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NOVEMBER 2022
Salvation Army Christmas Letter
The Salvation Army has delivered its Christmas Letter to the Editor for 2022. You can find it here.
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The cost of convenants
The non affordability of housing has caused and will continue to cause our national debts to increase and will continue to affect our entire way of living, adding to the ever growing national welfare debt
This is caused by the impost of covenants imposed by developers forcing our population, both now and in the future, to go into unaffordable debt for the creation of a home, or go without a home for ever.
This must stop [by limiting] the power of the developer to only impose a covenant inside an enclosed community.
The above is a reply to the question [of] why a child cannot leave school, go to work at, say, Macca's and save funds to put a deposit on a block of land so as to one day build a small affordable home upon the land and abide there, and raise a family in the surety of a secure and permanent future.
Covenants are a separate documented agreement to be imposed on a buyer before they can enter into an agreement to buy a block of land. It is an optional document and it is not necessary according to our national laws in purchasing a block of land, but [they] serve to fulfil the greed of the developer who knows that they hold power over local governments.
Our politicians... do not understand the social consequences imploding on our society and welfare. E.g., in nearly every electorate in Australia there are approximately 1200 single mothers living at home with parents because [they have] been denied this opportunity (to own a home) simply because of the power of the laws of covenant as imposed by developers and blessed by local councils.
It is time women stood up to the local councils and exercised their civil liberty to make it possible to own a block of a few square metres of land upon which to build a home.
Allan Miller, Dunbogan
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OCTOBER 2022
Re "Rescission Fail"
I attended the council's meeting (October 20) to learn the fate of a breakwall for Lake Cathie.
Upon entry to Laurieton United Services Club, I was met by a group of protesters.
Listening to the speakers from the community, three were about important issues; growth and erosion. Two others were about Climate Change.
[But the] protesters are blind to the role of Local Government Area development applications. The results are habitat loss from clear felling native forests, congestion, flooding, fires and loss of shade.
Alan Fenwick, West Haven
Illaroo Road coastal hazard
*The following letter was addressed to Port Macquarie-Hastings Council CEO Dr Clare Allen and copied to the Port News. It refers to the recommendations for erosion mitigation in Lake Cathie, scheduled for discussion at council's October 20 ordinary meeting in Laurieton.
This last process has taken a huge emotional and financial toll on the residents of Lake Cathie. What are you going to do to repair this huge damage?
Here is an idea; fix the erosion problems/damage on Illaroo Road, as soon as possible. The longer it is left the bigger the problem will become.
I was in the meeting that took place on the 6th September 2022 (via Zoom). I heard you say that plans are in place to repair Illaroo Road, regardless of the outcome of this co-design process; that the repair will include building up the area with rock-bags and then regeneration of the sand along with repair of stormwater pipes etc.
Can you please confirm that these repairs are past the planning process and should all be completed within six months? If not, why not? If not, when?
Has our local MP ever been asked for help with this matter?
Margaret Fraser-Martin, Lake Cathie
SEPTEMBER
Sewage Pressures
I would like to reply to the article in the Camden Haven Courier 31/08/22 re sewage pressures on Kew, Kendall, Port Macquarie and Wauchope treatment plants. No mention of Bonny Hills/Lake Cathie and their ongoing fight with PMHC (Port Macquarie-Hastings Council) to improve our ongoing sewage problems.
We, the community, have had two public meetings at the BHSLSC (Bonny Hill Surf Life Saving Club) over the past three years and we are no closer to solving the issues at Bonny Hills. The defunct sewage trenches continue to spew onto our once beautiful Bonny Hills beach.
The problem is the end product, the treated effluent has nowhere to go except onto Rainbow Beach or [it is] dumped into Duchess and Saltwater creeks. The purple pipe dream to place treated effluent onto new properties is still in the pipeline so to speak.
Recent correspondence to council highlighted the huge sedimentation lakes at the [Lake] Cathie end covered in blue green algae; only 100 metres through the sand dunes to the beach. And the dunes and defunct trenches are constantly saturated, regardless of rainfall events.
Mayor Peta Pinson said we should not put the brakes on the economy by placing a moratorium on current and future rezoning and that we are shooting ourselves in the foot by doing so. I say to council and the developers, you can't have your ongoing development without supplying updated sewerage treatment with safe disposal, good water supply and services.
