‘This is a devastating decision’, says Enough Pokies in Castlemaine (EPIC) president, David Stretch. ‘This case was a litmus test for whether the Commission will listen to communities. Castlemaine has spoken louder than any other community before it, and still the Commission wants to let more pokies in.’

The Maryborough Highland Society applied to the Commission for approval of a venue with 65 pokies in the heart of Castlemaine. The application was heard in January this year. The Commission found that the net social and economic impact of the proposal would be neutral, and so the application was approved.

‘An independent survey showed that over 70 percent of the community oppose this proposal. If Castlemaine can’t win, no-one can’, Mr Stretch said.

The local Mount Alexander Shire Council opposed the development due to its anticipated negative social and economic impacts. An unprecedented 574 individual objections from the community were received by the Commission. EPIC, a grassroots organisation reflecting the views of the overwhelming majority of the community, made representative submissions to the Commission.

‘The Government’s dependency on poker machine revenue has become so pervasive that the legislative regime allows governments to ride rough-shod over the express wishes of communities and local governments, in favour of a quick dollar.

‘This Commission hearing is just the beginning of this battle: it took Romsey five years to keep the pokies out.

‘We have to keep fighting, not just for Castlemaine, but for other communities who will face the pokies juggernaut in the future’, Mr Stretch said.

EPIC and the majority of the Castlemaine community now call on Council to continue acting in the best interests of the town by appealing the decision to VCAT. The Council has 28 days to lodge an appeal.

The tour will showcase four sustainable homes, all with passive solar design and incorporating a diversity of styles and building materials.

This shire is well-regarded for its leadership, community passion and creativity in the area of sustainability.

For anyone thinking of building or renovating this tour is a must!  On this tour you will have an opportunity to talk to the home owners and designers in this in depth tour of four unique sustainable homes in Castlemaine.

Local designers Lifehouse will also talk about their recent Building Design Association of Victoria award winning ten-star house design.

This event costs $30 for individuals, $20 for low income and MASG members or $50 for couples and  includes the house tours and  written information about the houses.

For information and bookings visit www.masg.org.au/housetours or call MASG on 0448 327 791.

I read with interest some of the commentary on the Aquatic Centre/Western Oval debate. I keep puzzling over several issues, one of which was raised in CI’s Comments section.

July 2007 report - read it here

How is it that in 2007, the Sport and Leisure Solutions Consultant to Council in the “Review of Aquatic Facilities” can state a preference for the existing Castlemaine Pool site as follows -

“We believe this is the best option of all the sites listed. It is close to the hospital, nursing home and hostel facilities which provide great opportunity for the cogeneration of energy which could be a major financial imperative to viability. Close proximity to the caravan park and Botanic Gardens are also positives…. The current Castlemaine Pool site has a large enough footprint to accommodate an Indoor Aquatic Centre.”

The Consultant’s comments in relation to the Western Oval site are “we believe this land is valuable open space that is best utilised by the community for that purpose. It would be costly to design something that negates geotechnical problems given the proximity to a creek bed.”

December 2009 report - read ithere

Three years later the Aquatic Centre Feasibility Study submitted to Council dated December 2009 and submitted in February 2010 by the same consultants is silent on the benefits of energy cogeneration and discovers that the Castlemaine pool site is not large enough for a heated pool and there is no mention of the course of the original Forest Creek affecting the Western Oval site.

Strange!

The other question that keeps turning in my mind is the scale of the plan being used by Council in its information sessions to show the proposed Western Oval Aquatic Centre siting. The amount of open space at the fore of the facility facing onto Forest St appears to be quite significant. However, if you calculate the proportions of the required footprint of the facility it would likely take up a great deal more open space. I guess we have to accustom ourselves to a level of “creative licence” in relation to selling the concept to residents.

Risk is the other issue that emerges in my thoughts.

• Financial risk – how robust is Council 10-year financial plan in the light of ongoing global financial turbulence?
• Climate change risk – more severe weather events and dramatic temperature swings will create unexpected costs to make our infrastructure (Bridges, roads, buildings, water) more capable of withstanding this risk – I would vote for this over an aquatic centre any day
• Political risk – if the volume of dissent from locals is an indication, perhaps there is a risk for our current crop of Councillors from the consequences of not listening to ratepayers.

I wonder where Council’s Risk Assessment for this project is? Is it publicly available?

Yours etc

Jane Fuller

At the last CI staff meeting

It’s CI’s birthday! Two.

How would you live without us? Let us know! Congratulate us.

Conditions of congratulating us:

1. No hate bloggers

2. No nasty comments about those pro or anti the swimming pool

3. No free trips to the Maryborough Highland Society club in Maryborough to play pokies

4. No calling the editor so deluded it is almost funny/a leftist agitator who does a pretty poor impersonation of a journo/asking him just WHO he is and WHAT planet he is from/that he uses weary old tools of the leftist and points the Nazi finger of shame/saying he has a juvenile and sarcastic manner/an idiot

5. No saying the editor’s sophistry is breathtaking. Sophistication – yes, sophistry – no.

6. No saying Far from being independent and un-biased, the author still favours left/green articles and continues to take swipes at Howard, Bush and other captains of capitalism.

7. No saying CI will suit local self-styled artists and pseudo intelligentsia. Some discretion should be used if allowing minors to visit it as offensive language is contained in some articles.

8. No calling CI a litany of self indulgent shite/not only inflamatory but also pathetic/truly awful, biased and disenfranchised piece of garbage/grubby little ploy … nothing short of disgusting

9. NO THREATENING US in capital letters. No threatening us in little letters. Neither law suits nor fish in the letter box.

10. No threats to inter CI staff at the Olde Gaol (at least if you’re planning it, MAKE IT A SURPRISE)

11. Take out a paid ad with us!

12. Contribute!

This is a letter of objection in regards to the “Council’s withdrawal of commercial waste collection, effective from 1 April, 2012″.

As a retailer in Barker Street I am anxiously concerned as to the choices, direction and outcome this decision has and will make on the “CBD” area of Castlemaine.

