It appears to me that the laws applicable to motorists are strictly enforced such as being fined for breaking the speed limits by 4 km/h, using mobile phones, not wearing seat belts but nobody appears to be enforcing the law regarding the riding of bicycles without a helmet.

The law is the law and there should be no difference with upholding them all.

Are the motorists’ laws being upheld as revenue raising and the police know they can recover the applicable fine from the motorists and not the unemployed youth and those who just refuse to wear a helmet?

Motorists have to also pay registration and third party insurance to use the public roads whilst bicycle riders contribute nothing.

What happens when a motorist hits or kills a cyclist not wearing a helmet and he has to live with it for the rest of his life?

Come on law enforcers, uphold the laws covering all road users and fine the bicycle riders also.

TWO young people face electoral fraud charges over falsifying their place of residence and therefore voting in the wrong electorate must surely be seen as a very minor offence if found to be guilty. 

Sinister efforts and accusations to implicate our local member for Indi, Cathy McGowan, seem entirely absurd.

There is little doubt dozens to hundreds of people sometimes vote incorrectly for an electorate they no longer reside in for a whole host of arguably innocent reasons. For example, being a transient citizen. 

Remember the Wangaratta Council debacle where Sophie Mirabella and Julian Fidge and others denied links between themselves in 2013?

Remember the Freedom of Information report which exposed letters of congratulations from Sophie Mirabella to four of her arguably preferred councillors?

In an article in The Border Mail (12/2/2013), Mr Fidge denied being supported by Sophie Mirabella, however when interviewed by Gaye Pattinson from ABC Goulburn Murray, (22/8/2013) Mr Fidge clearly said he and his team councillors were well supported by her.

Please chose carefully when you vote.

OCTOBER is mental health month and October 11 is World Mental Health Day. The theme this year is value your mind.

When I look at young people in our services, this has never been more important.

Crystal meth is having a devastating impact on our homes, community and young people. It is the worst drug to ever hit our streets and young people are more susceptible to its lure than others.

Young people are often flat and depressed when they try to quit. What they’re experiencing is a severe drop in dopamine levels. Alongside these feelings are cravings which can lead to erratic behaviour and violence. 

The solution to this problem is to get young people to value their minds. The amount of damage it does to their mental state is horrific. No one who values their mind would ever choose to do this drug.

At Youth Off The Streets we focus on at least providing education around the impact of alcohol and other drugs on young people across all our programs and services. 

Ice is one of the most addictive drugs and one that does not discriminate against age, race, or family background. Youth Off The Streets is committed to providing programs that help to not only to address the addiction, but to prevent it by teaching young people to value their mind.