Respecting rural roads
It’s pleasing to read of prospective action by Baw Baw Shire Council in response to well-founded concerns about road safety at the intersection of Darnum-Allambee, Bona Vista and Parkers Rds in Cloverlea (Gaz 15/1).
The proposed measures include reinstatement of rumble strips, which reminded me of an incident I observed recently when driving west along Burke Stt, Warragul, towards its junction with Lardners Trk.
The Burke St approach includes a very effective set of rumble strips.
On this occasion, I was astounded to see the driver of the vehicle immediately ahead of me, on reaching that section of road, evade the rumble strips by switching to the eastbound lane for its whole length – and maintaining excessive speed for most of it.
The slowing and halting of Burke St traffic at the junction is for the very good reason that vehicles in Lardners Track are not visible until the intersection itself is reached.
Furthermore, northbound and southbound traffic turning into Burke St approaches at speed, expecting to make the turn unimpeded by vehicles exiting from Burke St.
The offending driver was therefore at high risk of causing a head-on collision.
Elsewhere in the paper, Cr Keith Cook is quoted in another context saying people who used country roads respected rural road conditions.
He had back roads particularly in mind, but it’s difficult to imagine the perpetrator of the foregoing incident respecting other than their immediate comfort and convenience in any conditions.
John Hart, Warragul
Silence is golden
Silence is golden and so are the hills. The brazen colour of ragwort.
The terrifyingly established perrenial Yellow Peril.
This evening's sunset has lit up the hills like a golden avalanche.
A serious case of jaundice.
I'm jaundiced. I've had enough of government departments turning the other cheek. Silence is golden. There's a cowardly silence. I was assured today that noxious weeds are of course still policed.
The government representative on the other end of the phone said it was unfortunate that he was unable to assist me further in this matter and was unable to steer me in the right direction.
He was also in a hell of a hurry to get off the phone which he did very quickly. Where to from here? How about a bus load of business suited people coming out here in hard hats and gas masks for a bit of a look?
If they were to embark on some action now these hills and gullies might just about be cleaned up in half a century's time. No worries. Be a hero someone. Save our countryside.
Christine Webb, Mountain View
Clean and green?
Until three years ago my wife and I lived on a farm at Mountain View.
We were very interested in Christine Webb’s letter to the editor in this paper recently, which expressed her concern about the rampart spread of noxious weeds in that area of Gippsland. We decided to check it out for ourselves.
To put it mildly, we were totally appalled at the degradation of the land in the area.
So what’s the cause? Is it “tree changers” who buy farms which are presented for sale outside of weed season, and don’t know what to do about the weeds when they appear?
Is it absentee landowners who often lease the land as turn out blocks to renters who, in many cases, rape the land for quick profit, and, between the two parties, nobody accepts any responsibility?
Or, are there landowners who don’t understand the impact on the surrounding environment?
My view is that these are just contributing factors.
The real problem lies with the timid politicians who grandstand about “clean and green”, but do nothing to assist the rural people who elected them.
The fat cat bureaucrats are the people who really run the show, and they have rarely shown the interest or courage needed to do the job.
Member for Narracan Gary Blackwood had the chance to do something while the Coalition was in power, but didn’t.
The then Minister for Agriculture, Peter Walsh, promised more resources at a meeting with Landcare representatives, but also failed to deliver!
It’s up to the politicians to convince the current government that something needs to be done before it is too late.
The first thing they need to do is make sure that the people, whose wages the farming community pay, do it quickly.
The delaying tactics of issuing notices to people who don’t comply with the law of this state only increases the damage, and duck-shoving responsibility to community groups was destined to be a farce, and it has been shown up as a total failure.
Despite having to battle the weather, wind blown seeds, political indifference, and bureaucratic disinterest, the majority of farms in the district are very clean despite the politicians and public servants.
Most farms we passed demonstrated the continued diligence of good owners to the benefit of the environment.
Russell Hupfield, Warragul