Ridiculous, irresponsible
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
I refer to Clr Milton Leslight's letter last week concerning the flood studies being carried out on the shire's estuaries to determine future flood and inundation risk.
In June, the council, including Clr Leslight, supported a motion to place on public exhibition the draft model to get community input and verify the data.
It's a mis-statement of fact to call it a "flawed Flood Study" when it has yet to be completed. Clr Leslight clearly doesn't understand the process.
In any event, the information provided so far by the public, including photos of recent flooding, largely supports the modelling.
The verification of the modelling was never intended to offer the final solution to flooding and, as Clr Leslight states, it's only the first stage.
Disappointingly, Clr Leslight goes on to say that mayor Brown and I are not interested in the future risk of flooding, particularly as it applies to the Narooma Flat.
All the mainstream science on the effects of climate change on sea level rise points to no major increases until the middle of the century when the rise is likely to be considerable, and to increase exponentially. While the need for action is a way off, it is prudent to understand the extent of the risk now, and that is what we are working towards.
The suggestion Clr Leslight makes, repeating the mantra of Ian Hitchcock, a long time 'climate change critic' of the council, is that we should have the engineered solution and the funding in place to defend the Flat now.
One only has to look at the advances in engineering in recent decades to conclude that to carry out the works now would be ill-considered and premature to say the least.
That it could commence without the involvement of other tiers of Government, given the likely huge expense, when the area concerned also carries Highway 1 right through the middle of it, is ridiculous and it would be irresponsible for Clr Leslight, as a community representative, to even suggest the possibility.
I have no doubt that when the problem becomes more pressing, appropriate joint government action will be taken to defend Narooma Flat, with the knowledge we are collecting now.
However, the community is entitled to question Clr Leslight's motives in this matter, given his publicly stated climate change scepticism, and his assertion that there is no risk anyway.
Clr Neil Burnside
Narooma
More guns in community
An alarming article appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper this morning (03/08/2015) stating that gun ownership in NSW has surged 10 per cent in the past five years, with one gun now registered for every nine residents.
NSW Police Firearms commander Mick Plotecki said anecdotally “the combination of US popular gun culture and a recruitment drive by gun clubs may be behind the rise.”
In the postcode area of 2546 there are now a total of 1,714 registered firearms a growth of 18.2 per cent between 2010 and 2015. This is nearly double the state average.
It’s not too difficult to ‘join the dots’ between the promotion of a gun culture in Narooma through the holding of HuntFest, and in particular, the sale of firearms and ammunition at the 2015 event, to produce these alarming statistics.
Yet the Eurobodalla Shire Council’s internal review, released last week, about the legality of these sales, ignores independent legal advice and virtually says ‘we did nothing wrong.’
With the community asking for more transparency and accountability from council, surely this was an ideal opportunity to demonstrate this by having an independent review.
After three years of supporting this gun culture, it is time for the council to consider the social, moral and environmental effects this decision has on the community and call an end to the sale of arms and ammunition in Narooma.
Heather Irwin
Narooma
Precious little talent running country
Following the Bronniegate saga the other day reminded me of something Groucho Marks once said: 'I wouldn't want to join a club that would have me as a member!"
Which I extrapolate to: "Anyone who wants to be a politician doesn't deserve my vote!"
Just why politics is in such a sorry state is a mystery, until one considers the quality of person who actually wants public office.
With a few rare and honourable exceptions eg Tony Windsor and Nick Xenophon, politics is the battleground of the ambitious, self-serving, egotistical second-rater.
Failed Jesuits become Prime Minister, failed union heavyweights become Opposition Leaders and third-class suburban accountants and lawyers occupy most of the government and opposition benches.
It calls to mind an interview I once read with a professional recruiter, who was asked to run a line over many of the then-class of MPs.
He said that if he was not the Treasurer, Peter Costello would be a successful businessman, one or two others would also be leading lights in various professional spheres, but the remainder would be earning much less, as teachers, lawyers or dole-collectors.
In other words, there was precious little talent running the country then, as there is now.
Of course, the problem is not confined to federal politics: the Feds at least cost more to bribe (usually) than their State counterparts, as proven by various ICACs and anti-corruption watchdogs over recent decades.
And of course the breeding ground for most State and Federal politicians is local government (witness the regular scandals involving planning and development approvals at councils throughout the country).
That said, at a local level there are also many incumbents who are not crooked egomaniacs, but rather people who genuinely are interested in improving the lot of their fellow ratepayers/citizens.
Hopefully, some of these walk the corridors of the Eurobodalla Shire chambers - in fact, I know of several such, being current and former ERA councillors.
Long may they prosper, and hopefully set an example for their more illustrious State and national colleagues to follow.
But I am not, alas, optimistic about that.
As they say, a fish goes rotten at the head first, and we need only look at several heads in Canberra and Sydney to see how risky it is for any uncontaminated fish to swim in those waters…
S. Kennedy
Corunna
The Broulee experiment
The community will recall that I was the most outspoken councillor opposing the green land development scheme called “biodiversity certification”.