What concerns me and my business the most is the health and safety aspect. As Little Makers is now placed in a growing food strip, I am concerned about the “tip toe brigade” emptying their food waste into the public bins. There is one near the front of the shop. I am concerned with the level of hygiene. I am concerned with “a tidy town” illusion for the tourists. I am concerned with the council’s inability to ask questions, advice, ideas on how the businesses of Castlemaine could help with the problem. I am concerned with the: ”Two information sessions will be conducted for Businesses in February and March.”

that seem to be dated too little too late for a productive change.

A quaint gesture on an already sealed decision.

I am concerned with the proposed retail v’s residential loop-hole.

For example in one block of Barker street there is one resident who will be granted rubbish collection rights by the council.

I am concerned about fairness, council supporting the community and working with a fluctuating industry.

I hope youhave heard and understood my concerns

Thank you for reading.

Yours etc

Deita Walters

“The risks of routinely floating nuclear reactors in and out of Cockburn Sound shouldn’t be underestimated,” he said.

“Western Australian police and emergency services personnel are completely under-resourced to cope with even a minor reactor leak.

“While we assume the authors of this report were referring to nuclear powered attack submarines, what of the fleet of nuclear armed ballistic missile submarines? Do we want to be active partners in maintaining a fleet carrying weapons of mass destruction? Would submarines for deploying nuclear weapons be serviced and perhaps even based in Western Australia? And are we prepared for the social and environmental impacts of an expanded foreign military presence in our communities and ports?

Beach at Cockburn Sound

“Labor seems giddy with excitement over the prospect of a base hosting 2,500 US marines on a rotating basis in Darwin and appears hell-bent on locking in a 25-year deal with Washington over the North West Cape base. The role of that base in supporting the American nuclear-armed submarine fleet is already a cause of grave concern and in conflict with our commitments to nuclear disarmament.

“Long after the end of the Cold War, the North West base still facilitates nuclear ballistic missile submarines. The credibility of Australia’s efforts to push for nuclear disarmament on the global level is virtually erased when we lend ports, infrastructure and personnel to legitimising the retention and deployment of nuclear weapons. Offering Garden Island for the same purpose does even more damage to our standing amongst nations and to worldwide efforts towards nuclear disarmament.

“So long as Australia continues lend credence to the notion that nuclear weapons bring security by allowing bases on our soil to facilitate the nuclear weapons apparatus, we are missing an opportunity to demonstrate that reducing and ultimately eliminating the role of nuclear weapons is practically achievable.”

Mr Bandt said the decision was the culmination of a hard fought campaign and that he would no longer proceed with his bill to outlaw grazing in the national park.

“This is the right decision by the Minister and a victory for the campaign led by the Victorian National Parks Association,” he said.

“This should put an end to the Victorian government’s plan, which was all about fulfilling a grubby election deal. The State government should now take the opportunity to work cooperatively with other governments on managing the national park.

“I will no longer proceed with my bill to outlaw grazing, but if the Victorian government attempts to circumvent the Minister’s order we will revive the bill and put the issue beyond doubt.

“The Minister for Environment should not use this good decision as an excuse for not taking action elsewhere in the country, such as the heritage listing of Cape York.”

Mr Bandt’s Environment and Biodiversity Conservation (Abolition of Alpine Grazing) Bill 2011 would have legislated a complete ban on grazing of cattle in the Alpine National Park.

The Government must end uranium sales to Russia if it is serious about stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, the Australian Greens said on Friday.

Greens spokesperson for nuclear affairs Senator Scott Ludlam said strongly-worded statements on Iran from Canberra rang hollow unless the government ends the sale of uranium to Iran’s key nuclear partner – Russia.

“The Russian nuclear industry built Iran’s Bushehr plant and continue to work with the Iranian regime closely. Recently Moscow expressed concerns about nuclear fuel enrichment in Iran but continue to be Iran’s closest partner when it comes to nuclear power,” said Senator Ludlam.

“In April last year the Russian state-run company Atomstroyexport was carrying out the reloading of nuclear fuel at Bushehr. Russia has a significant commercial interest in Iran’s pursuit of nuclear technology and missile delivery systems.

“In 2008, CIA Director General Michael Hayden noted Russia’s assistance with civil nuclear technology and Russian company transfers of ballistic missile hardware and know-how in the annual report on Weapons of Mass Destruction related acquisitions. A similar report from four years earlier indicated Iran’s technological and material acquisitions from Russian companies aided Iran’s development of intermediate range ballistic missiles and that ongoing Russian-Iranian trade have assisted Iran’s local missile production capabilities. I’m not a huge fan of the work of the CIA – but this is what Washington’s intelligence agency is saying, and while Canberra listens to everything else the US administration tells them it seems to be ignoring the clear role Russia has in Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”

In November 2010 Senator Ludlam condemned the Government for cutting a deal to sell uranium to Russia.

“The concerns the Australian Greens raised then are more pressing now.  Russia has a nuclear energy sector known for low safety and environmental standards, the world’s largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, and at the time of signing, had not been visited by IAEA inspectors since 2001.

“The formidable security and proliferation concerns of uranium deals with Russia were spelled out forensically by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT) in 2008. The Government blindly dismissed these warnings. This is an example of short term profits taking precedence over global security interests.”

The Australian Conservation Foundation’s budget submission identifies savings that can be made by repealing wasteful subsidies that encourage greenhouse pollution and urges the government to instead invest in proper protection of our oceans.

As a member of the G20, Australia has pledged “to phase out and rationalise over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” (G20 leaders’ statement, Pittsburgh, September 2009), but so far Australia has not done enough to honour this international commitment.

“The oil and gas industry’s environmental record has been severely tarnished in recent years by the Montara and Deepwater Horizon oil spills and by promoting inappropriate industrial developments in sensitive areas like James Price Point in the Kimberley,” Australian Conservation Foundation CEO Don Henry said.

“Taxpayers’ funds that are currently going to multinational petroleum companies, allowing them to conduct oil and gas exploration in deeper and deeper waters, should be re-directed to provide adequate protection for Australia’s oceans.

“Australia has some of the largest and most diverse oceans on Earth, but at present more than 90 per cent of Australia’s marine areas are unprotected from oil drilling and exploration, leaving an accident waiting to happen.

