Community consultation on Narooma HuntFest?
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Councillor Gabi Harding’s amendment to allow some public consultation on the latest addition to the annual festival of hunting (HuntFest) was narrowly passed by the Eurobodalla Shire Council.
The hunters’ original motion, if passed without amendment, would have allowed the sale of weapons and ammunition and a portable air rifle range to be added to the hunting related events at the 2015 festival of hunting in a public building in the main street of Narooma.
HuntFest opponents need to rally all the support they can, both within and outside the shire, for a proposal which is after all the very essence of an event that was initially disguised as a photographic competition but in reality is all about selling guns and killing animals for fun.
It appears that anyone in Australia can make a submission on this matter to the Eurobodalla Shire Council, but how much weight will be attached to submissions from residents and ratepayers of the shire compared with those from outside?
If submissions from residents are not afforded special weight why should a shooter living in Dubbo decide what should take place at an event in the Sport and Recreation Centre in the heart of seaside Narooma?
The whole ugly and divisive issue could have been resolved at the outset if the community had been informed and consulted in the democratic manner Australians expect from their local elected body.
Transparency and accountability have been woefully neglected, along with a commitment to build strong communities, but residents must take this crumb of consultation as it is given to us and flood the council building in Moruya with submissions, in the hope that they will be given special consideration.
Submissions opposing the sale of guns and a shooting range at HuntFest, including the sender’s name and address, should be sent to the Council before October 8. E-mail submissions can be made to council@eurocoast.nsw.gov.au; postal submissions to The General Manager, PO Box 99, Moruya 2537.
Susan Cruttenden
Dalmeny
The Japanese submarine issue
The Federal Government believes that it can save $30 billion by awarding Japanese consortium contract to build our new subs, the Government hasn't stated how it arrived at that figure far as I am aware no tenders has been called for, so the 30 billion savings is only an assumption on behalf of the Government.
The good and effective Governments work on facts rather than on assumptions.
What is forgotten here that every dollar that is paid to foreing shipbuilder is lost from Australian economy, there are no benefits to communities from income taxes, GST taxes or company taxes when all that is generated in Japan.
What about loss of engineering knowhow to Australia it is lost or never gained, skills that were never realized onshore and entire submarine technology that could be developed to such an extent that the ASC could be a serious contender for overseas contracts for submarines and other vessels in the future.
There is huge potential with these new subs if build in Australia, why can't the Government comprehend that in the end there is detrimental ramifications of massive scale that will surely follow if subs are built offshore, why are the decision makers so short sighted and concentrating on price alone, it is frustrating and extremely disappointing to say the least.
Secondly, why has the minister of Defence appointed Sophia Mirabella to Submarine Corporation Board?
Ms Mirabella is an ex Liberal MP who lost her seat at the last election so why sudden expertise in a shipbuilding and heavy engineering, did she do quick course online how to build subs.
What possible expertise can an ex fail politician bring to the table of the ASC board, she has no shipbuilding background nor is she a design engineer or a metallurgist nor a material scientist.
And I doubt that she has any knowledge of process engineering either, so why is it that ASC had to have a political appointee on its board other than as an informant to the Federal Government
There is no end to the Job for Boys or Girls for the ones that are well connected, shame on you Mr Minister, shame, liberal spring has truly arrived with flowering Mirabellas.
Mark Ikonen
Dalmeny
Jobs for friends overseas…
It seems our leaders past or present have very little confidence in their citizens.
They have no willpower to train and develop something they could be proud of and make it in to a business for Australian workers.
Blaming too high wages here does not wash with us .Europe and most other highly developed countries have high labour costs as well.
The Australian Dollar is not as high as the Euro or the American Dollar.
Over there they manage to have a highly developed industry which is competitive.
They are involved in the free world market system, but they still protect their own industry fiercely and make sure that others only get their crumbs.
Our politicians have warped economic believes and can't add up. When they claim other countries can do our jobs cheaper, then please consider that every redundant Australian will cost the government unemployment benefits. This needs to be part of the equation.
We lost jobs in the car industry, Qantas maintenance, an army contract with a local boot manufacturer, most of the refineries are gone and the list goes on.
The world is not very secure most of the time, so stripping this country of vital self-efficiency will be regrettable.
The world want's a change to a renewable source of energy, but this government has no guts for this change.
This will make us fall behind everybody else in the end and again we will import someone's technology.
We are getting told by this government to look after ourselves, give us the chance .I found out that there has been a steep rise of underemployment in the younger generation.
If I would be in their situation I would not have children .Having a job to day and maybe not tomorrow would not give them a nest to grow up in, this is less than a bird has for their offspring.
Casuals have also no chance to get payed maternity leave.
This is not a bright start for young people.
I know Australians are very clever and able people, and it is time that we get politicians which know this too.
