The Dalmeny RSL Bowls section, which has been a very welcome part of the Dalmeny Bowling Club for the past 25 years, has been denied access to the Dalmeny Club greens and facilities by the board and management of Narooma Sport and Services Club.

As a consequence of this decision the Dalmeny RSL Bowls Section will relocate their activities to the Bodalla Bowling Club.

The Navy, Army and Air Force Carnival and all other RSL bowls functions will now take place at the Bodalla Bowlo.

Ray Dunbar, president and

Ron Gray, secretary,

Dalmeny RSL bowls section

Thanks from ‘MACS’

The stands are all now packed away, and many beautiful artworks have found new homes following Montague Art & Craft Society’s (MACS) 34th Open Easter Exhibition at the Narooma Sport & Leisure Centre over the Easter weekend.

The Exhibition was a great success thanks to all the participating artists, the many willing volunteers who helped organise, set-up and dismantle the show, and the judges for their time and expertise in what would have been a very difficult task. 

In particular MACS would like to thank the many sponsors who generously contributed towards prizes:

Amanda’s of Mogo, Betta Electrical Narooma, Blue House Surgery, BP Narooma, Dalmeny Electrical, Dalmeny IGA, Eurobodalla Shire Council, Eurobodalla Tiles and Bathrooms, Paul and Marion Goard, HomeFlair Carpets and Blinds, Kennedy & Cooke Lawyers, Lynch’s Hotel, Margaret Mashford, Montague Vets, Narooma Kinema, Narooma Men’s Shed, Narooma News, Narooma Pharmacy, Narooma Picture Framing, Narooma Veterinary Hospital, Narooma Woodies, Narprint, Raine & Horne Narooma, South Coast Lighting, SVC Kitchens, Ian Thompson Chartered Accountant, Truss Plus, Wagonga Street Medical Clinic, Whacker’s Photo & Picture Framing, Whale Motor Inn.

We are very grateful for the continuing participation of these local people and businesses who, every year, support the arts and crafts in Narooma, and enable MACS to hold such an impressive Exhibition.

Thank you all.

MACS 2015 Exhibition Committee

Anne-Maree Kape

President

Surprised and delighted, on politics

It is now four and a half years since I moved to Narooma from Sin City, home away from home to Australia's hundreds of federal politicians, lobbyists, political flunkies and other assorted riff-raff.

During that period, I have often turned to the Letters page to be entertained by our local moral crusaders and political big-wigs.

Imagine my surprise and delight to be confronted by two such writers last week: Ms Cruttenden of Save our Souls, or Love a Feral Vermin, or somesuch; and that pillar of rabid right-wing ratbaggery, Mr O'Brien.  Verily, my cup ranneth over!

Because those letters put me in such a good mood (and I promised some time back to leave the senior citizens of SAFE alone if they behaved - which one obviously hasn't), I write today merely to take issue with some of Mr O'Brien's more outrageous statements.

While I am now politically agnostic (my father, bless him, once said something like "if you find an honest politician, shoot the bastard before he goes bad!"), some political fibs deserve to be challenged.

To blame the Rudd and Gillard governments alone for putting the country into deficit is playing fast and loose with the truth.

For most of the early 21st century, John Howard was frantically introducing middle-class welfare and buying votes with the largesse from the minerals boom.

Did he build better railways, ports, highways, universities, very fast trains?  Sadly, no!

He introduced cash payments for older Australians too wealthy to get an age pension; means-test free child care; tax cuts for the really wealthy; and many more magnificent wastes of potential public moneys.  At the same time, he slashed university funding, took the axe to CSIRO staff, politicised the public service, hugely enlarged the number and influence of Ministerial Office staff (political flunkies) and gave us the tax that would forever ensure)?) that the States and Territories had sufficient funds for health, education, highways, etc.

Kevin Rudd took over the reins in 2007 and in 2008 the world economy went into tailspin.  Rudd, together with Treasury and the Reserve Bank, took immediate action to ensure Australians stayed out of the deepest mire.  While one can quibble with some of the measures taken, and more particularly with their rushed implementation, the fact is that the massive cash injections did keep us out of recession.

If Howard had been more statesmanlike, or at least less desperate to buy votes, the money Rudd & co. spent would have been in the bank, and borrowing would not have been necessary. 

For 20 years I worked in the APS in Canberra and can honestly say that close exposure to politicians (and staff) from both sides taught me that most of them are simply a waste of oxygen.  The best Minister I worked for?  Jocelyn Newman, a Liberal.

