Disappointed in Malcolm
Malcolm Turnbull is looking like the disappointment we had to have with $123million of our money wasted on a survey bordering in insanity. The money could have been used to build 123 homeless shelters at $1million each.
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With decisions like that it may be time to introduce drug testing for politicians. With the dual citizenship fiasco it shows that there needs to be a basic course of instruction for would be politicians to instruct them in ethics. How to fill out forms properly and to read what is legally required of them before standing for election.
When a local government is found to be corrupt or incompetent, or both, an administrator is appointed. We could do the same with the federal parliament when they go for their summer holiday. Dissolve the whole dysfunctional, low achieving mess and appoint an administrator for four years and then have a fresh election. We could also have a fixed four year term.
Since 1901 there have been 45 elections, that is an election every 2.5 years. This is an incredible waste of money. In the new parliament, politicians will have to undertake an oath not to read out speeches written by powerful lobby groups and be constantly reminded that they are there to represent the people of their electorate, not their own political party.
Wayne Healy, Bega
The bigger picture
There is jubilation in some quarters at the decision to site the new regional gallery in Bega, but the grant application is unlikely to succeed.
The state government is spending $29million to bring more national and international visitors to the shire, and the decision to site the gallery in Bega totally ignores that.
Why would the state government provide $4million to build a new gallery in a location that is remote from the visitors it is paying so much to bring to the shire?
What is the grant application going to say? We didn’t think of the cruise industry. Or - we think the gallery is more for locals than visitors. Or - you’ve spent money in Eden so now you have to spend some in Bega.
There is no real justification for this failure to see the bigger picture apart from parochial thinking. BVRG commissioned an Economic Research Report that did not even mention the cruise industry. Instead the report claims that people like myself, who travel more than 50 kilometres to visit the gallery, spend an average of $123 a day. That is nonsense. The cruise industry is big, and it is going to get vastly bigger, but there was no attempt to do any economic modelling. Instead of figuring out how to make the most of the cruise industry, most of the shire pretend it isn’t happening
Consider these figures for January. The Pacific Jewel had 2,052 domestic passengers and 660 crew. The Norwegian Jewel had 2,376 mainly domestic passengers and 1,100 crew. The Pacific Jewel again had 2,052 domestic passengers and 660 crew. The MS Noordam had 1,918 mainly international passengers and 800 crew. You don’t think the state government will find it perverse that BVRG does not want these visitors? If so, you are dreaming. The state government is investing heavily in this industry, and will no doubt be disappointed that BVSC is not supporting the cruise industry.
The survey largely missed Eden, but I have seen a lot of personal reasons given on it, and on social media, about why the gallery should be in Bega, but I haven’t seen one single comment that can justify to the state government why Bega is a good option for the gallery. Unfortunately, the decision has been made to look the gift horse in the mouth. We can ask for another gift but receiving one is extremely unlikely.
Amanda Midlam, Eden
Flight school
Yes,how wonderful. Air pollution, noise pollution and the total disruption and devastation to our environment. What a joke!