“If the government redirected just 15 per cent, or $500 million, of the direct tax breaks that are set to flow to big oil and gas companies over the next five years, it would be enough to complete the establishment of a world class network of marine reserves and good management for healthier oceans around our island ‘girt by sea’.

“The oil and gas industry is not short of a quid or protection, but Australia’s oceans are.  It’s time to redress this imbalance.”

Christian Monahan, The Produce Garden

When I was around 16 years old I was sitting in the back of my parents’ car as we drove along on our way to a lunch somewhere. Bored out of my brain I sat still and reluctant in the back, something was nagging at me and I felt like I was being watched. I shrugged and turned to look out the window I was hunched up against to see two dark but deep eyes staring back at me, or rather into me. It was a pig. Peering through the railings of the truck he was jammed into along with numerous other pigs, undoubtedly on their way to the abattoir. I sat and stared at him for what seemed like ages until I uttered the words “I won’t eat you anymore”, that was the beginning of my 12 year stint of not eating meat. Two years as a vegan and ten as a vegetarian and no, I didn’t eat fish or seafood. One of the quirk questions asked by meat eaters that still bothers me to this day.

All of my time seemed spent researching and reading about animal welfare, the meat and meat transport industry and of course the battery hen system. I bought no leather, yelled my disgust at fur, went and saw abattoirs and battery hen farms for myself and participated in numerous marches and demonstrations. So what happened?

Twelve years later I was a carnivore again, it wasn’t so much that I stopped believing in animal welfare it was just that I wanted to eat meat again. Though the very process behind how our meat ends up on our plates still makes me angry and quite sad. Nowadays, even though I do eat meat it’s usually only about three times a week, the benefits of a vegetarian diet still linger in my mind and the habits of my younger years haven’t entirely left me.

So with an increasingly growing demand for meat products, what’s happening with the meat industry, what’s the future hold?. From experience most people just don’t want to know, out of sight and literally out of mind. When I raised sheep I would often comment on the new lambs to people, how nice they’ll be to eat, I was always responded with comments like “I don’t want to know” or “that’s horrible” by people who were not vegetarians and hooked into their Sunday roasts with total abandon. You gotta love the irony. Battery hens, pig cages and veal calves in boxes just don’t want to be known about. Have you ever been to an abattoir? It is absolutely filled with the stench or urine and fear, that’s the best way I can describe it. But lets be realistic, I’m not turning vegetarian and neither are the majority of the population, so with such a huge demand for meat, how can we find a more humane way to produce? It isn’t so much the thought of eating meat that irks me nowadays just the way in which we get it.

Shooters and hunters often get frowned upon by other carnivores (go figure) who say that the way in which they kill is cruel and unkind. Would I rather shoot a duck that’s lived free all its life only to one day be killed while flying around or would I rather eat a chicken that’s lived in horrific conditions without sunlight or even dirt to scratch around in surrounded by other diseased birds whom after dying are sometimes ground back into the feed and fed back to the flock? No doubts in my mind.

But I’m not saying that hunting should go on without controversy, people have their opinions and that’s fine, but the way in which I catch fish for example, cast a line, hook on a fish, bring it in and kill it at once will always be better than the 3-5 kilometre nets that drag  along the sea beds catching all in its path, only to dump them on the boat deck to suffocate slowly. No one likes to see a dolphin die do they? So what about all the other creatures? Again I’m not advocating vegetarianism, merely questioning our methods. Watch the film “earthlings” and see how you feel.

But with a firm belief in self sufficiency I must say that my years on the farm, surrounded by those who rear their own meat have left an indelible effect on how I see meat. For example if one neighbour wants to eat a lamb or two then he calls his local butcher, together they walk into the field, get the lambs, walk them away from the others and then bang, it’s all over, he cuts it up in his mobile butchers van and that night it’s in the freezer. I’ve seen it done a dozen times and I can honestly say that the lambs are under no stress, they have no idea what’s going on and the next second it’s all over. No herding into trucks, no long journey and no long wait in the abattoir holding pens surrounded by hundreds of terrified others and the rank smell that goes with it. Having said that I admit that it’s easy for me to boast when there are thousands who don’t live on farms and have to buy from the butchers or worse case scenario, supermarkets, to get their meat. So what’s the solution, or indeed, is there one at all?

The benefits of a vegetarian diet to our global crisis are painfully obvious but the reality is that the planet is not going to turn vegetarian. So can the process be improved? Activities like mulesing and live export will always be controversial and fair enough, but for all other meat transporting and slaughtering methods…is there a better way? Fish farming is one way I’ve been reading about (and seeing) that seems to be an improvement on the netting system, less transporting, less impact on the natural numbers and what seems to be a self sustainable system, though it could be faulted in some aspects. I’m currently in the process of turning one of my dams into a “fish farm” as it were and have recently been in contact with a bloke who sells Murray cod fingerlings, if I can keep up the water levels and feed them then I should be on my way to having fish at my back door, but I’m still doing my research on that.

One thing about home rearing is the common fear of killing the animal yourself. Not many people want to cut a chickens head off or shoot a lamb and at first I too was a bit queasy about taking a life. But I saw the light or rather the plate at the end of the tunnel and appreciated the fact that I was going to eat meat regardless and this way the animal was going through the least amount of stress possible. No transport, free to roam, good food and in the end, a quick and pretty painless death.

So how do we really see the meat on our own plates? Do we ask about the way in which it came to be there? Most don’t, but there are a few who do and by raising the consensus that these sentient beings are more than just fodder for our carnivorous dietary needs, the better our world will be.

Christian Monahan

Christian Monahan

The Produce Garden

After living three quarters of his life in Melbourne and studying at various places overseas including Japan, Nepal and China, Christian finally left city life behind to pursue his dream of self sufficiency in the rural heartland of Victoria.  Almost eight years later he’s still there, growing, writing, planting and sharing his years of organic, permaculture and horticultural experience with like-minded people. Giving talks and workshops and sharing with others, not only the joys of growing their own vegetables, fruit and produce, but also being aware of how our food is grown and the agricultural practices behind it.

