18,591 kilometres for the people
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Irene Broadbent for her letter (Allowance 10/12) as she has kindly highlighted that in the 2018/19 financial year I drove 18,591 kilometres to represent shire residents, businesses, farmers and visitors as a councillor.
Using my vehicle’s trip computer, I can advise that I spent some 326 hours behind the wheel for Baw Baw Shire in 2018/19.
East ward is 3294 square kilometres in area, some 50 times larger than Central ward which means huge distances need to be travelled.
When elected in 2016, I vowed that no part of the East ward, no matter how remote or distant would be neglected.
I happily travel to all parts of the East ward to ensure everyone is represented. Whether it be Aberfeldy, Noojee, Thorpdale, Hill End, Neerim South, Erica, Tanjil Bren, Childers, Seaview, Ellinbank, Yarragon, Willow Grove, Rawson, Trafalgar, Lardner or anywhere in between I will be there to support our small towns, rural and remote communities.
Irene also needs to be commended for pointing out the substantial cost impost experienced by remote and rural communities with limited telecommunications.
It’s often hard for people who live within earshot of the freeway to understand the extra expense and inconvenience.
For example, the NBN aatellite is often the only form of internet available and it’s hugely expensive and slow. I trust that Irene will note the considerable savings in telecommunications costs in the 2019/20 Baw Baw Shire annual report due to the new Telstra 4G coverage in Walhalla.
These savings would not appear in the 2018/19 annual report that was referenced in The Gazette article as the new 4G service was not switched on until mid July 2019, some two weeks after the 2018/19 financial year had ended.
Michael Leaney East Ward councillor Baw Baw Shire
If police have their victim pulled over and not in the running lanes, there is no need to require up to four lanes of 100 kp/h traffic to brake to 40 kp/h to witness their commendable efforts. Simply turn off your flashing lights when you’ve stopped your target in the emergency lane.
I acknowledge the risk to emergency vehicles working at a crash site and the sensible need for a 40 kp/h requirement, but it’s not that hard for traffic police who have snared a miscreate driver to be required to consider the wider consequences a little.
It would have made a substantial improvement in traffic flow (and motorists’ future empathy) at three of the four sites on Friday.
Ian Hill, Buln Buln East
West Gippsland Extinction Rebellion member Ms Rowley said “The fires across Australia this week have caused catastrophic damage” and apparently all we have to do to stop these fires is give up our 21st century living.
Before white settlement, lightning strikes would light fires that would burn for weeks, even months, before the rains would put them out or they ran out of fuel.
The dangerous fuel loads we have in our forests today simply didn’t exist. Lieutenant Cook reported bushfires when he discovered Australia.
Bushfires are natural part of Australia and their intensity is mainly determined by fuel availability. I have lived most of my life in a rural environment and have never seen a raging fire where there is little or no fuel available.
Extinction Rebellion member Malcolm McKelvie has been active in opposing controlled fuel reduction burning, but he seems to believe you can stop fires by laying on the footpath or shouting your brains out with a megaphone; I have no doubt that 97 per cent of his mythical scientists believe the same.
When people turn their back on history, empirical evidence and civilisation Extinction Rebellion is what you get.
Marc Shellekens, Drouin
Another question is that if the earth is 4.5 billion years old and the climate emergency of the 11,000 is based on their examination of the last 40 years, how does that equal scientific rigor? How does that make them infallible experts?
I have based my findings on at least the last 150 years so I am one up on the 11,000 scientists.
Roger Marks, Drouin