at work

When it comes to extracting dollars from the ratepayers the Bega Valley Shire Council is truly ingenious.

Last year in its quest to burden long suffering ratepayers with a 2.25 per cent rate hike intended to raise $350,000 to fund programs for tourism and economic development it received a stinging rebuttal from the Minister for Local Government, Barbara Perry. She did however approve the sporting levy which is costing residential ratepayers $450,000 a year or $23.63 per household and it will continue to be applied for five years.

Minister Perry warned the council in July 2009 that any future applications from council for increases above the capped rate were unlikely to succeed.

The Department of Local Government also weighed into the argument spelling out that the average incomes of the residents could not sustain the high rates.

Council has successfully applied for a special rate variation above the pegged rate in seven of the last nine years. That represented a cumulative rate increase of 36.55 per cent compared with 18.4 per cent under the rate peg.

The department’s Ross Woodward said: “While the average increase in residential rates from the special variation is not significant in itself when combined with proposed increases for waste, water and sewerage charges the average ratepayer would see a total increase in the order of $174.45 for 2009-10.”

The council’s pitch to now continue a special rate variation under a different guise needs to be viewed in the context of the above.

Ten years ago it was successful in gaining an approval for a rate variation to pay off a $2 million loan.

At the end of the 2009-10 financial year the loan will have been repaid but instead of drawing a line under it and easing marginally the impost on the ratepayers our ingenious council wants to continue with the variation to fund an economic development program that was knocked back by the Minister in 2009.

It would appear that the Minister and the Department of Local Government are more sensitive to the financial plight of the ratepayers than our council.

Council general manager Peter Tegart said: “Rather than have a small reduction in rates it is better to retain it for the purposes of economic development.” Well, he would say that wouldn’t he?

If the council wants to fund its economic development program maybe it should practise what it preaches. It has recently advised the Pambula Aquatic Centre Inc to lobby state and federal governments to pay for the unfair financial imposts that the council is considering imposing on that community group and do likewise - seek the funds from elsewhere.

Council should scrap the rate variation; it has served its purpose and instead give some minor relief to the ratepayers who not only face big council bills but increasing costs across a wide spectrum of life’s essentials.

Spin doctors

caught out

Government departments are the masters of spin and the Greater Southern Area Health Service has been caught red-handed at this tactic of political puffery.

It has further damaged the credibility of GSAHS, which has a poor reputation in the community as it is.

The old adage rings true: “Honesty is the best policy” as invariably the truth will out.

The media release that sees the GSHAS patting itself on the back for accomplishing the 12 recommendations contained within the review of maternity services in the Bega Valley Shire has been torn apart by local doctors and the Save Our Hospital Inc (SOHI) members.

They have identified a number of inaccuracies, misinformation and to put it bluntly have derided the document as nothing but spin.

This further destabilises a tenuous relationship at best between GSAHS and the community.

The withdrawal of maternity services from the Pambula District Hospital in September 2008 set alight the two-year campaign to save the Pambula hospital and lobby for improved health services for the Bega Valley Shire.

It is an issue that has provoked an outpouring of concern from the community and a passionate resolve to restore services to the hospital while the wait for a new hospital at Bega stretches into eternity.

The community is entitled to know the truth and we believe on this occasion it may not have been the case. It is symptomatic of the treatment afforded to the community by the bureaucrats.

No wonder we all have dints in our foreheads - it’s from constantly hitting a brick wall - trying to extract the truth from bureaucrats and politicians.