The Wedding
It was last Sunday afternoon, I had just come inside as it was getting dark when my sister rang and told me she was going to Tanzania Africa to attend a wedding of a 32-year young women, she had ordered a new dress from Indian on-line and loved the colours and was not sure if two dresses were needed, one for the party 2 weeks before and one for the wedding. The party is called a “going away” were gifts normally of fabric are given, it was costing a bit, but she sounded excited to be going back. Sue’s town was having an evening at the CWA, and she was auctioning off fabric to help with the costs, I imagine she would have a lot of fabric.
About 32 years ago, this bride was born in a hospital in Tanzania and weighed 1.1 kg, Sue was one of the nurse’s and midwife’s that helped her survive.
What an amazing story but there is more to the events about 32 years ago.
Just 10 km from this hospital was a large refugee camp where Rwanda Tutsi peoples sort refuge from the genocide happening in Rwanda, friends were killing friends, neighbours killing neighbour’s and many babies, children, women of all ages, pregnant women and elderly were hacked to death.
The Hutu, Tutsi and Twa have lived in Rwanda since about 5th century, the Tutsi came from a pastoralists tradition and gained social, economic and political ascendency over the Hutu who were agriculturalists.
When children grow up, they don’t know how old they are so it is their height that decides when they can go to school, Tutsi’s are tall with lighter coloured skin, and a minority and Hutu are not and darker skinned. This creates inequality and division.
“The hospital is built on a bridge, people saw the lights and waded across the river, when the hospital woke up there were people everywhere and this grew to about 500,000. The Americans were there and so were the Belgium’s who were building roads, they used their large equipment to make a clearing in the forest”.
A couple of Sue’s friends drove to the British embassy and were told to get out straight away.
Sadly, the United Nations (UN) were nowhere to be seen.
The United Nations were heavily criticised because they did not help, they did not have the money to support a peace keeping force and the violence happened so quickly.
The world watched on in horror and disbelief.
The United Nations are an important part of the world, organising peace keeping forces and sending them to dangerous areas to stop the fighting, they provide food, water, and medical care to people hurt by wars or natural disasters, it sets up global rules to make sure people are treated fairly and have basic human rights, it helps poor countries build better health, education, and money systems.
The United Nations is such an important organisation that needs our support.
Colin Hutton, Thora
A Job Well Done
Sad indeed as we witness the passing of so many long-time locals in recent times. Their lifetime contribution to our shire should be long remembered and they will not be replaced in a different world.
On the economy, many are aware we are on the edge of a precipice, wages and all the associated fringe benefits for many, not all, out of control, plus red tape, driving productivity down to zero. The government chopping the heads off thousands of small businesses and any one foolish enough to have a go. Maybe agriculture under enormous pressure but may be the only productive business, outside mining still alive.
The self-funded retiree, after a life of hard work and self-sacrifice (inheritance aside) to be independent in old age, being forced to foot the bill. Government of either persuasion near impossible to reverse the situation, like feeding my blue heeler dog on steak and switching to dog pellets, he would take my bloody arm off.
A plus to our shire for some huge projects achieved in recent years. Concrete bridges and the sealing of Darkwood road and I understand all of the Kalang Road plus other projects throughout our shire. The bulk of the funding, maybe via grants but a pat on the back for councils grant officer and senior staff and of course our National party reps.
Having as a young lad, lived on the Kalang can’t wait for a drive to the top end, and a walk into the forest and see all those koalas hanging out of the trees, as in recent years reported to be in abundance up there.
A great run of beautiful weather, but if correct the weather bureau is predicting the possibility of an unprecedented El Nino (dry and hot), so maybe a warning to prepare for a fire season might not be out of order.
But out of the blue just received a lovely 30 mls.
Darcy Browning, Thora
Outrage Over Brumby Slaughter
URGENT! We need your help. Our last remaining brumbies need your help urgently! Help us to save them from the brutal shooting from helicopters by National Park Rangers authorised by NSW Labor Premier Chris Minns & his evil Sidekick Penny Sharpe!! We need as many of you who can be there to demonstrate and stop these bastards from killing the last few remaining wild brumbies in NSW! The date is 24th August to 29th August! These are your taxes paying for this illegal wild horse genocide organised & carried out by corrupt politicians, with the help of National Park rangers! All condoned by the RSPCA and the Greens, & justified by fake head counts & fraudulent environmental impact studies .They call this slaughter ‘ Wild Horse Management”!! We must stop this brutal slaughter & you can help! Interfere with their criminal genocide, bring your friends, cameras, drones, take pics & videos, spread the evidence on main stream media, youtube, social media, name & shame these animal murderers!
These defenceless brumbies depend on us! Don’t let them down! Spread the word please!
Z KOENIGSEDER
Slow Down Waterfall Way
As a resident at Marx Hill, I and locals have experienced increasing aggressive driving behaviour at our driveway on Waterfall Way, a 100 km/h zone. Waiting to turn right into our shared driveway opposite the lookout (with no turning lane) some drivers impatiently honk their horn or push past us on the road kerb with little space to do so.
Resident Maureen says “I’ve lived here over 20 years. The situation is getting worse – now quite unnerving.” Hubby and I are sole traders with regular visitors. We’d like access to our driveway safer for those who aren’t used to ‘gunning it’ to enter the 100 km/h traffic or feel like sitting ducks waiting to turn right from Waterfall Way. Some drive to the lookout and turn around. Possibly more dangerous. We have two adolescents on their L Plates. They’re not as confident as we were at the same age learning to drive as hubby and I practised in paddy bashers. Yes, it was fun.
There are two sharp corners for drivers to navigate between Marx Hill and Fullers plus too many times drivers pull out at Fullers without checking. Frightening. Those drivers unfamiliar with the area too often use the most eastbound entry illegally halting 100 k traffic.
