The decision by the Mount Alexander Shire Council to slug the CWA with hall hire fees in excess of $2,500 per annum  is the most stunning evidence to date of corporatisation that is out of control.

This revered rural women’s association has been in existence for many years and countless generations of women have contributed through it to the benefit of the community. It represents values of service that are very precious in this largely consumerist world.

A priority role of local government is to nurture those community organisations which foster engagement and opportunity in our shire. This mean and unconscionable impost comes from an alien corporate culture which seeks to enforce user pays even when the real user is the community itself.

Having just seen the response from the mayor on this issue in the Bendigo Advertiser today, I must confess that I am deeply shocked. I did not think that this council could do much worse than it has over the last four to six weeks. The fact that the agreement to provide the CWA with rent-free accommodation in return for losing their club rooms in 1996 is public knowledge means it is no myth as Cr Cropley would have it.

My manager at my job in Eaglehawk, who is a long-standing resident of Castlemaine told me about it and remembers it very well. It will of course be documented but this mayor does not want to look. If I am elected I will move quickly to right this wrong. If I am not or I don’t get support from three other councillors I will offer to chair a committee to raise the funds necessary for a legal challenge. There is no court in the land that will allow the council to avoid the obligations of “a previous council and a previous administration”. I am reluctantly coming to the view that if asked, this community would be prepared to support a motion of no confidence in this mayor if it were moved.

Yours etc

Hans Paas
Castlemaine. 3450

In Australia we are suffering from a massive failure of public policy. The decision made today at the VCGR is a symptom of a deep illness within all our governments. Julia Gillard’s recent publicly broken promise to Andrew Wilkie is another.

On the VCGR’s About Us page they proudly claim: With a strong community focus, the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation administers Victoria’s gambling legislation by licensing, educating and advising members of the gambling industry and the general public.

The first part is laughable. ‘With a strong community focus’. The jury has been back for a long time on the damage gambling does to communities.

Our State and Territory governments are chronically dependent on gambling taxes, which account for an average 10 per cent of their revenues, and are higher in Victoria (13 per cent), South Australia (13 per cent) and Northern Territory (17 per cent).(1)

State and Territory governments show little interest in protecting us, their citizens, from gambling-related harms. Despite so-called ‘harm minimisation’ measures, gambling losses and harm to individuals, families and communities continue to rise.

In 1983, the Victorian government appointed a board of inquiry to consider whether to introduce poker machines to Victoria. The board’s report ran to 800 pages and recommended they NOT be introduced. (2)

The NOT was in capital letters and on the first line of page one. Pokies were legalised in Victoria nine years later, and every shade of government since has embraced poker machines and their revenue.

A 2010 Victorian Department of Justice report found that pokies were the second biggest cause of crime, behind drug addiction.

A 2005 report by the SA Centre for Economic Studies found that 3.2 jobs are created for every $1 million of gambling income. By comparison, for liquor/beverages it’s 8.3 jobs and for food/meals it’s 20.2 jobs. (3)

Australia had 20.4 per cent of all the world’s poker machines. Additionally, the SA Centre for Economic Studies found that 42.3 per cent of every dollar going through a poker machine was coming from a problem gambler. Around 40 per cent of this tawdry $11.9 billion industry is fed by desperate Australians with a gambling addiction. (4)

These problems are well known in Australia and internationally. The Reverend Tim Costello, speaking in Castlemaine in late 2010, told the story of how a group of Lords from the British Parliament had visited Australia to investigate ‘how to avoid the Australian disaster’.

And the benefits? The captains of the gambling industry have enjoyed benefits, vast profits from public licenses, virtual licenses to print money.

A Sydney Morning Herald investigation found the biggest NSW clubs donate just 2.7 per cent of earnings back to communities. Despite promises of largesse from the MHS , the organisation is planning to come to Castlemaine to make money. It’s that simple. You don’t give your profits away, despite vague promises of $200,000 ($50,000 in cash and $150,000 in ‘free rooms’) and if there were ever an industry more focused on profit than the gambling industry please point it out. And $50,000 is a minute percentage of the forecast revenue from this planned venture.

Bishop Jeremy Alston had a piece in the local hard copy media recently, suggesting we were being divided by tough issues, such as the swimming pool and the poker machines. He suggested we needed to respect each other’s opinions and work our way through, to find our common humanity.

It is nevertheless difficult to find commonality with an industry that has lied and cheated to get its way, that is fixated on power, greed and money and cares nothing for local communities.

The VCGR surely had its tongue firmly planted in its cheek when it wrote in its ruling that The Commission has considered the likely social and economic impacts of the proposal and concluded that there will be positive economic benefits to the Castlemaine community if the application were to be approved.

But then, the VCGR is an arm of government, and what are its commissioners but bureaucrats on the public payroll, 13 per cent of which comes from gambling?

1.Risky business: Why the Commonwealth needs to take over gambling regulation, Alfred Deakin Research Institute
2. It’s criminal how pokies can turn people into hopeless addicts, The Age
3. The South Australian Gambling Industry Final Report, Commissioned by the South Australian Independent Gambling Authority
4. Risky business: Why the Commonwealth needs to take over gambling regulation, Alfred Deakin Research Institute

‘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.

