Flight school motives?
The first thing that must be established, before you are inundated with letters regarding the repugnant proposal to develop a Chinese Flight College in the heart of a rural paradise, is motive!
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Why are the so-called “directors” of Sports Aviation Australia looking to transform a small country airfield into a monstrosity that will devastate the area and rob current landowners of everything they have worked so hard to achieve? Quite simply it is greed.
In their desperate attempt to garner community support, through a two page advertisement in your paper, they have forgotten to mention just how much money they hope to gain at the expense of those living in the area. Forget banners such as, “new flight school to boost South Coast economy, jobs and skills base” and “the new College will allow the beautiful South Coast to benefit too”, it's designed to make money for the directors and any shareholders they can drag along. In fact, the garish paper “advertisement” is just one more way of trying to attract vital funding for this and other schemes!
And believe me, these directors are desperately seeking funding for this revolting venture, as the whole land deal hinges on the DA approval, and them realising the full purchase price.
When all the affected members of the picturesque rural community become fully aware of what is being proposed, and their hard-fought lifestyle is being directly threatened, the outcry will be deafening ! After all, we landholders have already spent millions of dollars buying and developing our properties, and are literally spending all our money in the Bega Valley day after day, year in year out.
Finally, despite the misleading statements seen throughout their two page spiel, the most obvious being in the opening sentence where they claim Frogs Hollow will be “the first flying school in Australia to focus on the booming Chinese and broader Asia-Pacific recreational market” – there are already many established facilities – we need to remember one thing, this is all about money.
Name and address supplied
Halloween Dream
Tiger, you're a hungry hunter,
you scoff food like Billy Bunter.
Foolish men who tried to ride you,
quickly ended up inside you.
Just like the sabre-tooth of old,
your dinner-jacket's black and gold.
We're guests at a supper-party,
where your appetite is hearty.
Tonight you stalk us as we dream,
with open mouths we cannot scream.
It is no use to lock our doors,
you shred them with your very claws.
Our room's a cave with no escape,
You're drooling here, your jaws agape.
Caught napping, we forsee our doom,
Snarling teeth in visions loom.
Tiger Tiger burning bright,
I don't think we'll sleep tonight.
To stop bad dreams of your attacks,
we're all wide-eyed insomniacs.
Michael Quinlan, Pambula Beach (with apologies to William Blake)
Forestry clarification
The figures in your article on firewood production in the Eden area have been misrepresented and require clarification (One out of four trees for firewood, BDN 26/10).
Firewood is a residue timber, which means it is produced as a by-product of sustainable timber harvesting. Salvaging and selling the smaller parts of tree trunks and branches from the trees used to create floorboards, decking and structural timbers ensures none of the tree goes to waste and that the community has access to the affordable home heating many locals rely on.
The only reason firewood production appears to have increased in the figures reported is because the timber was previously sold and reported in a different residue category. It has always been produced.