Owner of Produce Garden Farm

Writer, Australia & Overseas

Agriculture, Organic food/growing, Self Sufficiency, Permaculture, Food manufacture,

Youtube

(Over 300 videos, over 6900 subscribers)

Lecturer

Self Sufficiency, Gardening, Permaculture, Agriculture.

The pads proved popular for those wishing to express their opinion

Photos and story by CI photographer Matt Wobbly

The Mt Alexander Shire Souncil held their Aquatic Centre information session at the Town Hall yesterday. From the charged atmosphere inside the hall you would believe there was a toxic waste dump proposed for the  Western Reserve.

The well attended meeting, which had no formal speakers or question and answer session, displayed various aspects of the proposal on office partitions around the hall. After viewing the large printouts disclosing different aspects of the design the public had the opportunity to write their opinions on large paper pads around the room.  The pads proved popular and were quickly covered with a wide range of opinions on them, some supporting  the pool, others objecting to elements of the design, its function or the lack of size, but there was one position that was repeated on almost every page  and that was the objection to placing a pool on the Western Reserve.

The Mayor was busy addressing the concerns of the residents.

The attendees wasted no time in making their opinions heard,  speaking with the council staff and Councillors present as well as filling out forms on the tables and the large pads around the room. Council representatives appeared overwhelmed and very stressed by the number of people and the strength of conviction in the many varied objectors.

Outside the front door greeting people and collecting signatures as they arrived was a Save The Western group. The group did a brisk business collecting a large number of signatures during the meeting. The protesters, carrying placards and trying to make their way into the hall, were confronted at the door by the shire CEO Phil Rowland.

Whatever your own opinions on the Aquatic Centre, it’s clear that the council needs to rethink this proposal. If they plan to soldier on to put the pool on the Western Reserve it will not only cost them a lot of extra time and money, but it will cost them their credibility and without credibility you can’t get government funding.

Save the Western campaingers collecting signatures at the front door.

Expedition Pass in flood last year

There are some very important things to be said on the issue of flooding in Castlemaine.

The lower part of the town is actually built in a dam with the railway embankment forming the wall with two small spaces for water to flow through. As we have seen with the Queensland flash floods cars, houses and tons of trees and debris gets picked up and get stuck under bridges and railway lines.

A recent flood report on the 150-year-old Expedition Pass states that if it was breached suddenly, up to 200 lives could be lost in central Castlemaine.

This proposal hasn’t got a hope in hell of standing up to a legal challenge and I can promise that I and other responsible members of this community will take it to the highest court in the land if necessary. An aquatic centre  will NOT be built on that site.

Yours

Doug Ralph

A 'jumping jack', still taking a toll in South-East Asia

Back in the 1960s and early 70s, the US dropped millions of tonnes of bombs and mines on South-East Asia. It was the Vietnam War, and Laos and Cambodia were targeted, as well as Vietnam.

This unprecedented amount of ordnance (more than was dropped in the entire Second World War) is still taking a heavy toll on people who live there today.

Now, groups of Australians are heading over regularly to voluntarily de-mine swathes of the countryside. You can help.

Fundraiser

A fundraising dance is planned for 21 January at the Guildford Hall, from 4pm. Gary Bridgland, who sells honey at Wesley Hill Market, is heading over in January. Ask him about it. All kinds of entertainment is planned.

The MiVAC (Mine Victims and Clearance) Trust was established by Australian Veterans of the Vietnam War, the first Tunnel Rats, who cleared landmines in Vietnam and who have seen and felt first hand the effects of these indiscriminate weapons. Read more at Vietnam War and the Tunnel Rats

Imagine a farmer losing two arms and an eye. He was found in his home wasting away.

Initially comprising veterans, the group has broadened to include Humanitarian Aid Workers, members of the Peacekeeping Forces, and also many members of the general public who have a common desire to rid the world of these terrible weapons, and assist the victims and communities affected by them.

MiVAC is a voluntary organisation enabling 95% of donor’s funds to reach their identified projects. MiVAC brings relief to people living in areas affected by mine warfare. Additionally MiVAC provides a positive focus for those who are aware, and are concerned, about what was left behind at the completion of conflicts or the withdrawal of troops. 260 million bombies and 2 million tons of bombs were dropped on Laos (now Lao PDR). 30% didn’t go off – so are left behind with the locals having to deal with the dreadful consequences.

Projects

LAOS – Recent activities in Lao PDR have focused on funding the training of females in landmine and UXO clearance.  This process enables trained women to find employment in their field of expertise.  MiVAC has also partnered with Phoenix Clearance Ltd to clear two minefields near Ban Xai in Xieng Khouang province.

Recent clearance of cluster munitions from a playground at Ko Hai and a range of UXO’s from a neighbouring rice paddy also uncovered that villagers often require additional development assistance and future projects will strive to address the dual goals of UXO clearance and victim assistance.

CAMBODIA – So far we have provided materials for a fence to be built around the perimeter of a school, which was bordered by a minefield. This enables the children to play safely without straying into dangerous areas.

We have provided tools to a workshop and built a waste disposal storage area at the Sunrise Children’s Village. MiVAC members, with the Ranelagh Community Group, raised enough money for 12 wheelchairs to be built by a Cambodian landmine survivor. He then distributed these wheelchairs to other amputees in the Siem Reap Province.

SRI LANKA – A donation from the Royal Commonwealth Society (Tas) has been forwarded with an equal amount from MiVAC to assist with the re-building of a school after a demining project in the area had been completed.

VIETNAM – MiVAC partnered with the East Meets West Foundation to build a causeway over a tributary of the Dak Bla River  near Kon Tum to provide all year access to markets and medical facilities for local villagers and the six orphanages in the vicinity.

As a person working in the employment services sector I have seen what happens when redundancies result from the phasing out of some industries, particularly those in manufacturing. I have also seen the potential for job creation from new industries. I have a very strong preference for the Community Renewable Energy (CRE) model which involves construction of wind farms by communities, maximising community consultation, participation and sharing of profits.

The placement of wind turbines has provoked much controversy. Critics are divided between people concerned about visual impact who don’t share my admiration for these majestic inventions and those concerned about possible negative health effects. Some scientific data is beginning to emerge from studies that needs to be carefully considered. Permit applications need to be dealt with transparently and with effective local consultation.