Indian herb, Bacopa

Swinburne PhD candidate Matthew Pase is investigating whether dietary supplements can help counter the slowing of brain function with age.

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

In the time since, I have come to realise that there is a structural inequity in our economy which rewards those working in the for-profit sector at a higher level than those working in the community service sector, despite the latter being required to have more in the way of qualifications and skills in order to get a job in the first place.

To some extent we have been alerted to this inequity through the pay disputes between the government and nurses, fire-fighter, police and ambulance officers. The pay rise granted this week to the other community workers is  like a collective citation from the community to these unsung heroes that even though these workers do not contribute one dollar to GDP their work is highly valued. Aged Care and Childcare workers and those who care for the disabled are the standard bearers of a compassionate society and this reward is richly deserved.

Yours etc

Hans Paas
Castlemaine. 3450.

Teleogryllus oceanicus - their sperm production sure fascinated a bunch of guys in white coats

A new study shows the production of sperm is more biologically taxing than previously thought, and expending energy on it has significant health implications. 

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!

“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.”

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.

Dear Councillors,

Please allow me the opportunity to put forward some observations as a result of the “access door”
issue as mentioned in the Midland Express of January 24.

Firstly the MRSC has the ongoing problem of being the landlord of a poker machine venue and there
is no need for me to expand on the historical nature of this situation, especially in the light of the TressCox Report.

Also needless to say that as long as the MRSC remains the landlord to a gambling venue, there will be conflict of varying sorts.

You may be aware that here in Castlemaine, this community is waiting with much expectant anticipation of the result of a recent two day hearing at the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation as the Maryborough Highland Society applied for a license for 65 poker machines for Castlemaine.

I, and many others, are always interested in what is going on in your Shire with regard to the Kyneton Bowling Club.

The piece in the Midland Express quotes Malcolm Blandthorn, general manager of the MHS, as saying “It was affecting the viability of the venue to have the door locked all the time.”

As the landlord of the venue, the MRSC should be well placed to be aware of the current financial state of the KBC. Of course when the MHS took over the KBC it was in a dire financial state, to understate the situation, and this is on the public record.

Now for the Kyneton Bowling Club’s viability to be dependent on just one door being accessible from both sides does not instil any great confidence in me that the viability of the KBC is to be considered beyond doubt.

The KBC was financially ruined for a variety of reasons and with the locals still preferring the RSL Club, what has changed within the KBC to turn their fortunes around? A door that now opens both ways?

Having experienced the culture and management style of the MHS over an 18 month period, confidence and sophistication is not something the organisation exudes and this was no more evident in their seemingly scrambled attempt to secure a license from the VCGR for their ill-conceived Castlemaine project.

It was a policy on the run presentation by the MHS where the man was played more than the ball suggesting the MHS will be lucky to get their license for Castlemaine and they failed, in my view, to fully grasp the opportunity to solidly convince the Commission of the benefits of the Castlemaine project.

The result of the hearing will be announced late next week I imagine.

So, if the “viability” of the KBC depends on a swinging door, I would be extremely worried as the landlord and with unconvincing statements like Mr Blandthorn’s, it is no wonder a huge number of Castlemaine folk do not want the MHS or their machines.

regards

Chris Hosking
Castlemaine
Read about a big MHS lie

Read about other lies from the poker machine industry

Read the complete archive of poker machine stories by clicking the problem gambler at left

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

With caesarean rates increasing by 74 percent in the past 20 years, Professor Sue Kruske, director of the QCMB, said there is a myth among the health industry that women are driving the increases in the caesarean section rates.

“Some of the most commonly quoted reasons for the increase include the rising age of women having babies and the demand of women in the private hospitals for non-medically indicated caesarean sections, the ‘too posh to push’ women,” Professor Kruske said.

Professor Kruske said the QCMB research was based on a survey of more than 22,000 Queensland mums every two years, and aimed to discover what their maternity experience was like.

“When it comes to caesarean sections, our research shows the increase seems to be largely driven by the recommendations of doctors, particularly in private hospitals where Queensland has the highest rate of caesarean section deliveries (47.9 percent) in Australia.

“This would indicate the notion that women are choosing to have a caesarean because they are ‘too posh to push’ is incorrect.”

Professor Kruske said the trend towards caesarean sections was alarming with 34 percent of all births in Queensland now caesarean compared to 19.5 percent in 1989.

“Our research indicates women are not making properly informed decisions when it comes to caesarean deliveries,” she said.

“Notably, only about half of all women (52.4 percent) birthing in public and private facilities reported making an informed decision to have a planned caesarean before labour.

“And only one-fifth (19.9 percent) of women made an informed decision to have a caesarean section when the procedure was unplanned.”

Professor Kruske said the QCMB was about to undertake the latest instalment of the Having a Baby in Queensland Survey in the next few months.

“The survey is crucial to understanding women’s needs and preferences for improved maternity care in Queensland,” she said.

The Centre is an independent centre based at The University of Queensland and is funded by the Queensland Government. The role of the Centre is to work towards consumer-focused maternity care that is integrated, evidence-based and provides optimal choices for women in Queensland.

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