Hot under collar over sauna
The manner in which the application for a floating sauna on Lake Sambell, Beechworth, was managed at the last Indigo Shire Council meeting was unacceptable.
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The new motion denied those councillors who were unaware of the intent of the new motion time to seek input from members of their communities as to their acceptance or rejection of the new proposal.
When the motion was raised it behoved at least one of the councillors to raise concern as to the speed at which this late addition to the agenda was put forward and to request that discussion on the motion be deferred until the next meeting of council. This responsible action is often used by our councillors to provide more time to consider all aspects of a new motion and to determine their position.
Councillors should be aware that they have not been elected to provide direction to council as to their personal position on matters, but rather to represent the community, to acknowledge and support community aspirations and concerns for the future management of the shire.
Robin McLiesh, Beechworth
Ratepayers sick of the effluent
After a hard fight to make the EPA take the issue seriously, a number of Corowa residents have succeeded in having the EPA call out Federation Council for discharging effluent into the Murray River.
Sewage is high in phosphorus and nitrogen, the two elements needed for blue green algae blooms and should not be allowed in a river.
The mayor, Pat Bourke and deputy mayor Shaun Whitechurch were nowhere to be seen with this admission of wrongdoing, allowing the general manager Adrian Butler to awkwardly front the news camera.
Federation Council is finding out there is only so much dirt you can sweep under the carpet before it comes out the other side.
This is after the saleyard overspend blamed on Essential Energy and dire financial state of council blamed on the amalgamation. It's time the council owns up to its own poor performance and stops duping the ratepayers.
IPART saw through Federation Council's mess and only awarded a modest rate rise, Federation Council then paid dearly for Professor Drew's analysis but didn't implement the major recommendations contained in his report and now throw good money after bad and hire Prof Drew again as council continues on its merry way.
