Friday, January 1, 2016

When are the so-called brains trust of Albury Council going to swallow a pill and admit the system in place does not work.

The community realises it. And the answer is staring them in the face: red bins collected weekly, green fortnightly. 

Time to act council.

THE letter by Philip Morton, Pastor of the Albury Church of God, (The Border Mail, December 29), laments the demise of the playing of Christmas Carols in shopping centres. 

I would like to suggest that the architecture of modern shopping centres and the low-quality sound systems makes for an incredible lot of rasping and echoing noise which does an injustice to any type of music. 

For those who like the Christmas carols, there are church services, Carols by Candlelight and some brilliant performances by local choirs and community groups. 

Pastor Morton links the lack of the Christmas music to belief in the Gospels. Roman records seem to indicate that Christ, probably named Joshua by his parents, who were Middle Eastern Jewish people, was born – not sure when. 

The stories in the Gospels were written many years after the events and have had many translations and interpretations over the centuries. 

It seems that we would lack eye-witness accounts and actual evidence to define fact from fiction in the stories, which came out of a culture and era thousands of years before our time, back in the time when people took it for granted that the Earth was flat. 

Perhaps we should enjoy Christmas with friends, helping and caring for those caught in the fires and other catastrophes, leaving the Carols to places where they are best suited. 

AS THE new year begins, I would like to acknowledge the communities of Indi. 

Thanks for the work done in bringing so many benefits to our area. Reflecting on the many highlights, 2015 has been a productive one in the North East. The strong support and co-operative spirit from people is delivering for our communities. 

The community was instrumental in: 

- Welcoming the Governor-General Peter Cosgrove and Lady Cosgrove on their inaugural visit to Indi, and showcasing our communities from Wodonga to Kinglake.

- Helping improve mobile phone coverage across Indi through nominating black spots (293) and lobbying to win 30 new mobile phone towers, the third highest number in Australia. 

- Calling for better internet which has led to 55,000 premises in more than 35 towns across Indi being included in the plan for fixed wireless NBN towers and fixed line rollout. 

- Participating in the Indi community summit in Benalla to identify what’s needed to make Indi a caring, prosperous electorate with opportunities for all. 

- Lobbying to win $17 million in direct grants from the Federal Government’s Stronger Regions Fund.

Indi matters and taxpayer dollars continue to flow for important community projects and services. More people are seeing the potential in the North East and are optimistic about the future. Indi is well placed to capitalise on the opportunities. 

We are innovative, ready to meet the challenges, and reach our goal of being an electorate alive with opportunities for everybody. 

I look forward to continue being your representative and working in partnership with you in 2016. It’s going to be an exciting year!