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

If you wish to put the event up for longer, or to upload a photo to accompany it, there is a small charge, although your ad will stay at the top of the list.

The technology is simple to use! Go to the Classifieds now. Castlemaine Independent is viewed by 1500 readers a day.

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.

It is a wonderful idea to spend time as a visitor to our own area and see it through the eyes of visitors. I especially enjoyed the outdoors in what has been a wonderful season, and to have water again is such a gift.

Cairn Curran is full of water and yachts, boats and swimmers have had a wonderful time around the area. Visits to Taradale Mineral Springs and Vaughan Springs found things lush and green, ideal for sitting, walking and talking. The Botanical Gardens had many visitors strolling and playing happily.

Movies at the Theatre Royal, dinner under the stars in Maldon Main Street and a quick visit to the Art Gallery all accompanied by good food and wine have entertained me and my visitors, and visits to antique fairs remind me of how engaged many farmers, producers and our community are with our environment.  It is beautiful to see the landscape with lots of new growth after a year where my dam has remained full for a whole year, until the last month.

In spite of the loss and inconvenience for individuals from flooding and enormous costs to our governments, Mother Nature’s gratitude is obvious everywhere we look.

Now the weather has warmed up and winds are drying everything out again I am reminded that we are approaching the third anniversary of the Black Saturday fires. I am well aware of the time it takes for those affected to re-establish their lives, as staff from the Shire and community services organisations still work with the people in Redesdale where works continue.

For those who were affected by floods, work continues with the Community Reference Group and a program of repairs that will take another two years to complete.  Our senior governments have been generous with funding and flexible management arrangements – but the design of works, finding available contractors and delivering the program to make $14 million of works is a large one.

I want to encourage everyone to think about your fire plans, have a look around your property and be vigilant as we are warned the good rains could deliver a sting in the tail with the potential for grass fires in the coming months.

Cr Janet Cropley

Mayor, Mount Alexander Shire

Indian herb, Bacopa

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

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

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.

“This sharpens the importance of the work of the Convergence Review and the Finkelstein media inquiry,” said Greens communications spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam.

“In a healthy media market with wide diversity of ownership, it matters much less when mining billionaires buy media assets with the clear intention of influencing the political debate. In a market as highly concentrated as Australia’s, however, it matters a great deal.

“Media organisations are not poker chips to be shunted around the table in the service of particular industry sectors. In a functioning democracy, the media must play a role critical to the rights and wellbeing of the public by operating independently of powerful vested interests both private and government.

“The founder of Mrs Rinehart’s company Hancock Prospecting, her father Lang Hancock, wrote that the power of governments ‘could be broken by obtaining control of the media and then educating the public’. There is a difference between holding governments to account while striving for objectivity – which is a vital public service – and seeking to break the authority of a government by running a propaganda campaign against it.”

Senator Ludlam said the substantive issue at stake was not Mrs Rinehart’s personal world view, but the ability of a small handful of people to monopolise Australia’s mass media under the current laws.

“No one should be banned from investing in the media because of their beliefs. What is at issue is the concentration of media ownership, which amounts to a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of very few people.”

The way the Council treats its employees is a reflection of its disregard for ratepayers.

Most of the Council and ratepayers may be unaware that until a few months ago a mechanic was on the Outdoor Staff. He was employed to repair all machinery thus avoiding expensive outsourcing. He maintained and repaired equipment and machines, recycling surplus materials to make parts, made plant, repairing the unrepairable and even made tools to do the jobs. Holding many tickets he was versatile and could be slotted in almost anywhere when someone was away, he was a generalist not a specialist.

His retirement after 23 years service received no recognition from our esteemed Council and CEO for his loyal service. The only acknowledgement was from his fellow Outdoor Staff workers and one member of the Indoor Staff. (Please take note of how the Council workforce is divided.)

For a Council which prides itself on its social policies, I find them hypocritical in the extreme. At the Aquatic Centre Info meeting I mentioned the above to staff and a) they were unaware that a mechanic was employed and b) shocked by the lack of acknowledgement of service.

I would also like to point out that whenever a new position is created in the Town Hall one of the outdoor staff is sacked and the work outsourced. The Indoor Staff are noted for their high turnover perhaps because they are career minded. Recently several long term Indoor Staff have left, perhaps as in the Corporate environment, the new broom had to sweep the floor clean.

Anonymous,
Chewton 3451

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!

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