Welcome to this week’s editorial, There is a lot happening around the shire this weekend and most of it is being driven by the community. The big one this weekend is the Granite Town Festival that brings together the good folk of Moruya each year in a day of music celebration. Run by volunteers on a shoe string budget (this year did see the much appreciated support of Destination NSW allowing the event to better promote itself) the annual music event is gaining a wide and appreciative audience. This year will see the Eurobodalla Mayor in attendance (announcing this morning on ABC South East radio that it will be her 50th birthday). Hopefully the Mayor and her party will witness how incredible the Granite Town event is and offer Council support to next year’s event as they do already with so many other similar events supported by ESC in the shire. Another big event is on Saturday where the morning will begin with the annual Health Expo in Batemans Bay showcasing many of the health related options available in the region. The event will run from 10am to 2pm, and be held in the auditorium of the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club on Level 1. With participation from 26 exhibitors, a number of demonstrations and great support from the community the aim of the event is to showcase the great services that locals and visitors can access in the Eurobodalla. The expo was held for the first time in 2016. Saturday afternoon will see a monumental public meeting held in Moruya at the Moruya Golf Club at 2:30pm to discuss the future of health in the shire and most specifically the need to have ONE hospital. The community are invited to this meeting to hear a wide cross section of speakers discuss the future of our two lower-key hospitals recognising the need for the region to be serviced by One Category 2 Regional Hospital for improvement in Accident & Emergency, Critical Care and Perioperative Services. Convenors of the meeting believe it is time to get some action and discussion on this critical issue. Hot on the heels of the Liberals announcing their candidate for Eden Monaro, Fiona Kotvojs of Dignams Creek we learnt this week of Pat McGinlay, Councillor for Eurobodalla Shire also throwing his hat into the Federal arena, standing for the Greens. In what looks to be a very thorny issue around the logging of the Corunna Forest and the poor press that the NSW Liberals are receiving over logging across the state this might garner votes for the Greens Federally and if so, based on past actions, see those green preferences go towards Labor. An interesting one to watch. Pat will be at the Moruya Meeting along with State and Federal Labor candidates. Meanwhile this weekend will see continued protests in Corunna. Last week saw a building protest mounted directly at Member for Bega, Andrew Constance with Funeral for Forest marches in Bega, protests outside of his offices, lone drummers sitting blindfolded by the side of the highway and outside of the Carp Street electoral office hammering out protestations. Now NSW Green MP has come into the picture demanding that the logging stop immediately so that the reports of a masked owl that was photographed in the forest with a hidden camera could be verified and investigated. Also of interest is that we discovered this week that the $26m for the Mackay Park aquatic centre is on the table and that Council will be considering taking out a loan for $10 million while waiting to hear if the Federal Government would like to also add $10m for the project. The $10m loan is not budgeted and will most likely come up in the 2019/20 budget so it will be of interest to learn how Council proposes to meet the loan considering it will be intergenerational and therefore a possible contender in justifying the rate rise they promised would not happen … in this term of council. Until next …. Lei
