The good, the bad, and the ugly

IN THE spirit of goodwill at Christmas, it’s congratulations to the Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Kristy McBain and the Bass Coast Shire Council for delivering the best gift of all for Kernot and district residents last Friday.

The shire will get $1.7 million towards its $2.21 million bridge upgrade and the community will get its desperately needed community link back - a belated but ultimately great outcome.

The clock is now ticking on how long it takes the shire, notwithstanding the discovery of Gippsland Giant Earthworms, to award the contract and for works to begin.

Another thing worthy of praise is the efforts homeowners and farmers across Bass Coast and South Gippsland go to with their lights and decorations to bring a smile to residents and travellers at what can be a hectic time of the year for many.

Balancing that out, there have been a couple of ‘I told you so’ moments as well in the past week with the Victorian government continuing to bumble its way through the rollout of its renewables plan in time to pick up the slack from the shutdown of Yallourn (2028) and Loy Yang A (2035), and what’s worse, fail to keep the community informed.

We had a third offshore wind project withdrawn last Friday, Gippsland Skies, that’s three now, leaving nine proposals for wind farms off the Gippsland coast.
And we had the unimpeachable source of the Victorian Auditor General’s Office (VAGO) raising serious doubts about the supply of power beyond 2028 and the government’s renewable energy targets beyond 2025.

That, my friends, is the ‘panic button’.

There was also the government’s backdown on slugging farmers millions of dollars in Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund levy payments for a further two years, but at the same time, continuing to rip millions off homeowners and business premise owners to help shore up the state’s disastrous financial position.

Despite the government’s efforts to hose that issue down, the next Victorian election still shapes as a referendum on the new ESVF tax.

We also had another tragic drowning, possibly with an associated medical episode, on Phillip Island last Wednesday reminding us of the dangers that exist at our ocean beaches in particular. Hopefully, the authorities can roll out their new set of eye-catching signs in the next few weeks.

And the “ugly”? The senseless graffiti on the Korumburra Courthouse and Korumburra Police Station overnight on Tuesday night. This is in no way an attack on the good work of our police and justice personnel but it may say something about the lack of manpower in country towns and country police stations.

So, we’ll take the good with the bad this week and choose to celebrate the long-awaited news with the Kernot and district community.