Rubbish talking point
The residents of Tathra prize the happy seaside village with beautiful manicured nature strips and gardens.
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But take a drive or walk along Andy Poole Drive and on the beach side about 100 metres past our surf life saving club you will come across a well matured pile of rubbish and sticks, now 13 weeks old.
Our welcome tourist population has made it a talking point and the early morning doggies find a handy cock-you-leg stop.
If the Bega Valley Shire Council can’t handle this conspicuous load of stuff, then how on earth can us ratepayers expect great things on other projects in Tathra and surrounds? Maybe it’s a breakdown in communication...I think not.
Trevor Miller, Tathra
Last man standing
The BDN article suggesting that our venerable state member Andrew Constance would usurp Mike "backflip" Baird for the title of Premier of NSW is ill-informed.
I have it on good authority that Andrew "Stephen Bradbury" Constance is sniffing out a safe federal seat. Good luck with that one, Andrew.
If you remember, Stephen Bradbury is the Australian speed skater who won gold as the last man standing in his Olympic final.
Likewise, our Andrew Constance won his Cabinet position after seven Liberal state members were found guilty by ICAC of, to say the least, unseemly conduct. Think about Eddie Obeid and his mates.
Andrew Constance, go for it. Less likely things have happened.
I just don't like your chances of fooling so many of us so often as you have in the past.
Andrew McPherson, Kalaru
Park ‘death trap’
As regular Merimbula holiday visitors we're thrilled with Ford Park's new playground, but the “carousel” is a death trap.
Both of my children (5 and 2) have been thrown off this equipment, unable to get up due to the perpetual motion. The swinging blue metal bars are potentially lethal if they collect little ones on the way around.
There is no way to stop this carousel once it is motion and it becomes particularly dangerous when older kids (understandably) spin it around at high speed and little ones get caught in the fray.
It needs an emergency stop at the very least. The nearby sign telling parents to supervise isn't going to do the job.
Ellie Parker
Shark back-flipping
Premier Mike Baird is now back-flipping on his government’s promised science-based response to the risk of shark bites in NSW and it is bad public policy.
The Premier knows rolling out shark nets will not guarantee public safety because bites have occurred on netted and un-netted beaches across NSW.
But what he is guaranteeing is that dozens and possibly hundreds of turtles, dolphins, rays and even whales will be killed by the nets.
My heart goes out to those impacted by shark bites, but the ocean is the domain of sharks and when we go in there we must assume a degree of personal risk.
The role of government can’t be to reduce all risk and we wouldn’t accept permanent beach closures or wall to wall netting from the Tweed to Bega.
Government’s role is to fund research into shark movements and behaviors; to empower local people with information and resources to support community-based observer programs like Shark Watch, surveillance drones and elevated viewing platforms; and to support school-based and community education and shark awareness.
What we don’t need is either the Premier or the Labor Party using understandable community anxiety to look tough while introducing measures that will kill the marine life we all love and pretending this is a silver bullet to keep people safe.