Respect Remembrance Day service Heed warnings

My husband and I went to the Remembrance Day service in Warragul on November 11.

The service itself was very moving. However, I have to say I could not believe the number of people who still continued to walk around, there was no stopping of traffic.

If not for the service people who gave their lives in previous wars we would not have the life we have.

Fifteen minutes is nothing in the overall scheme of things.

I'm very disappointed that the Warragul service was marred by the traffic being allowed to drive up and down Victoria and Smith Sts, it's not like there aren't alternatives.

Trish Robertson, Warragul

Not a good look

I would like to express my disappointment at the article in last week's Gazette reporting on the Oaks Day celebrations at the Country Club and at the Royal Hotel.

I usually enjoy reading of such events in the Gazette and compliment you on continuing to bring good news of local events to our community.

But to present these photos with no concern for social distancing or wearing of masks was irresponsible while we are all still striving to achieve a COVID safe environment.

On a happier note, thank you for including a crossword puzzle in our weekly paper..

Mary Howlett, Warragul

Fear behind masks

So many people I see wearing masks are looking distressed. When I speak to them they don’t know that if you have a breathing problem on the DHHS website it states you do not have to wear a mask and you don’t need a doctor’s certificate.

The people that knew their rights still wear a mask because of the fear of judgement and looks they may get. Also they need to be seen to be doing the right thing .

I suggest they leave their nose uncovered. Our greatest possession is our health and for that we need oxygen to help keep our immune system working.

Fear has changed the way we think and live our lives. Time for change.

Margaret Decker, Warragul

Please wear a mask

To those people who are choosing not to wear a mask (when there is no medical reason) or adhere to social distancing guidelines when out in our community, please consider what this might mean for others.

Based on scientific advice, the Department of Health and Human Services states that “Face masks must continue to be worn when you leave home”.

This may change in a few weeks, but currently this is what is being asked of us (with exceptions) to keep COVID-19 out of our community so that we all can look forward to times when businesses and staff are able to return to work and we can spend time with family and friends.

There are many people in our community who are concerned about the consequences of contracting COVID-19 not only because of their age or having chronic health issues, but they may be carers of vulnerable people or may have a pregnant family member.

When we see others in the community not adhering to mask wearing and social distancing we do not feel as safe and may not feel able to share in the benefits of the easing of restrictions. We know how quickly things can change and have changed in other countries across the world.

We would all prefer not to wear a mask, especially as the temperature increases. But we all should be able to feel that we live in a community that is considerate of the most vulnerable and do all we can to keep COVID-19 figures at zero.

Fiona Jackson, Warragul

Just hot air

Huge congratulations to the Baw Baw Shire. I have lived in Trafalgar for 32 years and in all that time our unsealed road has never gone 12 months without being graded until now.

Our road was last graded in the first week of November 2019. Throwing handfuls of rubble in the potholes is not only a waste of time and money but an insult to the ratepayers living on this road.

The first downpour of rain takes care of that. The announcement of a new contractor and $8 million funding is just all hot air. Sadly disappointed that there was not a huge change with councillors in the east ward, Same old same old. Shame on you Baw Baw Shire.

Peter Stevens, Trafalgar

For years I've admired the work of Friends of Drouin Trees and (maybe wrongly) assumed they had a at voice the table.

I wonder now if council and developers heed their warnings/advice at all. They've a wealth of knowledge on the nature of our area, surely a particularly valuable insurance source to protect and preserve the environment and not least of which is its beauty.

It's heart-breaking to see the desecration of trees - and cutting trees is not the same as cutting grass as was asserted earlier in your paper.

Obviously grass regrows -they take a life with every tree.

Jill Harris, Drouin

Structural problem

The existential problem confronting the native timber industry is structural.

At its core is the 34 year long contract to annually supply 350,000 cubic metres of Mountain and Alpine Ash to Australian Paper which is 100 per cent Japanese owned.

When the Kennett Government entered the contract, it assumed our ash forests could be felled and replanted perpetually. It did not contemplate the effects of climate change or catastrophic events like Black Saturday which alone reduced the resource by 40 per cent.

Nor did it consider the risk of extinction of native animals if the forest was over-cut. Separate from the demand for pulp-for-paper is sawlog timber which is used to make furniture. Government figures show this is just 13 per cent of native forest logged - the overwhelming proportion goes to Australian Paper.

The government concedes that the combined effects of fire and contractual obligation have severely shrunk the available resource, increasing the need to fell younger ash which would otherwise grow into sawlog quality trees.

Consequently, the percentage of ash forest older than 80 years has reduced to just 1.16 per cent of the Central Highlands forest. Only mature trees produce hollows which are vital to accommodate the nests of Leadbeater's Possums and Greater Gliders - both species recently adjudicated by the Federal Court to be pushed closer to extinction by current unsustainable logging overseen by the government-owned VicForests.

The government's solution is to end native logging in 2030 - when the contract ends with Australian Paper.

Ecologists say endangered species will likely become extinct before then. The Greater Glider population has reduced by 88 per cent in the past 20 years, and Leadbeater's by 50 per cent. The Japanese demand for profit from paper is the real problem. Reducing cutting ash for paper will enable threatened marsupials, timbermillers, and carpenters to coexist.

David Clarke, Noojee

Care to comment?

Perhaps a pro-vaxxer would like to comment on the following report by the Associated Press writing from London on September 2, 2020.

They report that the World Health Organisation says a new polio outbreak in Sudan is linked to an ongoing vaccine-sparked epidemic in Chad — a week after the U.N. health agency declared the African continent free of the wild polio virus.

They comment further that this highly infectious disease can spread quickly in contaminated water and most often strikes children under five. So, people in poor countries with contaminated water, poor sanitation and inadequate diet are likely to be victims of endemic infectious diseases. Is it just possible that there could be some better solution to the ‘problem’ of infectious diseases than blaming those mad anti-vaxxers?

Liz Stephens, Neerim South