In return for making a stand on this issue, I was humiliated and accused of self-interest.
I have also had my integrity challenged through staff initiated code of conduct complaints.
Recently, a large section of our community learnt what biodiversity certification was all about.
Around 140 Broulee residents came out in opposition of the pilot bio diversity land development project that they had previously supported for their village.
The final development is not what they were promised. Now they are also under attack, and have been accused of being NIMBY (not in my back yard) reactionaries by the supporters of the scheme.
I did not hear anyone at the Broulee meeting oppose the subdivision that was approved by Council many years ago. Most people, including me, were supportive of the developers who had been robbed of their development rights.
What the Broulee community does not want to see is a small metropolis of roof to roof dwellings built on their doorstep.
Without any community consultation, which is in contravention of the state government’s Biocertification Strategy, Council has varied the original application by using the Gateway planning process to increase the density of the development.
The only plausible reason for this action is to make the development viable by exploiting the full potential of the remaining site.
It stands to reason that any developer who is required to fund the management of “offset” forest land in perpetuity (as the biocertification process demands), has to find the trust monies from somewhere and as fast as possible.
That sort of surplus cash is not going to be found in low density developments that complement the character of our coastal villages and hamlets. So we end up with tiny blocks of land and the type of medium density development that is more suited to our major cities.
Is this what the general community wants for our shire?
Most people have difficulty understanding how council staff and the environmental movement could promote such an environmentally unsustainable concept.
It is difficult to comprehend, but you will note on the “context” page of the Eurobodalla Settlement Strategy that “the Eurobodalla Council is committed to …the implementation of Agenda 21”.
There is a lot to say about this concept, but essentially it is designed to lock up land and herd humans into higher density living.
I am a lone voice in Council on this issue, but if the people of the Eurobodalla want to protect the character of their towns and villages I strongly urge you to get behind the Broulee community, and speak out against biodiversity certification.
It has been suggested that there are 17 sites around our shire identified as suitable for this treatment.
I should add that Council is not the only one to blame for the Broulee situation. The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) is behind a statewide push for the adoption of biodiversity certification development model.
So please let your local member know that in future, we do not want to see our shire used as a proving ground for these radical OEH agendas.
Clr Milton Leslight
Batemans Bay
Mayor's say… Know your community
How well do you know Eurobodalla and its community?
If you’re a businesses, organisation or community group interested in learning where to find information about our population and its habits for the purposes of growing your business, writing grant applications or simply to understand the local community, council is inviting you to a free community profiling workshop on Thursday, August 13 at 5pm in Moruya.
The two-hour workshop will be run by the creators of the population tools, .id, and you will learn how to use the community profiles and population information tools we provide through the council website. If you’re keen to attend please find out more and how to book your spot on our website or by calling 4474 1314.
In council, we use the population information to help with estimating the demand for age-based services such as child care and how the needs of the community for various types of housing may look in the future. Understanding where residents work assists in planning and advocacy for roads and public transport and infrastructure.
The data tells us that in 2014, our estimated resident population was 37,643, and we have a population density of 0.11 persons per hectare.
In 2011, 12,532 residents were employed and of these 10,356 lived and worked in Eurobodalla.
Our three biggest employment sectors are retail, health care, and accommodation and food services.
The 55 to 59 age group which I’m in makes up 8.2 per cent of the population.
There are 2,940 people in this group, compared to the regional NSW average of 6.7 per cent. The youngest members of our community in the 0 to 4 years age group make up 5.1 per cent of the population compared with a regional NSW average of 6.3 per cent. There are 1,820 little ones running around Eurobodalla.
At the other end of the age spectrum we had 1,127 people or 3.2 per cent of people over the age of 85 living in Eurobodalla in 2011. In regional NSW this figure is 2.3 per cent.
Our largest age group is 60 to 69 year olds at 17.5 per cent, closely followed by 35-49 year olds at 17 per cent.
81.8 per cent of us live in separate houses (low density) and 15.4 per cent of the dwellings were medium or high density, compared to 16 per cent in regional NSW. In 2011 our average household size was 2.24.
The information also provides insights into Australia-wide trends such as migration habits and I was interested to read that 51.2 per cent of Australian residents did not move in the five years between 2006 and 2011.
By comparison, 54.6 per cent of Eurobodalla residents did not move. Of the 34.5 per cent who did move, 16.4 per cent moved within Eurobodalla, 9.8 per cent moved from another part of NSW and 7 per cent moved from another part of Australia. 362 people moved to Eurobodalla from overseas in that five years.
You can find out more by visiting our website – the community profile statistics are under Living In - or if you’re representing a business or organisation, book a place at next week’s free workshop by calling 02 4474 1314.
Please let me know if there are any issues that council can assist with. You can contact me at mayor@eurocoast.nsw.gov.au or phone 0418 279 215.
Clr Lindsay Brown
Mayor of Eurobodalla Shire