Last weekend on the campaign trail I was confronted by a very aggressive anti-wind farm campaigner in Sutton Grange who asserted that the majority of his neighbours were strongly opposed to any placement of wind turbines in his neighbourhood. He derided statistics used by our local sustainability group indicating that a large majority of the Mount Alexander Shire community are in favour of wind farms and suggested that there was some sort of secret list of proposed sites.

Without wishing to increase the heat in this debate, I wonder if CI would be prepared to facilitate a reasoned debate on this controversial subject?

Hans Paas
Castlemaine

I will admit that I DO have a personal distaste specifically for the Maryborough Highland Society’s bid to triple the gambling opportunities in our town.
It is this: As a Scot, born and bred, straight from the highlands to here, I find it racially and culturally offensive that the Maryborough Highland Society actually used its long cultural traditions supposedly from the ‘highlands’ of Scotland as a primary argument for its ‘high’ intent.
They are deeply delusional on the nature of Highland culture: the most prominent battles of highland history (Culloden & Glencoe) which are deeply ingrained in the psyche of all highland babies is the bitter and bloody fight against invaders coming into their communities specifically to impose their own culture, and values and traditions on a community who neither needed them, or wanted them.

The irony doesn’t escape me.

Incidentally on a more modern note: In Britain (the same geographical area as Victoria) there are around 140 gambling venues where one can seriously use slot machines for the 50+ million population: NOT ONE: not a single one of those is in the Highlands.

It is quite simply not part of the Highland culture.
A true Scottish Highlander would see them for what they are: WOLVES in sheep’s clothing!

Yours etc

Andrea Ross

The Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation conducts hearings to grant licenses – or not grant them – to applicants seeking to place poker machines in a new venue. In a nutshell, these hearings are based around what is called the ‘no net detriment test.’

This test is about weighing up the benefits of the applicant’s proposal as presented by the applicant with the costs or detriments as presented by those opposing the application, usually the local government authority.

The hearing room last week was small, stuffy and jam-packed with people, but these slightly unfavourable conditions did not prevent more revelations from the Maryborough Highland Society about their own misplaced confidence. This hearing had the MHS with their team of lawyers and witnesses against the Mt Alexander Shire and their legal representation and witnesses, including EPIC.

Chairman of the VCGR, Bruce Thompson, was presiding over matters and Commissioner Gail Owen assisted. Present was Mr Brown providing legal counsel to the hearing on behalf of the Commission.

Before the hearing got under way, Mr Thompson asked for Mr Brown to state clearly what the hearing was all about and how it would proceed. Brown went to some length to reinforce that the hearing was about weighing up the benefits against the costs.

Witness number one for the highlanders was Don Hester. In his statement, Hester explained that he was forced to “resign” from his position as general manager due to the ill health associated with the stresses of his job. He pointed the finger of blame for his stress at the organised campaign by some people in Castlemaine to discredit not only the MHS’s plan but also him personally. I’ve been called “The Don”, Mr Hester told the Commission.

Hester spoke at length about EPIC, its tactics, individuals supposedly associated with EPIC, the nasty business of the Society’s information night in February 2011 “where no woman felt secure”, the personal attacks on him and general miscellaneous comments about the connection between EPIC, Chris Hosking (“I think it was Chris himself that told me he was Vice President of EPIC”, he said.)

Mr Hester explained that during the lead up to the Society’s public meeting in the Town Hall, it was suggested to him by Mt Alexander’s CEO that some security should be employed because of the potential for trouble.

I checked this story out with the CEO not long after the Society’s meeting and the both the CEO and the hall booking officer knew nothing of any Shire-driven suggestion for security.

Under cross-examination Mr Hester claimed there was little in the way of information and details about the MHS’s proposal made available to the Castlemaine community other than the information evening.

Next witness for the highlanders was John Inglis, the Society’s current President.

Mr Inglis revealed nothing new and under cross examination, when asked if he had ever spoken with anyone from EPIC, he said something like, “Oh no. I never talk to people of that ilk.”

After Mr Inglis was excused from the witness box, Mr Thompson again reminded everyone that the hearing was about costs and benefits and that issues of behaviour, as set by the first two witnesses, were not for the consideration of the Commission.

Mr Hester and Mr Inglis wasted their opportunity to sell their plan and deliver to the Commission salient points of the benefits of their application, and chose instead to demonise their perceived enemy, EPIC, and all those who are against the plan.

Ian Braybrook presented as a witness for the highlanders as did Trevor Butcher. Mr Braybrook told the hearing he was general manager of the local community radio station and under cross-examination he revealed that he was not asked by the Society to be a witness.

Dr Rohan Miller was another witness for the Society as his company, DataHarvest, conducted a survey in the Castlemaine 3450 postcode area on behalf of the Society. This was not a Shire-wide survey, as was the Shire’s survey.

During his witness presentation, Dr Miller spent considerable time belittling and criticising the Shire’s survey.

Counsel for the Shire, Mr Rantino, then cross-examined Dr Miller to reveal that his survey was not a community attitude survey, as normally expected by the Commission, but something more akin to a marketing exercise, a field Miller specialises in. He declared: “Happiness is a temporal thing”.

Mr Rantino could not cross-examine Dr Miller as he would have liked as the Society did not include details of Miller’s survey in their submission, such as the questions in the survey.

Miller’s cross-examination would continue the next day where he would explain, using data and research (neither supplied), that there is no casual link between the number of poker machines and the number of problem gamblers.

The rest of the day was all about playing catch-ups and policy on the run for the Society.

Firstly it was revealed that the Society had changed its community benefit arrangement. The initial application by the MHS shows that $50,000 in cash would be given to Mt Alexander Shire-based sports clubs and societies and $150,000 worth of free room use at the clubs.

During the hearing this $200,000 morphed into “all the profits of the club will be returned to the community of Mt Alexander Shire.”

Counsel for the MHS even suggested to the Commission that a condition be attached to the license that says as much. Such a condition would prove unprecedented, but would not be able to be monitored.

During Don Hester’s witness presentation, the Kyneton Bowling Club was mentioned with the question do profits from the KBC get returned to the community?

