Take nothing for granted
An open letter to our tourism operators in Echuca-Moama, be it restaurants, cafés, accommodation or attractions from ex-hospitality owners.
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We used to pride ourselves as a premier tourism destination.
Not any more.
We are fully aware of the high wages, penalty rates and staff shortages, and the fact that we live in a democracy, and can pick and choose when we open or close.
But at peak times when you are provided with a captive audience, can we please supply a genuine hospitality experience and meet the tourists’ demands and expectations so that they return and spread the good words.
For those who opened over the Easter period, well done. No doubt you were extremely busy.
The tourism/hospitality industry is one of the most exciting industries in the world and it is jolly hard work, but please treat our visitors with the respect their deserve.
That will make Echuca-Moama and surrounding districts once again a genuine leader in the world’s greatest industry.
Don’t take these opportunities for granted, as times can look cold and bleak mid-winter.
Ross Veale and Maureen Baker,
Echuca-Moama
Federal Government urged to grow farming capacity, not reduce it
I wonder how many members of the Albanese Government have read the latest report on the crisis in Somalia? And whether they care.
A recent study estimated 43,000 excess deaths in Somalia in 2022 due to the deepening drought, with half being children under five years of age.
“We must continue to save lives by preventing and treating malnutrition (and) providing safe and clean water,” UNICEF said.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Australian farmers could grow food that was directly targeted at those in Somalia or other developing countries. Or even programs to help feed needy Australians.
Instead, our Federal Government is actively campaigning to reduce the capacity of Australian farmers to grow food in our nation’s food bowl.
The Murray-Darling Basin contains just 20 per cent of Australian agricultural land but produces 40 per cent of our food and fibre, and contributes $22 billion to the economy each year.
It is hard to believe that for nothing other than political reasons our government is about to decimate many of these farmers and the communities that rely on them.
That is what will happen if it recovers another 450 gigalitres of water, potentially through buybacks, as Water Minister Tanya Plibersek insists will happen under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
Please do not be fooled about claims that this is all to protect the environment. There is already ample water being stored in dams each year to sustain the environment, and it is pointless acquiring more because it cannot be delivered down the system. But these facts are irrelevant to the environmental ideologists on whose votes the government relies.
If the government was prepared to work with regional communities (which to this point it has refused to do), it may learn there are various solutions that can protect farmers, rural towns and our environment.
These efficient Aussie farmers would then be able to grow food for domestic consumption (the more we grow, the cheaper it costs at the supermarket), as well as for export to places such as Somalia.
It’s so simple and so logical; until politics gets in the way.
Ron McWhae,
Barham
Regional education must be a priority
Young people in regional Victoria have been overlooked by the Andrews Labor Government for far too long and, in May’s state budget, the Nationals are calling for a fair investment in our community’s education and early childhood programs.
Last budget, only 13 per cent of new infrastructure spending was specifically invested in regional towns and cities despite regional Victorians accounting for 25 per cent of Victoria’s population. This budget, we demand more.
We want our fair share of spending to keep our schools up to scratch and we need policies that ensure regional families with young children have equitable access to childcare.
In the state’s east, Sale College needs a consolidated campus. In the north, Kilmore has a surging population but no public secondary college, and Yarrawonga P-12 College is being denied funding to complete a much-needed redevelopment.
There is also a crisis in early childhood education, with much of regional Victoria defined as a ‘childcare desert’ by the Mitchell Institute.
In the Loddon Elmore region alone, there were almost 34 children for every childcare place in 2022.
Gannawarra Shire Council has been pleading with the Andrews State Government to help it build a childcare centre in Cohuna — but its calls have gone unheard.
This budget must also invest in long-term solutions for our teaching and early childhood workforces.
In the north of the state, Charlton built a childcare centre 20 months ago but no-one can be found to run it — despite huge demand from hard-working families.
Regional children and young people matter — and your postcode should not define your opportunities, especially as a young Victorian.
This budget must rectify Labor’s long history of neglecting the communities beyond Melbourne’s tram tracks.
Peter Walsh,
Leader of the Nationals
Member for Murray Plains
Precedence a precedent!
The woke folk, are now really going for broke: wanting to ban words like ‘mum’ and ‘dad’; along with ‘Father’s Day’ and ‘Mother’s Day’ at Australian pre-schools!
The rules of precedent developed by the English common law, starting with the Magna Carta, are based on the principle that to be fair, the law must, as far as possible, be predictable.
The development of the common law did not come to an end at the passing of any human rights act(s)!
How might one apply these to issues that now affect us?
Perhaps we could begin with man and woman?
After all, without man and woman, those promoting social constructs of gender would not exist!
Howard Hutchins,
Chirnside Park
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