GRATEFUL AWARD RECIPIENT
Dear Editor,
We are writing to you and The Adviser to say a big thank you on behalf of Kai, our son, for receiving such an amazing helmet after a winning prize in your recent RoadSafe GV kid’s colouring competition.
As parents, we believe that this is such a great initiative and a very positive message being send out to all children and their parents in our local communities that brings awareness around road safety.
By investing in a helmet and appropriately wearing a protective head covering while riding, possibly a trike or a bike, it is necessary to always remember that helmets play a very important role and they do support and protect a very precious part of the body – our head!
So, thank you again and all the best from our family to yours!
Warm regards,
Olga Novak
BASIN PLAN POLITICAL CON OR SOUND WATER POLICY?
To the Editor,
In 2018, following considerable agitation from communities in southern NSW and northern Victoria, Federal and State Water Ministers agreed to what was termed the ‘Neutrality Test.’
In effect, it was a way to ensure the considerable social and economic damage caused over the previous decade by water buybacks was never repeated.
Under the ‘Neutrality Test,’ there are specific criteria to be applied for any projects to recover water under the 450 gigalitres of ‘upwater,’ as part of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. These criteria are designed to ensure no regional community is ‘worse off’ in economic and social terms.
In other words, we were told this would protect rural communities and avoid a repeat of the significant employment loss in irrigation dependent towns and regions from previous water recovery.
We are about to witness the test for this ‘Neutrality Test’, and we will learn whether it was just another Basin Plan political con, or a genuine attempt to protect the social and economic fabric of our communities.
When Water Ministers meet later this month, there is little doubt the Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek will put devastating water buybacks on the table. While this is a great shame, because they are not only damaging but also unnecessary, buybacks are politically expedient.
The question is: Will the State Water Ministers hold firm and protect their farming communities, or will they bow to the pressure (and maybe $$$ that will be a sweetener)?
We live in hope that the true intent of the Neutrality Test is upheld, but perhaps can be forgiven for being more than a little sceptical.
Yours faithfully,
Robyn Wheeler
Lancefield, VIC
FANTASTIC PERFORMANCE BY LOCAL TALENTS
Dear Sir,
On Saturday, January 28, along with two friends, I attended the evening performance of the Initial Stages Summer Workshop production of Xanadu Jnr.
Huge congratulations to everyone involved in staging the show. The singing and acting talent shown by these young people is amazing and it was obvious they were thoroughly enjoying their time to shine. They must have worked incredibly hard to stage such a brilliant production in such short time.
Congratulations must also go to Helen Janke, their director and mentor, who has nurtured their talent over many years with dedication and commitment.
Well done everyone, a great night’s entertainment.
Yours truly,
Marjorie Bradley
