We were just coming out of Aldi when a young lady presented me with a bouquet of red roses.

I was a little gobsmacked when she presented me with the bouquet and just said, “These are for you”, so I said, “What a lovely thing to do. Thank you”.

She smiled and walked away before I could ask her name or anything. 

I wish I could tell her that her lovely gesture was much appreciated. 

The roses are still looking lovely and they make me smile at the kindness of a stranger.

Recently you published a letter from Gary Smith regarding his concerns about a supermarket selling green prawns imported from China with signs stating they should not be used for bait and his concerns for our waterways should this product find its way into them.

All the powers that be keep pushing the tourism bandwagon in this shire and yet, with the chance this product could decimate our waterways and cripple the tourism industry, it beggars belief that not one of these bodies seems the slightest bit interested.

There are tags on these prawns saying they are not to be used as bait, but there is always some idiot out there, either completely irresponsible or who knows better; just look at Coila Lake last year when the prawns ran in bumper numbers and most nights it looked like a Supertramp concert, there were so many lights down there. So many idiots absolutely raped it, leaving commonsense behind.

If white spot got into Coila Lake it’s all over red rover and there goes your recreational fishing industry and with it your tourists.

To the supermarkets, we say “pull the product”, and to you politicians who are only too happy to spruik your wares at election time, pick up ya bloody phones and make the call and make a difference for a change.

There are some important questions that need to be answered before the success or failure of the National Gun Amnesty can be properly determined.

A report on the results from the various jurisdictions has been issued by the federal government concluded with the statement: “The Amnesty has resulted in a safer, more secure Australian community.” But has it?

Certainly not from the point of view of the citizens of Narooma, where it is likely that gun dealers will  have more guns to sell to more recreational hunters at the annual festival of animal killing. HuntFest, on crown land in the heart of  Narooma, is being sponsored by the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA).

The report on the nation-wide results of the amnesty recorded how many guns had been sold during the three-months amnesty, but not how many others firearms dealers acquired during this time, to be sold at gun shops, arms fairs, online, or at events such as HuntFest.

Guns handed in to police stations during the time of the amnesty were to be scrapped or registered and returned to their owners at little or no cost, but guns surrendered to approved gun dealers could be purchased by them for re-sale to another buyer.     

How were gun dealers given such an essential role in administering the gun amnesty, when they had a vested interest in its outcome? The American Rifle association attributed this to lobbying by the SSAA (see www.nraila.org/articles/2011/guns-trickle-in-to-australia-turn-in)

Thousands of guns have been registered or will be resold as a result of the latest amnesty, but that cannot make us safer. More guns equals more violence.