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By Cagerattler…

I try to look at things half full not half empty but I think two things need to be prioritised in the beautiful valley we live in. Both are   related to local government – Streetscape and Camping Grounds (not forgetting Fingal). GET ON WITH IT!

It’s annoying when things stall, even if only  temporarily, but after all the work done by a dedicated crew of  locals and  Councillors it seems that it’ll be a while yet before much more happens on the Streetscape in particular…Is it all to do with the row over parallel/angle parking or sufficient funding?  Time is ticking people…We have major investment happening in the valley over the next few years through mining and tourism, and we need this to be reflected in the continual upgrading of the towns most concerned, Fingal and St Marys, not down the coast somewhere.  I’d love a representative from Council to come out and say that the projects  involved in Streetscape are still well and truly going to happen and that Fingal will not be forgotten either…let’s hear it!

With the Camping Area improvements at the Recreation Ground over recent years the Council should take a lot of credit, well deserved for what we all knew was going to be a winner. There’s still an awful lot to consider and do over there, and these issues can’t be left forever; small steps can lead to huge leaps.  Surely the same applies to  Streetscape? Recently the Campervan people revisited and were catered for  fantastically by the St Marys Sports Centre, which was great for their profile.  It was a terrific weekend all round…this is how it can be done and now it’s time for Council to look at the ‘big picture’ for our valley towns and market and accommodate for needs accordingly.  After all isn’t that what  they’re supposed to be doing anyway…?

What do you think? Rod McGiveron.

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Letter to the Editor

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Dear Editor.

I have read and re-read Cagerattler’s article in the Valley Voice (Nov.7th) regarding the proposed streetscape plans for St. Marys, and his sentiments seem to be at odds with those of the majority of St. Marys’ residents and shopkeepers in particular. I was under the impression that very few, if anyone, actually desired the plan to go ahead mainly because of the drastic loss of car parking spaces that would be involved. So is Cagerattler backing this proposal or have I misunderstood him? Certainly the ‘steps’ between pavement and roadway at the front of the shops could do with modification to improve safety, but to my mind the rest of the proposal is totally unnecessary and would have been a waste of money – our money.

Also, it would be refreshing to be able to read something akin to Cagerattler’s previous topics, without referring once again to the Elections.   It is bad enough now having to hear all the hype regarding the forthcoming State elections, without back-tracking to the Federal result whether it is to our liking or not.

Sorry Cagerattler, but that is what I think.

Toni Brewster, Chain of Lagoons.

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By Cagerattler

You all know the esteem or lack thereof in which I hold most politicians these days and at the risk of offending a few                people it serves ourselves right for what we’ve finished up with after the most recent Federal election.

What a comment the PM made the other day suggesting that the Afghanistan war was ‘worth it’…

So it was worth it to see many of our diggers either killed or permanently injured, never to have families of their own or to live normal lives … so that not too long after the last of our blokes leave, this insurgent-infiltrated corrupt country will regress to not much better than it was before. Afghanistan is a place steeped in conflict, tribal warfare, warlords, Taliban, persecution of women and Islamic extremists with no concept of the value of life and if you think there will be any real semblance of lasting peace after our troops are gone you are either stupid, idealistic or plain naïve. The despots in that third world country will rule again in time and I wonder when that happens if our leaders will continue to say it was worth it … I think not.

There’s rumblings out there I’ve heard of late about the seeming curtailing of the Streetscape … many are not happy that the plan is not going on as quickly as it should and no-one in the know is giving a lot away on the subject.

The next couple of years – with the beginning of the new mining ventures and solid real estate tradings – would be the perfect time to really get St Marys and Fingal in particular going. Maybe the councillors representing the area can start jumping a few bones on the ‘bean counter’ ranks and free up a few bucks to get at least some progress in this area…the time is nigh!

What do you think? Rod McGiveron.

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By Cagerattler

A few weeks ago I was talking to a person who was for a time quite heavily involved in the St Marys Streetscape. He was concerned that the Streetscape may well be delayed further. I hope that this doesn’t mean that it will NEVER happen – that would be a terrible thing. Small towns like ours need to not be forgotten and over the years, not just here of course, but in lots of small communities things get put on the backburner.

The Streetscape goes back quite a way. Without researching dates and so on I’d suggest 15-20 years since the first design plan was done by a dedicated group of locals and a group of young planners from Hobart. The SMACD  (St Marys Association for Community Development) team and the town planners of those days created what most people thought was a plan that would enhance this town as a place where people would not just want to ‘pass through’ but would be a place to “go to” or “stop at”.  Whilst a few improvements have been made here and there, the overall nuts and bolts of the original Streetscape or the more recent Streetscape concepts have not been implemented.

One of the major sticking points for any of it to work is of course  the issues and red tape over car parking. The age old debate over angle or otherwise types of parking cars has to have a direct bearing on whether any street improvement plan can go ahead. I wonder if we could resolve such a sticky issue for the greater good or if in five years’ time we will still be arguing over the same matters and wondering too if any street improvement plan, to make this 156 year old town a more attractive place, will still be under debate.