We reduce to 70 k’s at Fernmount. Why are we 100 k’s at Marx Hill with similar bends? And transitioning from 100 k’s to 50 at Crown Street makes no sense. Reducing this proposed section of road to 80 km/h will cost us 18 seconds of our day (2km @ 80 k’s instead of 100). We can live with that, right? It will increase reaction time, reduce stress as well as noise (horns included) and gives visitors a chance to get it right.
We ask for local support to action a reduced speed limit. Please fill in the online form by googling ‘speed limits – have your say’ if you care to keep our main road safer. Again, I timed this activity. It’s a short document. Only took 2 and a half minutes off my life.
Rachel Faith
BSC No Spray policy
Upper Kalang Valley is one of the most biodiverse environmentally sensitive areas of the Bellingen Shire. Some Kalang properties have been wildlife sanctuaries for more than 50 years. Colonies of fireflies, glow in the dark mushrooms and fluorescent fungi appear on the sides of the road. The endangered bared frog is particularly sensitive to poison and breeds right next to the table drains that were excessively sprayed last year. I have seen a giant, hairy, mushroom pink, bird eating spider that Google has listed as only living in Nth Qld! Playing tennis at night at Kalang you meet a variety of amazing moths and large stick insects. Micro bats hover about picking them off.
Windscreens of cars used to need regular cleaning of insects splattered there. Do you have to do this these days? No, Ask any serious birdwatcher. Not only the insects but small bird numbers around Bellingen are declining, as then are the larger birds. This is also happening with the amphibians, reptiles and mammals. Poisons and habitat loss are the cause of this. Now biosecurity poses a further threat.
Virola mite has entered the shire and our honey bees are dying. Bird Flu has now arrived in Australia and scientists expect a huge impact on our native birds and wildlife [as well as poultry]
We need to do whatever we can to help our honey bees and animals to survive. These roadside poisons reduce resilience.
We are globally losing our wonderful biodiversity one colony, one species, at a time. As David Attenborough says ‘we don’t even know what we are losing. Some of these species are not even named.’ 80% of our medicines come from rainforests and wild places. When we lose species to extinction we lose something priceless and irreplaceable for ever.
Bellingen Shire is renowned for its clean rivers and Ecco tourism opportunities. We need to develop best practices. Do we really want to poison this pristine remote valley?
Kalang has had an unwritten agreement for over thirty-five years with the council, that Kalang was a no spray zone.
Many people bought into the valley over the years because of it being spray free and some are organic farmers, beekeepers and people with serious chemical allergies. Many are on a low income.
Last year council workers sprayed poisons from a moving vehicle directed towards the drains and bridges in light rain in Kalang.
We drink this water.
Signing up individuals, for agreements to pay, maintain their verge, and erecting no spray signs all the way along the road, is not what we want or need.
We need One No poison spraying sign, be erected by council at the beginning of the upper Kalang Road, after the Sunny corner turn off.
We will happily pay for it! We will form a group to do the work raise the funds and do the job ourselves if necessary.
.BSC plans on using poison, right beside the water that many people in Kalang will rely on in next year’s El Nino drought, as their drinking water.
Glyphosate or Roundup: The primary dangers include a probable link to non-Hodgkin lymphoma, potential endocrine and reproductive disruption, and gut microbiome imbalances.ie leaky gut It also poses severe risks to beneficial soil microbes
Approximately 170,000 total Roundup weed killer lawsuits have been filed against Monsanto and its parent company, Bayer. for about $11 billion, while approximately 60,000 active individual cases remain pending
They are also using controversial fluroproponate or Frenock .that is residual poison and remains active in the soil….. and requires withholding periods with dairy cattle. It is currently under review due to its long-term effects.
Roads like the Kalang Road that hug the river their entire course need another solution, not individual no spray agreements.
Please, it is simple: make the whole of the Upper Kalang River a designated No Spray Zone for a 12-month trial period.
Louise Cranny,
Kalang
Public deserves transparency on Ferry Street decision
Last week, Bellingen Shire Council voted to dispose of Lot 1 Ferry Street for $1.
I want to be clear: this letter is not about supporting or opposing the project. It is about the integrity of the decision-making process.
During the meeting, Councillor questions – together with the information provided in the council report and public exhibition documents – made it clear that Councillors had not been given key information, including: the road-reserve encroachment shown in the proponent’s own drawings valuation discrepancies with the adjacent Kalang River Motel road reserve disposal the General Manager’s involvement with the proponent’s advisory group related-party land interests feasibility constraints and my own public submission, which was not provided to Councillors despite being formally lodged (with receipt)
These omissions materially affected Councillors’ ability to make an informed decision.
Council’s report stated that all submissions were reproduced “verbatim”. This was not correct. My submission – which raised probity, governance and process-integrity concerns – was withheld from both the public and decision-makers.
Council also relied on a “transaction-specific” probity plan, which applies only to the contract stage. This meant that broader process-integrity issues raised in submissions – such as site selection, conflicts of interest, and governance arrangements – were not formally addressed.
The official meeting video appears to contain a jump cut at the exact moment the Mayor was addressing governance and probity concerns raised in submissions (at roughly 2:03:45). The recording resumes on a different topic. This raises legitimate questions about the completeness of the public record.
These issues do not relate to whether the housing project is good or bad. They relate to whether Councillors were given the information they needed to make an informed decision, and whether the public can have confidence in the process.
After raising these and other concerns directly with the General Manager, I was advised that I could refer the matter to the Office of Local Government and the ICAC for assessment, which I have now done.
The community deserves transparency, regardless of the outcome.
– Arne Hansen, Bellingen