Steve Bryson, Bonny Hills
AUGUST
Lake Cathie development
What hope of survival does "Cathie Bravo" have (the koala whose feeding area lies in the development site besides Woolworths at [Lake] Cathie? What habitat trees have been left? How will he and others navigate cars, cats and dogs once development is complete?
NSW planning laws allowing developers to wipe out entire habitats and compensate for it somewhere else, are an utter ecological disaster on top of numerous other threats. How will works somewhere else help Bravo, who needs to feed in his territory right now?
The only way to solve this issue is through habitat corridors that allow safe movement of wildlife. This requires the NSW government to change its planning laws, and I implore anyone who shares my concerns to start lobbying the Minister for Planning, Anthony Roberts.
Our magnificent NSW coastline is turning into an ugly eyesore of cheek by jowl housing such as at Cathie - cram in as many houses as possible and hence line the pockets of greedy developers and estate agents. That is what all this is about; money.
Meanwhile for example, where are all the medical-health services and water supplies for the thousands of new residents?
Sue Baker OAM, Dunbogan
Blondie and Red
Generosity. Spontaneity. Light-heartedness. Ability to laugh at a so-called mistake. These are all characteristics that I love. And I found them early one cold and windy morning at a petrol station when I was in great need of shifting a heaviness that, for some reason, was inside me.
When I entered the petrol station to pay, a woman with long flowing red hair was having a conversation with a mechanic. *Blondie was behind the counter, quietly listening. She shifted her focus to me and gestured for me to use the credit card facility in front of her. I stepped forward to swipe my card and, as I did, *Red swooped in and quickly swiped her card.
Blondie, almost shouting, said: "No. No, that's not yours." But it was too late. The deed was done. Blondie was looking back and forth at us. I could see it in her eyes, she had to make the money right.
Red smiled at me and said, "Just pay it forward. I'll pay for your petrol. No worries."
"Wow", I was stunned. I told her that I often paid for others at the movies or at lunch, but $55 was a different story and I wanted to pay for my petrol. She shook that lovely red head as a no, as she insisted that it was fine.
Blondie's look changed to one of satisfaction as she indicated the other credit card machine and said, "Hers was $43, so if you pay that, it is only $12 difference. "No," Red said. "There is no need for that."
Blondie indicated the credit card machine and as Red was moving toward it, credit card in hand, I swooped in and swiped my card. "Hah", I said. "Two can play this game," and we burst into laughter.
Blondie was looking pleased as she moved towards her cash drawer and liberated a ten spot. She held the $10 out to Red and said, "Here, take this."
"What's this for," Red asked, as she automatically reached for the money. "I want in on this," replied Blondie.
At this point, I have paid $12 less for my petrol, Red is out $2, and Blondie has paid $10 out of the tip jar. Now we were really laughing and I was feeling very connected to these two likeable characters.
As Red walked out, she said over her shoulder, "The world needs more people like us." Unplanned, but in unison, Blondie and I both said, "Yes it does."
I realised as I opened my car door and slid into the seat, my heaviness was gone.
Maggie Adkins, Laurieton
*Pseudonymns at writer's request.
JULY
Lake Cathie development
Thank you for the update on the clearing of the block next to Woolworths at Lake Cathie.
To the developers I say, 'If you truly cared, you would have left the precious land as it was.' No amount of research, ecologists on site, koala experts on site, Koala Hospital spokespeople, can justify the rape of a pristine piece of suburban bush.
Yes, there were feral weeds growing, but they could have been eliminated without the bulldozers and diggers.
The personality of Lake Cathie has been diminished by the "do it now, ask forgiveness later" attitude. I am saddened by the "progress". I hope the new residents will build the green back as they settle into what was a koala's chosen home.
Julia Hocking, Lake Cathie
Batar Creek Road bus shelter
One of my great pleasures used to be watching the local kids heading down the road to catch the school bus. You could always expect to see Mums and Dads strolling behind, leading the dog or pushing the baby in the pram, filling the air with the contentment of early morning as they waited for the bus to arrive. They hung around the little shelter generally chatting and laughing until the children boarded, [then] they turned for home and the day ahead.
