Baw Baw ignored - despite growth
ID (Informed Decision) has analysed the current ABS population data and reviewed the 50 largest cities and towns in Australia for 2021.
Melton in Victoria increased its population by 2.5 per cent and thereby had the second highest population increase for 2021
Warragul/Drouin increased its population by 3.7 per cent for the same period and in doing so had the largest population growth in the whole of Australia.
Premier Daniel Andrews has announced that Melton would get a new hospital if Labor was elected at the state elections in November.
The State Opposition has said it will build a new hospital in Warragul if elected.
It should also be noted that Traralgon/Morwell had a 0.3 per cent population increase for 2021. Latrobe Council received the following grants from the Andrews Government including:
$54 million (new aquatic centre), $30 million (Morwell Hub), $11.6 million (new Morwell CFA station), $10 million (Latrobe Creative Precinct), $19 million (Traralgon Sports Stadium), $17 million (Gippsland Innovation Centre), $128 million (Gippsland Technical School), $12 million (Gippsland Performing Arts Centre),
It appears the less your area grows the more infrastructure funding you get from the state.
Murray Cook, Yarragon
Inspirational
It was inspirational to read the front-page article in the Gazette (31/05) "Kurnai women honoured" which told of a life size bronze sculpture and storytelling piece to be installed in Civic Park Drouin, later this year.
This is the history of three women from Jackson's Track who will be honoured. I remember as a small child my parent's involvement and meeting the larger-than-life Pastor Doug Nicholls. Well done Aunty Cheryl Drayton and the three women who are bringing this piece of history to life for us and future generations to consider.
Helene Armour, Warragul
Really?
A statue of a woman who was good at washing clothes. Really?
If is to equalise the disparity between statues of men and women in Warragul it won't be very credible.
Lionel Rose has a statue by the station because he was the local boy who was the very best in the whole world at what he did.
David Baylis, Drouin East
Get the booster
Phil Ross (Gaz 31/5) suggests that the high numbers of COVID cases suggests the vaccines are ineffective and that doctors should show some contrition for getting it wrong.
Last week (June 5) Victoria reported 7557 new cases. there were 14 deaths. That gives a case fatality rate of 0.18 per cent. In fact less than half of positive cases are now being reported so the rate is probably around 0.09 per cent. Prior to vaccination the case fatality rate was between 0.4-0.9 per cent depending on the age of the cases. So the case fatality rate is about one tenth of the rate prior to vaccination. Further more we don't know how many of the deaths have not had adequate vaccination, so the case fatality rate of those who have up to date vaccination is probably even lower.
Another useful comparison is to compare us to the USA which has had a poor vaccination response. Their COVID death rate is 2,995 deaths per million population. Australia is 274. That is our death rate per capita is one tenth of the USA.
We have known all along that after a few months the vaccine will not prevent everyone from becoming infected but the protective effect against hospitalisation and death lasts much longer.
So the evidence confirms that the vaccine has allowed us to return to normal without a tsunamui of sick COVID patients dying and swamping our hospitals. Adequate vaccination reduces the death and hospitalisation rate from COVID by 95 per cent.
So please get your COVID booster vaccines along with flu vaccine (they can both be given at the same time).
If you are over 65 or have other comorbidities (heart, lung, obesity) then get a booster six months after your last one.
Dr Brett Forge, Warragul
Energy crisis
Our present energy crisis is not due to renewables, but the lack of Federal Government leadership for over three decades. We are now playing catch-up, our coal-fired power stations are failing, and we will need some gas for several years, while we build new transmission lines and long term energy storage.
Snowy 2.0 will not be part of this. The Snowy 2.0 Hydro-electric Scheme has been touted as a power station. But it won't be a power station, it will be a huge energy storage system, and nobody knows where the electricity to run its pumps will come from. There has been no business case for this project. This project will be a disaster – a massive, very expensive white elephant.
Most of the world is slowly moving to renewable energy. For Asian countries, the driving force for the change to renewable energy, is the high death rate caused by fossil fuel generated dense toxic smog. For Australia, renewable energy will, in a few years, be cheap and reliable and make our industries profitable.
Roy Wilson, Drouin
No rate increase
We are about to enter the new financial year from July 1. We have just had quite a hefty interest rate hike which helps me but doesn't help young families with huge mortgages.
Along with the next lot of pain inflicted by the Reserve Bank will come a further slowing down of property auctions in Sydney and Melbourne, with the eventual flow on to regional areas. Property prices are starting to come back in Sydney.
Each year the Victorian Valuer General calculates the property sales figures, and that information is passed on to local government. This information is normally used by local government bureaucrats to calculate rate increases for you.
This time, it would be at the least morally wrong to increase your rate bill.
If the property values go back 10 to 15 per cent than your councillors should override the staff recommendations to increase the rates.
In fact, there should be a rate reduction, but that's in an ideal world.
Building the civic precinct later than sooner will be cheaper because presently building materials are scarce and so is labour therefore pushing the prices up.
Ian Honey, Warragul
Speed limits
A few months back I asked VicRoads why they installed 50 k/ph speed signs along Queen St from the western end down to the Queen St/ railway underpass.
Opposite KFC in Queen St there was a red warning speed sign installed alerting drivers that a 40 kp/h speed zone was being entered. There were no more 40 kp/h speed signs installed anywhere from this point along Queen St.
Now there are two 60 kp/h signs opposite KFC (one kerbside and one in the middle of the median strip) The 40 kp/h red warning speed sign has been removed.
A 50 k/ph speed sign has been installed just past Napier St. Also a 50 k/ph sign has been installed on the Warragul Railway Station bridge as you come across into the town proper.
The 50 k/ph has changed to 60 kp/h just past Mason St.
Why not change the two 60 kp/h signs opposite KFC to "50 ahead".
VicRoads did not answer my questions specifically but suggested I lodge a freedom of information application along wit the appropriate fee.
Can you believe it? Bureaucrats answerable to no one making decisions concerning the real world but they do not live in it.
I think Premier Dan Andrews needs to warn VicRoads to smarten up its act as the rumour mill reckons he plans to sell it to reduce the state's massive debt.
Noel Cook, Drouin
Sold out
Are you incensed? You should be as the party, now government of the battlers and working man/woman has sold you out.
For example, it you earn no more than $100,000 a year, you are going to be subsidising the child care payments of someone earning $500,000 a year.
Yes that is right. Labor's new Child Care Policy will subsidise your child care payments if you earn up to $500,000 a year or put it another way, half a million bucks and every Tom, Dick and Harry will pay for it even if you are on struggle street.
Put that against the backdrop of pensioners who earn more that $130 a fortnight, start to lose 50 cents in every dollar of their pension.
Labor, battlers, working men and women were always synonymous. Seems in their push for power they have dumped you/us.
Roger Marks, Drouin