The worst?  A nameless Labor moron.  The rudest Prime Minister?  Kevin Rudd.  The most decent?  Probably Julia Gillard.  So, no partisan political rhetoric from me, just the unvarnished truth.  If you can, vote for Nick Xenophon.  If you can't, vote informal.  Anything else is almost certain to be a massive disappointment.

S. Kennedy

Corunna

No to outsourcing

I can’t believe the Eurobodalla Council and Lindsay Brown are thinking of outsourcing the tourist visitor centres in the shire.

Our biggest industry here is tourism and should be improved upon for the survival of our communities in this pristine environment we all love and share our lives with.

The first port of call for most of my guests at Beachfront Apartments, is the visitors centre for information on activities and boat charters and general information about our town.

It is a service to the tourist industry and not necessarily a profit grabbing business, tourist buy merchandise as souvenirs and book trips.

I know they have lost a lot of the accommodation bookings to the internet, but surely there are other ways of making some income to keep the centres open.

I am only a small fish in a big pond and I am sure the other accommodation operators would agree with me on this matter.

Keep out tourists happy and informed!

Gail Knight

Beachfront Apartments, Narooma

Don’t risk an experiment

Are you comfortable outsourcing the face of our biggest and main industry? Tourism worth $367m (2013 conservative figures) and growing…

Questions that have not been answered:

a) Why risk rate payers money on an “experiment” – the under-utilisation of our swimming pool and leisure centre is a living example of poor outsourcing results

b) Why is our council so eager to rush through this 'proposal' giving us 42 days only to consider. Their process commenced five years ago and 2 teams have worked on it full time since June 2014 – 9 months?

c) Why are we allowing a community built centre, housing a world heritage listed lighthouse to be outsourced?

d) We have a local team of highly informed professionals who work in our centres who are the ideal advocates to promote our shire.  Our team of professionals have recounted many stories of “passing through” visitors who decided to stay in local accommodation and avail of local services and tours, once they visited our centres and understood what was on offer.

e) Has our council accurately measured the conversion rates of “foot traffic” in our centres versus conversions to visitor dollars spent re: our services and/or local tours. Surely it is imperative to have accurate measures before we make critical decisions.

Finally it was stated at last Tuesday's Chamber of Commerce meeting by a council staff  member “that council are not always the best in handling a commercial entity” e.g. visitor information centres…I propose we consider outsourcing our councils function as they are clearly inept at handling their responsibilities and listening to their community.

Breda Ryan

Narooma

Let us be Frank

There are two certainties in life. One is death and the other is Frank O’Brien’s ongoing vilification of all and everything to do with the Labor Party.

He conveniently forgets that his good mate little Johnny Howard inherited a buoyant economy from the Hawke/Keating governments and then reaped the benefits of the mining boom.

Did he set aside these riches in the form of a Future Fund or a similar long-term economic strategy?

No; He squandered them on pork-barrelling tax concessions for the wealthy end of town and committed countless millions to waging war in the Middle East. The moneys spent by Rudd/Swan to maintain employment following the GFC largely achieved that aim.

Moreover, this tactic won praise from virtually all western nation’s economic officials. Let’s face it; The incompetence of the current Federal government is such that I doubt if it could run a chook raffle, let alone devise a sensible long-term economic policy.

As for Frank’s plea for bipartisan support; It takes two to tango. Tony Abbot’s record in this arena is deplorable, both in opposition and in government.

 Although I certainly lean to the left and am critical of Premier Baird’s intention to continue selling the cows to pay for the dairy, I freely confess to voting for Andrew Constance in the last election.

Why? Because he has proved to be a competent local member who has done much for our electorate. Blindly voting for a particular party without considering the competence of its local representative has certainly contributed to the mess this country is currently in.

Indeed, I suspect that many locals would agree that the best State MP Narooma has ever had was the independent, John Hatton. Get those blinkers off, Frank!

Richard Tilzey

Central Tilba

Not representing me

With all the rail money going to rural areas but not here, perhaps the Transport Minister may be too busy to represent the members of this area again.

All the potential rail maintenance, job creation and tourist benefits will be at the expense of his electorate…

… or perhaps this was a Liberal Party tactic to have a ‘green’ or wilderness corner of the State. As the Hon. Andrew Constance didn’t and doesn’t represent me, I can do nothing but pay tax.

D Pearson

Dalmeny