Spend Now Pay Later?
Following a long-wet spell, almost a month of glorious mild winter weather.
One mystery following another. The Darkwood man, still to be discovered, plus everyone now wondering what is happening with the Connell Park sports field. All that sand with someone suggesting, could it be in preparation for the inevitable rising of our ocean via global warning and Bello already having a beach in anticipation. Back to Darkwood Road, the activity is unprecedented. The bridge crews on construction of the three concrete bridges are struggling to meet the deadlines imposed by environmental constraints. Must be out of the water by midnight 30th June and have all the upper structures completed before 1st of October. Frogs, Turtles, Micro Bats and Flying Foxes. This madness rolls on and already been informed has added hundreds of thousands to the original contracted price. Also, huge works being undertaken on our road at the same time.
Up to six sets of traffic lights and stop-go employees everywhere. Good people. But surprisingly they all travel each day up and back from afar. South west Rocks, Nambucca, Nana Glen, Taylors Arm, Macksville etc, but have not spoken yet to anyone who resides in our Shire. The extra cost via overtime and travelling must be huge. Did mention in my last letter, been informed that our power charges were to increase by 12% from July 1st, but a closer look revealed it would be much higher than that for many. Compare your gas charges also with just 2 years ago.
Darcey Browning 0266558539
DON’T FORGET GENOCIDE IN GAZA
Whilst Trump is celebrating his ‘win’ in Iran, in the last 24 hours another 100 + starving Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli army! These are the long forgotten victims of this one sided war! At the same time world leaders at the Nato summit are crawling to Trump & celebrating his illegal, unconstitutional attack on Iran! The world has gone mad, whilst the suffering of the innocent is not only ignored,but celebrated! The media is failing in its job & modern day journalists are purely repeating the BS that is circulated by politicians!
Z.KOENIGSEDER
Strong community support for affordable housing project
This post by Waterfall Way Community Land Trust, and related newspaper article, both fail to mention a very important inconvenient truth about their Affordable Housing proposal – the fact that the chosen site for their First Demonstration Project, Lot 1 Ferry Street Urunga, is entirely and totally unsuitable for any type of housing. This fact is the very reason it has remained “an unused piece of Council land” for so many decades.
Not only that, but lot 1 is an important and much-loved asset to all residents living nearby, being an original piece of Urunga bushland fortuitously surviving developement, and long used by locals and passers-by as a little de-facto bush park. It contains over fifty trees of many varieties, including nineteen heaithy eucalypts, some being towering 100-year old multi-branched habitat trees with magnificent canopy, which, together with smaller under-storey species, create a little eco-system, home and refuge for many small native animals and birds. A koala has passed through here, as do wallabies. Children play here, dogs are walked here, people stroll in from the footpath to be among the trees; some even hug them!
To propose destruction of all this for housing is inconceivable; that this destruction is being proposed by a local community group from Bellingen, a Shire which is proud of it’s environmental and social values, is even more inconcievable. It is arrogant and high-handed in the extreme of WWCLT to presume they have the right to impose this project on the residents of Urunga, many of whom have chosen to buy houses in this vicinity, and invest their life there, in large part because of the delightful character the trees on Lot 1 give to this area.
It is manifestly unfair that these residents should be expected to accept a severe blow to the quality of their life for the sake of a problematic proposal by a group who will suffer no such blow to their lives or lifestyle.
Houses can be built in many places, but easily accessible suburban bush spaces like Lot 1 will become increasingly precious as Urunga’s housing numbers increase, and are irreplaceable.
Affordable housing is a vexing problem, but it doesn’t justify this level of environmental and social disruption.
WWCLT need to find a more appropriate site.
Yours Respectfully, Peter Dingle
Bellingen Golf club enters Administration round
The news of the Golf course woes, though dispiriting, are not a surprise given the Shire’s relentless rainfall for several months of the year. On the positive side, it seems the Shire has been presented with a serendipitous opportunity to reimagine the facility’s future for a multipurpose facility that caters to all demographics and is usable during the long rainy season . The community could be engaged for suggestions, but could include a gym with sauna and showers, mini golf, a driving range, pickle ball court, table tennis, a casual cafe with a nice outlook. Having a multipurpose facility would also enable additional revenue and cater to other members of the community who do not play golf
Shandra Coppard
I take issue with your syndicated story in the 3rd July edition entitled ‘Young farmers “Locked out” by proposed super tax’. The article – effectively an opinion piece – was printed without editorial comment nor scrutiny.
Perhaps a brief look at superannuation rules and policy wouldn’t go astray.
The ATO which oversees Self managed Super Funds clearly explains the Sole Purpose Test, namely “The sole purpose of your SMSF is to provide retirement benefits to your members, or to pay death benefits if a member dies before retirement.” i.e. NOT a tax-favourable means of transferring wealth through generations. Bear in mind there are other ways to do this (eg a Will).
The ATO goes on to further clarify the rules with the text “Generally, it is illegal for anyone to benefit from the SMSF outside of this sole purpose. It can be illegal to: … use the SMSF’s assets for personal use.” So a primary producer cannot have their farm in a super fund and also live off the proceeds (use the SMSF’s assets) without breaching there rules. Arguably the only people able to transfer a farm or other assets (yachts, art works) to such a scheme are those with extensive alternate means of support.
Bear in mind the changes only apply to any part of SMSF assets over $3M, whereas the median super balance on retirement is well below one-tenth of this (less than $300k). So don’t believe it when they cry poor.