Mr Hester replied more or less by saying they would if there were profits.

So it is safe to assume the Kyneton Bowling Club is not making a profit.

The proposed Castlemaine Sports and Entertainment Club may not make a profit either.

Who knows?

The Commission could be as confused as anyone over the way money is planned to be shifted around from Maryborough to Kyneton and to and from Castlemaine and here and there.

The rest of day one was uneventful until counsel for the Society declared that the Salvation Army is not next door to the goods shed. Obviously the Society’s counsel had undertaken no site inspection. Most members of the audience expressed their rejection of the lawyer’s incorrect assertion with loud denials and rebuffs.

The Salvation Army does have a chapel and rooms next door to the shed, and as this became obvious, counsel for the Society swung into action suggesting that the new club will exclude anyone the Salvation Army tells them to.

Here was another example of the Highlanders making poor strategy changes on the fly. The hearing would later hear that the Human Rights Commission would take a very dim view of this behaviour of the MHS.

In the proceedings of day one, there was confusing talk of the structure of the board of the new club for the goods shed.

There was emphasis on giving ALL the profits back to the community. There was the benefit of the $2.5 million refit to the goods shed. Or was that $3 million? Or $3.5 million? The Commission has all three figures in front of them. There was the benefit of the jobs provided by the club with no discussion that the hospitality jobs in the club’s bistro will be dependent on the MHS leasing out the kitchens because the club will not employ kitchen and waiting staff. If these venues did not have to fit kitchens etc, they would not bother.

We heard of the social capital that would be so much a place of the club, as if there is no social capital already visible in Castlemaine. EPIC is the epitome of social capital.

The cross-examination from the Society’s lawyer tended more to be character assassination than validation of information, research, data and data collection methodologies. And there was much emphasis by the MHS team, through cross-examination, on meaningless typographical errors and inconsistencies of the reportage of some of the Shire’s printed evidence rather than anything substantial and damaging to the Shire’s case.

A summary of the performance of the MHS and their delivery of a whole day of evidence to advance the case for the benefits of any new club does not take long.

Dr Rohan Miller’s survey collapsed under its own marketing weight and it was revealed Miller knew nothing of the connectedness between a good community attitude survey, the Romsey ruling, happiness per se and what the Commission expects of a good survey. There was no sense of cohesion among the MHS team with strategies seemingly morphing and suddenly appearing with no notice.

Meg Kearney, a regular legal stalwart of the MHS was constantly rifling through mountains of folders, documents, the Internet and bits of paper as she and counsel for the MHS seemed to stumble from one reaction to the next.

There was an overwhelming sense of spontaneous strategy formation during day one from the MHS team as they lurched from one spot fire to the next.

Day two was for the Shire and EPIC.

I will not give a long rundown on proceedings of day two except to say EPIC’s witnesses managed to re-focus the attention of everyone in the room to the core issues;

- negative change to the character of Castlemaine because of 65 more pokies

- Castlemaine-based stories of addiction to poker machines across

cultures

- accounts from a clinical psychologist relating to poker machine addiction

- and the view of the Castlemaine community that nobody asked for these

machines, nobody wants them and they are not needed.

Day two definitely belonged to the community of Castlemaine.

If the Commission says no to the MHS, they have two options; fight or fly. The highlanders can fight it out in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) or they just give the 65 poker machine entitlements back to the State of Victoria (or finish paying for them, then sell them) and walk out of the lease with Vic track on the goods shed.

Should the Commission say yes, the Shire can meet with the highlanders in VCAT.

My view is that should the Commission say NO to the highlanders it will be because of their bumbled survey and that the voice of the host community came through loud and clear at the hearing, allowing the Romsey ruling to come into play.

The latest VCAT ruling on a VCGR ruling shows that 12 months lapsed between these two events. The MHS must use their 65 entitlements before February 2013 or they forfeit them under the VCGR’s ‘use it or lose it’ rule.

It could be that come November of this year, if the highlanders are still without a license for their 65 entitlements, have no planning approval from the Shire, no permit from Heritage Vic and face with the ugly prospect of losing their entitlements, the board of the MHS may have to find another $325,000 just to keep their entitlements.

That extra cash will not be coming from Kyneton. More likely it will come from the generous and unwitting poker machine players of Maryborough, central Victoria’s struggle town.

At the end of its last Council meeting for 2011, our Councillors quietly voted to stop rubbish collection in the Shire … (while you pick yourself up off the floor, I’ll finish the sentence) … for all businesses.  No, it isn’t for your household rubbish that they have done this, but please consider all of those who try to make your towns be viable business centres.  Suddenly shopkeepers can’t put their rubbish out!  One could easily argue that rubbish collection was the only thing the Shire had ever done for business.

I have never before heard of a Shire Council abandoning this one most basic of its services to its ratepayers.  Our Shire has done this with no warning, no consultation, and no investigation.  As far as we know, no other Shire in the Victoria has made a similar decision.

Amazingly, they have already signed contracts for Shire rubbish pick-up that doesn’t include any business.  They have given the reason that the EPA now requires that they separately report domestic collection from Commercial/Industrial collection and the latter is no longer cost effective.  When was rubbish collection or footpath cementing ever cost effective?!  They are basic services which make up one of the reasons that Councils exist!

Our Council has just made a wild guess that either no business in the Shire has any rubbish or they are already getting it picked up privately.  Imagine all those little shops who put out their small bag of rubbish once a week, plus a couple of boxes on recycling day.  Certainly they couldn’t justify or afford a commercial pickup from Bendigo.

Are they allowed to put it all in the street bins, or better yet, on the steps of the Council building?  Will it all end up on forest tracks, or increasing our landfill when it is no longer separated?  Will tip hours be increased when all the shopkeepers have to drive there before work?   I certainly hope that this crazy decision can be reversed.

Yours faithfully,

Joyce Sanders

Barker St., Castlemaine

Immature Death Cap mushroom (Amanita phalloides)

By Alison Pouliot

The start to 2012 was marred by the tragic news of the deaths of two people following consumption of Death Cup mushrooms (Amanita phalloides) during a New Year’s eve dinner party in Canberra.  A further person who also consumed the mushrooms is still in hospital and may require a liver transplant. Death Caps grow in Central Victoria.