This government is open for business? Why then give the business to every other country instead to this country? We need to invest in us for us.
K. Kruger
Central Tilba
Mayor’s say… Becoming “Fit for the Future”
LAST week the NSW Government released a $1 billion funding reform package to ensure that NSW councils can deliver housing, jobs and local infrastructure that meets their community’s needs.
The ‘Fit for the Future’ package has been developed to fund some of the reforms to local government that were proposed by the Independent Local Government Review Panel after three years of research and consultation.
Councils that can prove they are’ fit for the future’ structurally and that they are sustainable, efficient and can manage their infrastructure will be able to access some of the $1 billion funding package.
The package includes assistance for councils who decide to merge, cheaper finance to build and maintain facilities, and up to $100 million savings through reductions in red tape and improvements to the local government system, including the laws that govern it, the way the State works with councils and the support that councils receive.
The Independent Local Government Review Panel did not recommend structural changes for Eurobodalla, such as merging with any of our neighbours.
This is a clear endorsement that we are managing our responsibilities and that we are on the right path with our long term strategies.
I will however be discussing with Bega and Shoalhaven how we can collaborate to continue to improve efficiencies, and they have already taken on board my suggestion to meet a few times a year to specifically discuss coastal issues that impact our councils.
I am confident that we will be able to prove to the NSW Government that we are “fit for the future” and we are already looking at ways we can achieve this.
At next week’s council meeting we will continue to review the possibility of using a special rate variation as a way to fund some of the community infrastructure that residents have told us are important.
We will be considering a proposal that details a package of community and social infrastructure projects and loan funding, and how the community would be consulted about the need, purpose and impact of a proposed rate variation.
The final decision on whether we should apply for a special rate variation would not be made until December, after more consultation with our community.
If our council can prove it is fit and ready, we will be able to move to a more streamlined process for managing our income base, receive priority for NSW Government grants and funding, and be able to borrow money at a reduced interest rate.
We will be working towards preparing a robust proposal to the NSW Government by June 30, 2015 on how Eurobodalla plans to be ‘Fit for the Future’.
Please let me know if there is any issue you feel Eurobodalla Shire Council may be able to help you with. You can email me at mayor@eurocoast.nsw.gov.au or phone me on 0418 279 215.
Clr Lindsay Brown, Mayor of Eurobodalla Shire
HuntFest or Gunfest?
It is exhausting to expend your energy opposing something. So much more rewarding to be promoting something. But sometimes you just have to stand up for what you believe in.
The recent application by HuntFest organisers to sell firearms and ammunition and have a shooting range at the next event in 2015, has many in our shire wondering if this was the intention from the beginning.
What happened to the “photographic competition”?
One of the HuntFest organisers stated that if this latest application does not get approved then HuntFest will not be viable.
This seem incredulous when we have been subjected to all the hype about the financial benefits this event brings to our area and does this mean that the last two events have not been viable. Very confusing.
I don’t believe that the financial benefit of one weekend per year could outweigh the benefit of repeated visits by tourists who come to this area for weeks every year, sometimes two and three times a year because it is the Eurobodalla Nature Coast.
And a festival selling firearms and ammunition or promoting killing animals for pleasure is not a good fit for Narooma or the Eurobodalla Nature Coast.
If people want to buy firearms and ammunition – they’re not too hard to obtain – even online. Why then, do HuntFest organisers feel it is so crucial to have these flagrantly displayed for sale in our beautiful shire?
Paula Underwood
Narooma
Truth finally out
So the truth is finally out! HuntFest organisers always intended on having a full on arms fair in Narooma with the sale of guns and ammunition as in HuntFests in USA.
They were advised they’d get approval from council easier if they modified their initial event application. What a well advised con to all who live here!
Check out HuntFest Facebook site everyone. See what this group really stands for.
If they get the approval to sell guns, what will their next goal be?
MP Robert Brown says the National Park hunting issue will see their vote go through the roof at the next election.
"Factually, we have the legislation in place which allows hunting in national parks. It's up to the minister to declare which national parks” SMH September 5.
Who is supporting the growth of arms fairs in Australia and why? There were two new ones this year in NSW?
There is one every three months in Penrith at Panthers Club ? Ironically, the region with the greatest gun crime in Australia.
Narooma is the only NSW small coastal town with an arms fair.
What effect will it have on our community if it becomes “hunters’ holiday resort”?
578 weapons were stolen in the past year in NSW, about 80 per cent from homes, according to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics.
Now is your last opportunity to have a say in whether gun sales become a major part of a “festival” in our town. You will be cranky with yourself if you don’t get the result you want and you didn’t “get around to” doing anything.
When writing a submission, make sure you refer specifically to the sale of guns and ammunition. There is no provision to protest HuntFest itself.
Kathie Thackray
Narooma