetary fine being imposed.
Is it any wonder people say this country is stuffed.
Collecting firewood infringements should be up there with parking fines $60-$80, not $8000.
Perhaps a few of the chest beating politicians who love to write to the editor of this paper, bragging about how good they are or how terrible the Opposition are doing, might like to spend a few days being productive.
Stop the self-praise, stop the criticism of the Opposition and spend next week bringing laws and penalties into line with community expectations.
Name and address supplied.
Region relief
THE decision not to include most of regional Victoria in the six-week COVID-19 lockdown will provide some long-overdue relief for country businesses and communities.
We desperately needed the news that we will not face further lockdowns as a result of outbreaks in Melbourne.
Now the premier must implement what he’s said about further easing of restrictions in regional Victoria, including allowing our pubs and clubs to have 50 patrons and the reopening of our gaming establishments.
Despite the low number of cases in most of country Victoria, please remember – now is not the time to be complacent.
The virus is still out there and it’s critical we continue to be vigilant to protect the people around us and save lives.
Remember to keep practicing good hygiene, including coughing or sneezing into a tissue or your elbow and washing hands with soap for at least 20 seconds.
Maintain physical distancing by staying at least 1.5 metres from others.
Keep up to date on the risk and symptoms of the virus so you know what to look for and what to do if you begin to feel unwell.
Prevention is the best medicine, but – and this is critical – if you do feel unwell, the advice is clear: stay at home. Get tested. Our continued vigilance will save lives and ensure our country communities can stay open and in business.
Peter Walsh,
Leader of The Nationals
Member for Murray Plains
Courage to reverse the trend?
WILL the Nationals continue on their downward path, or do they have the courage to take action and reverse the trend?
It is a fascinating question that has hit the spotlight again following their poor showing in the Eden-Monaro by-election, and general discontent with the party which used to dominate our regional political landscape.
One national commentator stated this week that “Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack’s incompetence has again been exposed…”
So, is this at the heart of the problem, or does it go deeper. Why are so many previously ‘rusted on’ Nationals voting for other parties and independent candidates?
I believe the Nationals’ federal Member for Nicholls Damian Drum inadvertently provided the answer when he recently told us we were not getting essential changes to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan because the Liberal Party was concerned it may impact their vote in Adelaide.
If the Nationals are to regain lost ground they must stand up and be counted, which Mr McCormack does not seem prepared to do.
Another commentator at the weekend, talking about the Nationals’, said that “…whenever we go cold on the party, it’s because the leadership has rusted off the very base it represents”.
That is what has happened.
It is pointless having a small group of Nationals bemoaning the issues being faced in the communities they represent, but a leadership that doesn’t have the courage to fix them.
If the party wants to re-emerge, it must stop being a Liberal lapdog. And this starts at the top.
Lindsay Marshall
Blighty, NSW