The fungi were apparently mistaken for a similar-looking edible species known as the Paddy Straw Mushroom.  The chef who picked and cooked the mushrooms was himself one of the casualties of the deadly fungal toxins.

Authorities have expressed alarm and surprise at the early appearance of the Death Caps which typically occur later in summer or spring, depending on rainfall.  Changes in climate patterns including unseasonal summer rains are believed to have altered fruiting patterns of fungi in several countries and could also account for the earlier fruiting of Death Caps in Australia.

A quick scan online revealed that the news had made it across the world and appeared in newspapers from Dubai to London to Vancouver.  However, dismayingly, some readers’ comments on the stories ranged from cruel bad humour to blatant racism.  But of more concern was the sudden appearance of self-acclaimed experts offering misinformation on fungus identification. Several comments related to folkloric fallacies about how to identify poisonous and edible species.  The publishing of the original story serves as an important message about the need for great care if you are foraging for wild mushrooms, but the subsequent misinformed readers’ comments could result in further incidences of poisonings.

The Death Cap mushroom (Amanita phalloides)

Information on the toxicity and edibility of fungi is rare in Australia in comparison to much of Europe and parts of America, Asia and Africa.  Few Australian fungus field guides indicate fungus edibility or toxicity.  Prior to foraging for wild fungi, it is imperative that foragers have a solid knowledge of how to accurately identify fungi in the field.

For those readers interested to know more about fungi identification, diversity and their importance in natural ecosystems, a series of fungi workshops will be running this autumn across Victoria.  If you want to be sure a Death Cap never lands in your basket you might like to attend a workshop.  For further information visit www.alisonpouliot.com

CASTLEMAINE, January 2.

The drought has broken up at last. It may be may be that those cyclonic changes about which astronomers have talked so learnedly have come about. At any rate, everything is changed. The sky that was as brass and the horizon rim that smoked like a cauldron a week ago are now as grey as a witch’s cloak and wet as a mermaid’s  tresses. Heavy banks of clouds drifting from the north-east lie right along the horizon. There is a thick mist on Macedon, and heavy clouds over all the lower hills.

The rails shine, the roads stream, and the boulders strewn in the paddocks are wet and sloppy, and through the dry and withered grass there is already something like a flash of green. Every cranny, rivulet, and creek  is roaring with water tinged and foam flecked. The dead tones are alive again.

The land is full of life, but the resurrection comes not without some loss. Scudding along on the rails one sees many evidences of havoc and waste. Past Macedon, on the fine old agricultural lands about Carlsruhe and Kyneton, are many paddocks of wheat and oats and barley in the full ripeness of the harvest, or cut and stooked, to which the continuous rain means ruin.

Already the stocks have that dirty brown look about the heads which indicate mildew, and it is much to be feared presages absolute rot and loss. Hundreds of acres are seen in this condition along 10 miles of the road, and they do but serve to prepare us for the more terrible loss which has fallen on the old mining town of Castlemaine. Castlemaine is just now the centre of Australian interest.

On the afternoon of New Year’s Day a deluge overwhelmed it. The puny, dirty little creeks, which ordinarily trickle out of the hills and meander miserably along through the town and down the gullies, rose like giants and ravaged like fiends let loose, wrecking and wasting property and destroying life. It was no ordinary thunderstorm that caused the tremendous flood. I find here today, amongst many painful facts, not a few strange rumours.

The morning of New Year’s Day was tolerably fine, and only a few trivial showers occurred to mar the sports, but at about 3 o’clock the rain came down in earnest, and the creeks began to rise in a manner that could not be accounted for, even by the tremendous rain. The last race on the reserve was run in 9in. of water, and a little later it was not a case of racing for sport but for life. Tents, booths, seats, chairs, even the merry-go round, were swept away by the flood, and there was amongst the people present a terrible anxiety as to how they should escape to their houses.

Midmost in the excitement a Mr. White came riding into the town on a racehorse. He lives on Mount Alexander, eight or nine miles out of the town, and he had seen such a downfall and flood above and about as to convince him that it was imperatively necessary to give warning. He rode hard, but the ever increasing flood travelled faster, and though many acted on his warnings there were some to whom they came too late. The most lamentable case is that of Mrs. Matthews and her baby. This poor woman had gone across to her friend or relative, Mr. Philpot, to take an afternoon tea, his own wife being away on a visit to the city. The flood came down so suddenly that the water was all around the house before the inmates became alarmed. Thus runs the story as told at the inquest. Mr. Philpot entreated Mrs. Matthews to make her escape, but she shut the door against the water and mounted with her baby to a table.

Still the flood increased, and her companion persisted in his entreaties that she should get away ; but afraid to venture, or not recognising the danger, she would not move, and he went out through the door and waded and swam for his life. There is a good deal of indignation in the town about what followed. Philpot made his way to the verandah roof and stayed there in safety. The poor woman fell from the table with her baby into 4ft. or 5ft. of water and was drowned there, but subsequently two brave men swam across from a neighbouring hotel and rescued the bodies. It is strongly felt that the unfortunates ought not to have been drowned. Another case was the drowning of the two miners at the Francis Ormond claim at Chewton. They were working below, and the creek rose and overflowed the mouth of the shaft before any warning could be given.

Tens of thousands of tons of water

Tens of thousands of tons of water, silt, and debris were carried down, and though the pumps are now hard at work, it is doubtful if the bodies will ever be recovered. From Vaughan also, further up the creek, there is news of a very grave tragedy. Five Chinamen were known to be occupying a newly-built hotel, against which the flood came so suddenly and vehemently that it was borne down and swept away, The boss caught on to some floating dry wood, and was rescued three miles down. The bodies of three of his countrymen have been recovered, and one is still missing. An inquest will be held tomorrow, which, it is feared, will be about the second in a long series. Sergeant Trood, in charge of the police here, anticipates that there will be many more deaths to be recorded when a fall investigation has been made.

Chinese camp near Guildford

The appearance of the town and district to-day is remarkable, and it is only to be compared to that of one of the old Murrumbidgee or Hawkesbury towns after one of the historic floods. As approached by train all the old workings on the hillsides are seen to be saturated, and there are evidences of running water in every hollow.

