In the past week another crossing supervisor, who had stopped traffic for more than a dozen children to use the crossing, was verbally screamed at because the man in the bronze coloured Prado was obviously late for work and therefore she should not be stopping him. When the crossing was cleared and he drove off he again screamed a mouthful of profanities at the lady on the crossing.

I asked her if she was OK and she responded that she was, but she was visibly upset and said "she was just doing her job to keep the children and parents safe". This type of behaviour is not acceptable at any time. Crossing supervisors have an important job and should be able to do their job without this kind of abuse.

Sussan Ley is busy scurrying to scuttle Voices for Farrer by posting hi-viz photo ops on her social media. It is clear her safe seat has produced little except piecemeal policies and not actually addressed the major issues facing Australians.

But let's not think for a second that Labor has achieved anything by way of substantive improvements in the cost of living crisis, with their flaccid housing policies, their reflex relationship with the UK and the US, not to mention their most recent handball approach to education, citing a 20 year turnover, ensuring their responsibility for meaningful overhaul will be another government's responsibility.

We are at a crisis point. Both the ALP and LNP have joined and made policies to guarantee their puerile positions are perpetuated by making it harder for independents to gain leverage. Toxic rhetoric deflects their penchant for subsidising donor bases, refusing to tax oil oligarchs, or bring the supermarket duopoly to an end.

Eight hundred companies pay zero tax, so it's no wonder our health and education systems have buckled. The LNP's fake nuclear policy and Labor's "renewable energy" policy, including expanding coal and gas, has resulted in voters being more cynical.

As leaders point fingers over broken promises and unnecessary tax cuts, the money could have been spent actually building housing. Voices for Farrer do not bend to a party ideology, and work toward those issues. Australians have had enough of two parties almost in lockstep with each other, Sussan Ley is on notice.

MORE COMMENT

I agree with Cheryl Lambert, in that the 40kmh signs in Melrose Drive and Lawrence Street, in response to the tragic accident, need to be removed now. Also the ones in Lawrence Street for a non-existent event at the tennis/soccer fields. No one is doing 40, maybe 50 at best, I have even seen a police car not really complying either.

For those who have been around long enough to remember, there was great objection to the positioning of both pedestrian lights in Melrose Drive, fearing they would inevitably cause issue with their proximity to the roundabouts. When approaching any intersection a driver's first concern is to seek clearance from the right, with that clearance you move forward towards these lights and can be surprised by stationary traffic on a red light in front of you with little warning.

And the ridiculousness is that the roundabout at the Birallee is potentially the more problematic because it is the main thoroughfare for heavily congested school traffic. These pedestrian lights are only used sporadically through the day and are only used in volume, with the crossing guards, for about half an hour in the morning and the same in the afternoon. Perhaps flashing lights at the top of these lights, activated at school crossing times, would be the visual alert people need to take more care. And it probably wouldn't hurt for the council to consider one or two pedestrian crossings in either Skitch Street, Hedgerow Court or Leisure Centre Drive as you see school students and elderly people trying to negotiate crossing these streets in busy times. The whole area is a design nightmare with no forethought for a growing population, as usual.

Inspiring words from Twiggy Forrest. Unfettered by a desire to be re-elected he is free to comment on the Coalition's absurd obsession with going nuclear and avoiding renewable energy.

Mr Forrest calls this "misinformed, uneconomic, plucked out of thin air bulldust of nuclear policies of politicians masquerading as leaders helps no one". He knows that costly nuclear energy would take too long to develop, and when it is developed it would still be the most expensive energy source.

Energy from wind, solar, supported by pumped hydro and batteries, will always be much cheaper than burning fossil fuels or nuclear power.

The loss of mature trees is indeed a 'highly emotive issue' regardless of the justification for removing them. Albury City has acknowledged this by endorsing a stakeholder engagement plan to deal with the predicted media and community interest generated by the removal of the 140-year-old elms that that have sadly reached their end of life.

On Monday night, council also endorsed an engagement plan for the construction of an 80-space car park and pedestrian bridge, realignment of the existing levee and installation of associated infrastructure in Australia Park. This would result in the loss of 34, mostly mature exotic trees, through removal or severe root disturbance. The fate of a further 39 trees whose roots would be impacted by excavation is unknown.

While council documents imply that exotic trees are more expendable than native ones, mature trees of any type provide invaluable environmental services. In fact, many species of exotic trees can provide better shade than natives, an important consideration in our warming cities. Do not be fooled by leafy artist's impressions. This is major construction and excavation that will permanently transform a major gateway into Albury.

Now is your chance to comment. Do you think car park construction justifies the removal of established trees and the permanent loss of green open space in a public park? Do you agree that this natural setting with its river views and mature trees should be replaced with a car park, splash park and revamped playground? Is there a better solution?

There is a whole other side to the duck hunting debate that is neither science nor ideology that seems to have been totally disregarded in the government's recent announcement.

This relates to the serious issues that regional residents and landowners are forced to live with as a result of the shooting. Some of these issues include trespass (by armed offenders whose acts cannot be prosecuted as they aren't able to be identified), theft of firewood (most often habitat timber), littering and contamination to what is often food producing land (plastic shot guns shells and wads, lead, human excreta), dead and injured birds washing up that have to be then managed by landowners and the very loud and disturbing gunfire noise at all times of the day and night that scares animals (causing fleeing) and children (often sleeping), not to mention if you are working from home (as is the nature of farming) and trying to conduct a Zoom meeting. Can you imagine for a minute trying to go about your daily business with this occurring in your backyard?

Regional Victorians have been ignored in this decision to continue the killing of native birdlife for recreation. Regardless of many invitations no MP has bothered to visit these people to experience it for themselves. If they did while they are there they can see the wonderful work these landowners are doing for regeneration of the natural environment on their properties using their own money. This is clear evidence that no, Minister Dimopoulos, you have not listened to regional people when making a decision that affects these people's livelihood, safety, homes, recreation and peace for a quarter of the year. Regional folks are now left feeling helpless, abandoned and unworthy. It would appear the hypothetical decline in mental health of city-based union members, (who have a choice to move on to many other recreational activities) is more important than regional landowners who cannot simply pack up and move on. All this at a time when we have a worsening mental health crisis in the bush for farmers dealing with everything from extreme weather events to price gouging.