Monster trucks disquiet
I write to give vent to the considerable disquiet felt by my parents, Will and Janet Pitty, who are residents of Swan St, Bega, about the problems caused for them by the exceptionally noisy monster truck event held nearby at the Bega Recreation Ground on New Year’s Day.
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Will and Janet, who are aged 91 and 89 and have lived in Swan St for the past 17 years, experienced the most unwelcome disruption to their enjoyment of the public holiday due to the monster truck event blasting sounds of revving engines and sonic booms (that shook the house) into their residential neighbourhood a short distance away.
In addition to the very loud noise that went on for hours, Will and Janet had the imposition of one carload of patrons of the event parking on the front verge outside their home blocking passage. Such behaviour is just plain rude. It also shows that inadequate parking was available for the event.
One wonders why the event was given approval to be staged at the Bega Recreation Ground when more suitable venues for such an extremely noisy event exist well away from the residential area.
The noise from the Bega Recreation Ground went on for two and a half hours between 6.30pm and 9pm. This is an unfair imposition on local residents, particularly the elderly. As well as Will and Janet Pitty who live in Swan St, many elderly residents live at Hillgrove House, the nursing home close by in Hill St.
The Bega Valley Shire Council claims the area is “a liveable place” – the monster truck event on New Year’s Day made a mockery of this claim with the unreasonable noise levels being foisted upon local residents without any notice, let alone consultation.
Given that when the monster truck event goes to Perth in March it will be staged at a motorsport facility, the council should answer why the organisers of the event were not directed to hold their event at the speedway at Tantawangalo.
Does the council really care about its own residents, particularly the elderly? If so, councillors will ensure the disquiet caused for local residents by the monster truck event is not repeated, by making sure that no similar extremely noisy events are held at the Bega Recreation Ground in future.
Hugh Pitty, Bega
Climate consequences
There is accountability in life and “laws” of nature and physics, consequences for actions and reactions. Do we really want to continue waiting for politicians to see the undeniable proof that climate change is happening?
Mankind is clever, compassionate and has the capacity to turn this situation around, transition to renewable energy for power generation without further delay. Consider the sacrifices made by those who forfeit their lives for our future, they stood up and did what was necessary despite the risks.
People want simple answers to complex issues and obviously they don't exist. Easy lies are more palatable and marketable then hard truths.
Solar cells alone on the roof cannot repair our climate, if we not also reduce our production of CO2 and methane. If we use the savings on our electricity bill to justify an even more luxurious lifestyles, e.g. buying our son a jetski, we have not achieved anything.
Any action on climate change is weakened by investment in fossil fuels. One simple change: Not using single-use plastic made from a fossil fuel!
If the old-fashioned picnic basket with washable porcelain, metal or glassware is not doing the fantastic job we are used to, bamboo or paper-based products for outdoor use are available nowadays and are truly biodegradable. We can accept a little bit of inconvenience and still enjoy our wonderful Australian beach lifestyle without destroying our planet.