My friend Michelle Dalton and I decided the much-used little shelter could do with a touch up and planned to paint it with all the local flora and fauna; teaching the children to note what lies around them, as well as making it a much more enticing place to sit. And so it was, until the developers arrived and ruined our once delightful river flats and farmland.
Trees have been chopped down, wildlife gone; the old farmhouse, wooden fences and gently grazing cows are here no more, and a huge concrete roundabout directs us home.
Of course the noise and the traffic (trucks, diggers, cement mixers etc.), I suppose, will go on for years as we try to come to terms with the fact that our peaceful little historic village of Kendall has been forever changed.
So, Michelle and I recently decided to encourage the planners to move the shelter 'round the corner to the future bus stop in Batar Creek Road and allow us to revamp the rather battle worn and sad little meeting place. For several months we have spent many hours sharing ideas repainting old work and creating new. And now it is finally done.
We hope this small thing will give much enjoyment to locals and visitors alike and help to restore some of the lost beauty that has so changed our lives.
Milly Jones, Kendall
*Milly and Michelle plan to sit and share a glass to toast the finished job on Thursday morning July 28, around 11am. They invite anyone interested to join them.
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Coles customer service
I bought a 500g pack of Coles pitted dates from Coles Laurieton on Monday and was snacking on them last night (Saturday) when I bit into what I thought was a piece of seed. I spat it out and found it was a small piece of broken glass.
I rang Coles Laurieton first thing this morning and they immediately took the use by details and said they would take the product off the shelves immediately. The lady was very nice and apologised and gave me the Coles customer care number. When I rang the number I got a robot telling me to call back in office hours, Monday - Friday.
I know I probably swallowed a bit of the glass that crunched when I bit into it, but I haven't suffered, so far anyway. My point is that a retail giant like Coles which trades seven days a week, could surely afford at least one member of staff in all Australia who could action an urgent product recall whenever necessary.
The dates are labelled "packed in Turkey from imported ingredients", so we'll probably never know how glass got in the pack. I've always shopped at Coles and the people at Laurieton are like family. But I don't feel so [fondly of] the "suits" at Head Office.
Ron Smith, Laurieton
*Ron has supplied a photo of the dates. Should his experience lead to any further action, we'll let readers know.
Lake Cathie Development
Being a Lake Cathie resident of many years, the clearing of the bush in the centre of town is something we have hoped for, for many years. It has been an eyesore habitat for feral animals such as rats, foxes, deers and snakes. It was also a fire hazard and the shop owners nearby now have a breathing space to deter vandals.
The problem is that unless we encourage development, then places like Lake Cathie will become a town with no future and our population will stagnate. We need jobs to provide for coming generations and this can only come through progress and growth.
From what I have heard the majority of Lake Cathie residents totally approved of the development on said land.
Tony Evans, Lake Cathie
JUNE
Friends of Bunny's Corner
Like the morning glory (Ipomoea cairica) our concerns have been growing "a mile a minute" about the weed overgrowth on our local reserve. The approximately 3.5 ha of bush named both Riverview Reserve and Bunny's Corner, sits between Ocean Drive and the Camden Haven River.
The bush along the path from the end of River Street to the children's playground at Bunny's Corner is quickly becoming strangled by this pretty but dangerous weed. We have contacted Port Macquarie-Hastings Council about this. The council response was that this reserve is just one of many - they don't have enough money to do all of them, and this one is way down the list.
However we can't wait for council attention- if we do not act quickly, much of the undergrowth will be strangled, important new growth will not establish, and the reserve will suffer. So we need a group to begin the process of restoration through Landcare.
If you can help or want to be involved, please email us (below). We will start a list and advise you of our first meeting, when we will discuss approaches to saving our beautiful reserve, and have a walk through the reserve to attempt to identify the native species which are being strangled. Gumboots and gardening gloves recommended.
Contact: Jacob & Diane Westerhuis dswes2912@gmail.com: see NSW Weedwise at weeds.dpi.nsw.gov.au/Weeds/MorningGloryCoastal and Hastings Landcare at landcare.nsw.gov.au/groups/hastings-landcare-inc/
Diane Westerhuis, North Haven