I also hope that someone from Council would like to fill us in on the current status of the Streetscape – whether it’s scheduled, delayed, scrapped or otherwise… Gee it’d be nice to know wouldn’t it?

One other quick mention…To the idiots who once again dumped their rubbish in the bush rather than putting it in the skip bin or spending a couple of bucks at the tip…SHAME ON YOU.  I can’t believe how stupid and thoughtless you are. I’ve seen two glaring examples of fresh rubbish being dumped around the Mt Nicholas tracks in the past couple of weeks and I hope one day you get caught and fined if you keep doing it.

GIVE IT A REST PLEASE…

What do you think ? Rod McGiveron.

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By Cagerattler

At last there’s been some announcements concerning the  proposed Hard Rock Mine on ABC radio and in the  newspaper and also the potential for some gold mining up around Mangana I believe. The new coal venture  especially  has the potential to create significant job prospects, has gone through final approvals and scrutiny and is slated to start within the next few months. The gold venture is a little less certain but exciting none the less.

Of course there is the direct issue of planning and implementation of the new mine/s and the people directly employed at that stage and within three years, when Hard Rock hope to be fully operational, but the bigger picture is the spin off to the whole area. Some sceptics seem to think that it might be a fly in/fly out type of operation although no-one from the company or those in the know have suggested  this is the case. Last thing I heard via a local real estate agency radio interview was that housing was being sought for newcomers to the area  to get the mine started and beyond.

How good would it be to see local business, property owners, schools, hospitals and supply and tender’s interests  getting a chance to be part of a long overdue new venture in the area?

It’s also pretty clear that during the due diligence processes of environmental impact, protection for historic sites  etc.  little or any objection came forward which is pretty rare these days so hopefully quite soon the wheels will begin turning on either or both of these developments; maybe a fresh start for locals and newcomers alike and prosperity again to a Valley that has missed out on so much due to a lack of sustainable industry for decades. One day wouldn’t it be awesome to see our young being born,  educated, trained for careers and successfully employed, bringing  up their own families in the area if they so desired – this might be a small step toward that.

What do you think?  Rodney McGiveron.

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By Cagerattler

The other night I sent some photos of the region to a friend of mine in Baltimore, Maryland. He and his wife were keen to see some Fingal Valley stuff, not the usual tourism content. After sending them some of my own photographs via email which they appreciated I decided to have a look and see if there was much video to view… and I found it. It’s called Valleys of Adventure (Fingal Valley, Tasmania ) and he loved it. So did I actually.

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 By Cagerattler

Thank goodness the seven month political campaign is finally over. What a saga. Now  we can watch the Labor recriminations and the Coalition gloats and smirks with apparently a ‘mandate’ to stop the boats, scrap the carbon and mining taxes, change the NBN rollout,    confront the public sector to help get that budget surplus including job cutbacks, and who knows where the GST, education and health are going. Continue reading

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By Cagerattler

We’ve been watching the ads on television of late dealing with Australian-made articles and I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve only given them scant thought.  Just this past week though I put it into more perspective. As an avid model rail enthusiast I enjoy being on a forum site. One of the topics deals with wait times on supply from an iconic American manufacturer, or so I thought.  Due to re-location and re-tooling offshore, this company will not be providing  orders to dealers/customers for a few months. This supply issue made me consider the big picture, particularly in an Australian context. If the USA, home of free enterprise, is sending so much stuff offshore, then God help us.

In the next decade our once quite well-supported car industry will be gone, never to return.  Ford Australia have already announced that the  local car building industry will be finishing in 2016, and you can bet your boots that GMH won’t be too far   behind. This then flows on to components companies in the main, unless they can find markets elsewhere. Electrical/white goods manufacturers have either been bought out by overseas big players or ceased trading     altogether, as have clothing and food companies unable to compete with ridiculously cheap imports. Don’t let’s even  start on the out-sourcing of call centres, newspaper  sub-editing etc…

Why can’t our stupid politicians see this? Stop putting   political correctness first and start making decisions such as giving the Free Trade Agreement the flick or at least putting some substantial reforms in place within it. GEE…it’s done our manufacturing industry the world of good so far.  Just wait while I get my tongue out of my cheek as I say that… So often, it seems, we are buying items made cheaply by low paid workers employed in  bad conditions. We ignore the   corruption – out of sight out of mind, just so we can save a few dollars on these goods.  Don’t be fooled, some of these “iconic” companies are using sweatshop labour to boost profits.

I think most of us would be happy to pay the few extra  dollars if we knew that it was genuinely supporting local manufacturing, and ethical enough to spend a little more if  the sweatshop workers were better paid. I’m no genius (far from it) but at least lesser disparity between overseas to locally manufactured goods would present a  choice of quality rather than just cost,  and up the overall picture in a competitive sense.

Come on Rudd and Abbott, do something really useful and make some changes to help our manufacturing industry in a real way before it’s all too late.

What do you think?  Rod McGiveron.