In the town the streets appeared to be skimmed. All the surface or blinding has been washed off the metal, and the bare bones of the rough stones or the bedrock are exposed. Cataracts have been streaming everywhere, and all the bed of the valley has been a great and furious river. The old bed and valley of Forest Creek runs fairly through the town, and Forest Creek gathers all the water which falls on Mount Alexander and the neighbouring ranges.

When, therefore, this thunderstorm, or cyclone, or waterspout broke on Mount Alexander on Tuesday afternoon the waters streamed down into the centre of the town in one huge and increasing wave. They tell us that there had been no such flood or rain before within men’s memory. Indeed, it is easy to see that at least a generation had passed since the danger of such a flood had been felt. The water mark is seen 6ft. high on walls which are almost hoary with age. Tall trees are flung down, all their mass of fibrous roots being exposed, which were planted on what was deemed to be deep ground at least a quarter of a century ago. All the factories and public buildings were supposed to have been placed out of the reach of any possible harm ; industries had indeed been established, houses built, trees planted, and gardens brought to rare conditions of perfection since the last great flood recorded at Castlemaine. We see now evidence of a disaster which had neither been reckoned with nor provided against.

The gas works are idle. The flood passed through their retort house, and around their gasometer, and broke into and burst up their mains. Down all the valley we see them exposed, wrenched, twisted, and broken, and very frequently notice the odour of the escaping gas. The under pipes are in a similar condition. The system is thoroughly disorganised, and it must be many weeks before it can be put into working order again. The footpaths are broken up, the retaining walls of the creek carried away, the post office pillars and lamp posts thrown down. Their condition resembles that of a ship’s deck after a heavy gale. There are records also of great loss and heroism. The breweries have suffered severely. Along the front of Fitzgerald’s gangs of men are seen working with hand pumps endeavouring to drain the cellars, in which are many hundreds of tons of malt, hops, and sugar utterly spoiled.

LATER

It is raining now harder than before. The wind is steady in the south-west. The creek is running strong and rising. Sad sights of destruction are seen everywhere.

People only hope that there have been no more lives lost, but as yet there is no certainty of this. The bridges are all washed away, and communication with districts where miners and others are located is impossible. The town is intensely dark. The hotels are illuminated with Chinese lanterns and candles are burning in the street lamps.

A second flood occurred between 11 and 12 o’clock on Tuesday night. This was even more destructive than the one in the afternoon. Bullerworks bridge was swept away.

The Sheriffs bridge still stands, but the  approaches at one end are gone, thus stopping traffic. A stone house beside the bowling green in the Botanical gardens was washed off. A fine orchard belonging to H. O. Rowe, at North Castlemaine, has been almost destroyed. Fruit has been washed off the branches and many trees uprooted, and a deep layer of sludge covers the surface. A like casualty occurred in the orchard of Mr. Symes, at Harcourt, and of Mr. Marriott and Mr. Greer, of Campbell’s Creek, together with other gardens and orchards lying along the banks of Barker’s, Campbell’s, and Muckleford’s creeks. Several lives are rumoured to have been lost by this second flood that came in the darkness of the night.

Four children living near Yapeen are spoken of as having perished, besides others at Guildford, but the information respecting them requires confirmation. The rainfall was 4 inches. The magisterial inquiry touching the death of Mrs. Matthews and her infant was held by Mr. C. Tolstrup, at the courthouse, this afternoon, at 5 o’clock.

Archibald F. A. Matthews deposed that the deceased, Annie Jessie Matthews, aged 26, was his wife, and Alexander David Matthews, 11 months of age, his son. On New Year’s Day he saw them both alive between 1 and 2 o’clock, when they were going to Mr. Philpot’s private residence, Circular-road. He next-saw them both dead about 6 o’clock that evening at the residence of Mr. Philpots.

George P. Philpots deposed that Mrs. Matthews and her infant visited his place on Tuesday afternoon. Towards evening very heavy rain fell, and a flood surrounded his premises, He tried to persuade Mrs. Matthews to leave, but she would not. As the water was rising rapidly, he left the woman and child and waded to the back door, clambered up the verandah, and got upon the roof. He was on the roof for about two hours, and during that time only saw the Rev. Mr. Crawford and Mr. J. McKenzie, whose attention he tried to attract, but could not do so. When he descended he found McKenzie and Horner in the front room trying to recover the bodies.

In reply to Mr. Tolstrup, witness said he knew it was his duty to try and save the woman and child, but had he remained there longer he would not have been alive to give evidence. He could not persuade Mrs. Matthews to leave. She was very excited. Witness was cool. Mr. Tolstrup : I cannot compliment you upon your coolness.

Evidence was given by other witnesses as to the search for and recovery of the bodies by Horner and McKenzie. After Dr. Woolley had tendered the medical exidence, Mr. Tolstrup recorded a verdict that the deceased had been accidentally drowned.

With regard to Mr. Philpots’s conduct, all he could say was that unless he had completely ” lost his head,” he was the most arrant coward he had ever met with for not trying to save the woman and child, who met their deaths in his house.

Rainbow Bee-eaters with dragonfly prey, Cemetery Road Newstead, 31st December 2011.

Words and images courtesy of Geoff Park, of Natural Newstead.

The Rainbow Bee-eaters along Cemetery Road are still feeding tunnel-bound nestlings, almost exclusively now on dragonflies. It must be a perilous life being a dragonfly – while these wonderful insects are themselves fierce predators they are easily caught by skilled hunters such as the Rainbowbird. This morning the birds seemed to be catching dragonflies at the rate of about one every five minutes or so!

According to one reference (Pywell, 1990) dragonflies may contribute up to 65% of the energy value captured by foraging bee-eaters – the insects seem to have become more important food as the young are close to fledging. Rainbow Bee-eaters are regarded as ‘sentinel-feeders’, sitting

Returning to the perch after another successful feeding sally

on a high perch and waiting for unlucky insects, such as dragonflies, bees, wasps and moths to pass within range. Generally they seem to be successful with at least 50% of their foraging attempts – a pretty good strike rate.

Another unlucky dragonfly!