Big mistake
I think the council made a big mistake. Qantas will not be much cheaper than Rex. The Rex times were fantastic, people had choices, three flights a day and could go up and down in one day. I do not believe Qantas will service this region any better and in fact I can see the flights being reduced to just one a day as well. Time will be the judge.
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Diane Lang, Merimbula
Neglected sporting fields
Over the past years I have read about the new and improved sporting facilities at Merimbula and Pambula. New basketball and netball courts, an equestrian/show arena, new facilities for the rugby league and Aussie rule grounds which hail in magnificence compared to council's plans for the soccer, cricket and rugby league grounds in Bega which is supposed to be the regional centre. Now we have new squash courts while 20 minutes away there are four courts with no cost to the ratepayers. So, while all this building has been going on down south, the facilities at Rec 1 are now terrible, no words to describe the conditions for soccer and cricket while Valley Fields only has toilets and the Roy Howard Field has nothing.
After many years of players changing behind cars, council erected a storage shed for cricket and soccer to use as change rooms.
For over five years now I have had discussions with council regarding soccer and cricket using the facilities in the basketball stadium. About seven days' work and a lousy spend of $30,000, soccer and cricket would have access to the kiosk, toilets and change rooms in the stadium. I also spoke to the mayor and the director of assets and operations in August (2018) after a meeting regarding the new sporting complex and was told that if the funding for the complex did not come through by November 2018 council would look at my proposal.
After raising the issue at site meetings in 2019 I was blown away when at the last site meeting this year, I was told that it had to go on the master plan. Bega sportsmen and women deserve someone at council with some enthusiasm, energy and to show some interest in our neglected sporting fields.
I have no problems with councillors voting to find an extra $200,000 to cover the shortfall in the Merimbula basketball and netball courts costs but it's nothing short of a disgrace that for such a small cost soccer and cricket could have decent amenities. Shame council, shame, shame, shame.
Peter Turner, Bega
MP starting to 'play politics'
I am disappointed to see Member for Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain already starting to 'play politics' by distorting the truth and making claims she knows are false. We in Eden-Monaro are included in the Regional Recovery Partnerships despite her suggestions that we have missed out because we have a Labor MP (BDN, 9/10).
The $100million the Liberal/National Government announced to support recovery and growth in 10 regions across Australia (three in NSW) included one region in Eden-Monaro. The regions were selected from the five Special Activation Precincts in the state. Two of the three regions in NSW that will receive this funding are Labor seats, including our own. This shows that the Liberal/National Government is not being partisan in the allocation of these funds.
Eden-Monaro will receive $10million, 1/3 of the $30million funding that will come to the whole of NSW from this package. This again shows that the Liberal/National Government is not politicising the allocation of these funds, unlike Kristy McBain.
It is a pity she didn't mention that in addition to the new funding under the Regional Recovery Partnerships program, Eden-Monaro is receiving $1.6billion of other funding from the federal government from a range of other existing programs. There is already almost $160m of bushfire relief paid or committed, plus funding for COVID relief and more coming.
Fiona Kotvojs, Dignams Creek. Former Liberal candidate for Eden-Monaro
