Well, so say all of us Cr Allen.

At that very same meeting, councillors engaged in a lengthy discussion before deciding to keep doing what it had previously decided to do in respect of the Hotel Australasia: which is to pursue its sale with all due haste.

What should otherwise have been a relatively straight-forward issue for council to deal with was, yet again, turned into another failed rear-guard attempt to derail council’s plans to sell the hotel.

That the usual suspects chose to mount their attempt in the middle of the current approved process was a demonstration of how wilfully determined they are to disrupt council’s legitimate efforts to pursue the sale and to saddle ratepayers with a significant financial burden, without the benefit of a coherent rationale for doing so.

During this latest failed attempt, Cr Dodds argued passionately that she saw the retention of the Hotel Australasia by council as a great “opportunity” for the citizens of Eden and the Bega Valley. 

She sought to justify her position by suggesting that council had previously taken risky decisions to acquire real estate assets and that those risks had “paid-off”.

The two examples that Cr Dodds chose to cite in support of her argument were the purchase by council of the former Tura Beach Tavern (now known as the Tura Marrang Library) and the AUSWIDE building in Merimbula. The two great “success stories” just happen to be two of the worst financial decisions made by council.

As I sit facing the early morning sun, dew glistening on the tips of the new spring grass, I hear the near-distant sound of an artificial hum and the constant boom as another tree is felled. My yoga prayers I send out to the forest, calling upon the spirits of the land, to come forth and shine light to Corunna, as its life force is under attack.

I close my eyes and send the brilliant pink light of love, the blue-orgone light of trust, the golden white light of grace and the emerald green of healing to the forest; on the wings of the spirit guides. Calling all to use their inner power of light and love and to imagine the forest - strong and green, full of life and vitality.  To exercise our divine right of free will, we can overcome the shadow of a system that does not abide by the law of the people and of the land. 

To know we are powerful as one and as a collective; by finding that space of inner peace amidst the destruction unfolding before our eyes.  This is our human destiny. We are being tested right now and every word, thought and action adds to the unseen ripple- effect; whether for the greater good or for a darker world. The choice is ours.

Sending light and love to Corunna.

Researchers in the UK and US have put forward a plan that could prevent millions of deaths globally each year, and save billions of dollars in healthcare costs.

It’s a simple plan: tax meat.

A 2015 World Health Organisation report found that bacon, hot dogs, and other processed meats cause cancer and that red meat—including beef, pork, and lamb—is probably carcinogenic as well. The research estimates that in 2020, 2.4 million people will die from red and processed meat attributed deaths, while the healthcare costs for red meat-related illnesses will hit US$285 billion ($400 billion AUD).  A modest 16 per cent drop in meat consumption would lead to a drop in global greenhouse gas emissions by over a hundred million tonnes. We tax cigarettes heavily to help cover medical costs – it’s time to do the same for meat.