Narelle Davis, treasurer

To most considerate people, a photo of a grey nurse shark (GNS) with a hook in its mouth accompanied by the words “critically endangered species”, would naturally cause concern. However, let’s introduce a few facts into the conservation debate. Most importantly, the GNS as a species is certainly not critically endangered. It is a very widespread species occurring in tropical and temperate areas of the North and South Atlantic, Indian and western Pacific Oceans. In Australia it is found off every State except Tasmania. Off our eastern coastline there is no doubt that the GNS population has undergone a significant decline, with most of the damage being done back in the days when they were thought to be “man-eaters” and power-heads were widely used by spear fishers. Hence they are now a protected species in NSW. Whereas the current status of the NSW population remains largely unknown, any talk of “possible extinction” by conservationists is emotive rubbish. In fact many fisheries scientists, myself included, are of the opinion that the significant monies so far expended on GNS conservation would have been better spent on assessing the status of several Australian fish species that are in a far more parlous state than the GNS.

Richard Tilzey, Tilba

Eurobodalla residents like me, who live in areas classified by our council as flood and sea level rise affected, know the effect that this type of “categorisation” has on property values and property development. Has anyone noticed that our three commercial areas Batemans Bay, Moruya and Narooma have been deserted by the astute developers, who will not risk their capital in areas declared as “vulnerable” to coastal hazards? Well, Council is not the only government outfit with its finger in the coastal management pie.  Last week, the NSW Coalition Government introduced its new coastal management Bill. The Bill, which is the handy work of Planning Minister Rob Stokes, sets out to identify “vulnerable” coastal areas from the Tweed to Eden. The mapping has not been completed, but Rob Stokes won’t let a minor omission like that stand in the way of a good Bill. Rob’s Bill contains a few other throw away lines like increasing the fines for trying to protect your property against a coastal hazard to one million dollars. You might also be required to surrender your property to the government as the sea rises without any provision for compensation. Where we live, the restrictive coastal zone will be up to 1.5 kilometres from a tidal waterway, but in Sydney electorates like Manly (Baird), and Pittwater (Stokes), the coastal management zone will be as little as 50 metres. We are told that this is traditional rather than hypocritical. But that is not all! Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt announced on his return from the Paris climate conference that the Federal Government will be preparing vulnerable area mapping for the entire Australian coastline. Can you imagine the effect three tiers of coastal hazard mapping will have on the economy of those regional cities and towns? Has any level of government considered the economic effects or the cost of this unnecessary duplication? Could Liberal Party candidates Peter Hendy and Ann Sudmalis and Labor candidates Mike Kelly and Fiona Phillips please let the people of Eden Monaro and Gilmore know their position on coastal hazard management. Will they support the NSW Coastal Alliance’s position that any vulnerability mapping must be accompanied by mitigation (coastal defence) planning, and will they guarantee that no properties will be resumed without appropriate compensation? We hope that these candidates realise that coastal residents in low lying or beach front locations are not the only ones contributing to global warming. 

Ian Hitchcock                                                                                                                                                  Eurobodalla Regional Coordinator, NSW Coastal Alliance 

Minimising tax is very limited for low income earners. I would say more than fifty percent of voters which live in major cities do struggle nowadays to buy their own place. Or even pay the rent. If the Liberals want to win the election don't forget that. Yeah, we all can try to minimise paying tax, but not everyone has an equal opportunity. Contractors, business people like tradesman can deduct travel expenses related to the job, wage earners can't. So when he said at the Insiders program minimising tax has always been done one way or another I agree with him but the opportunity is not there for everybody. I would say, I was always bothered, that wage earners could not deduct travel expenses. Another disadvantaged one would not be able to get paid for the travel time. Negative gearing is for certain people. So don't piss your voters off before the election, it will be backfiring for the Liberals. I am a voter who believes that"all citizens"have to pay taxes according to their nett income in order to receive the services we are accustomed to. The ability for better off citizens to pay less taxes may not be affordable for the government, revenue is needed for funding expenses. The government, has to be fair with everybody. When the Turnbull government chooses to favour the upper class, it makes it only harder for them to win. I thought Mister Turnbull is a smart one, maybe he is and I am the one who is seeing it wrong, good luck. 

K. Kruger, Central Tilba