Sue Morphet – Australia’s most unpopular woman

The Pacific Brands company is set for a major recovery after it announced its new range of Bonds T shirts emblazoned with images and quotes of CEO Sue Morphet.

The pole is innocent

I don’t wish to make light of this person’s injuries, but the pedant in me compels me to correct the Herald Sun’s opening statement to this story: 

A MAN suffered life threatening injuries when he was hit by a signal pole after putting his head out of a train window this afternoon.

I’m not sure how a static object like a pole could actually hit someone … unless it fell on them. He hit the pole, surely.

“She’ll be right, mate”

Bright has been like a ghost town for most of February and businesses are suffering. But unless some serious advertising money is spent soon it'll even struggle in Autumn.

But what’s the plan and who will fund it?

Bright’s tourism operators have been told they ”need to remain positive” and to ”keep their morale up” if they are going to outlast the side effects from the recent bushfires, according to a front page story  in this week’s Bright Observer.

That’s the message from both the Bright Chamber of Commerce (BCC) and the Alpine council’s tourism arm, the Alpine Region Tourism Board (ARTB). But I have to wonder if they are seriously underestimating the extent of not only the bushfire impact on tourism, but also the impacts of the ongoing world financial crisis. These comments seem to suggest they’re just leaving it up to individual operators to fund their own recovery promotional programs:

Bill says it all

From the horse's mouth - survivor Bill Culhane's words of wisdom.

Was it due to a lack of burn-offs?

No, it was a lack of  planning and foresight in extreme conditions

I’ve not posted this earlier due to the sensitivities surrounding the recent bushfires on 7 February that took over 200 lives throughout Victoria including two in this area.

But it’s good to hear one survivor telling it exactly as it is (or was).

In this report appearing in the Wangaratta Chronicle last week, a Mudgegonga farmer notably does not point the finger of blame at ’greenies’ preventing burn-offs (like so many others have done) and, instead, drives home the real message to be learnt from these hell-fires:

Wang’s ‘high-rise’ surprise

This proposed 'high rise' for Wangaratta has only received one objection. Sounds like they need some help from 'Save Bright'

A planning application for a $6 million, five-storey building in Faithfull Street, Wangaratta, on the edge of the CBD and by the proposed Ovens River precinct, has only brought out one objector, Wangaratta resident, Hannelore Sheehan.

The proposal consists of three levels of office and retail space, two levels of basement parking for 46 cars, a café on the ground floor and restaurant on top.

According to the Wang Chronicle  , Ms Sheehan is all alone in her attempts to stop the development, which she claims ”would spoil the skyline of the city”.

But I didn’t know Wangaratta had a skyline to spoil! Maybe she means it’s “not in keeping with the amenity, bulk & scale of the Wang CBD”? 

Garrett to go back on stage …

'Diesel & Dust' suits Garrett far more than politics & bullshit

… where he probably belongs

I’m really pleased that Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett  is to return to his rightful position as the freaked out front-man of his old band Midnight Oil for a flood and bushfire benefit concert … for two reasons:

Is Twitter for twits?

Twitter claims to be a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? Huh? My 'one simple question' is this: Why would you want to know?

Get back to your blogs please, boys

I’ve got absolutely zero interest in joining this latest craze in communication geekland known as Twitter. Dave from Albury  has joined it (you can check out what Dave’s doing right now - here - it’s riveting stuff!) and so has Kieran Bennett  from Wodonga. In fact I’ve noticed that the two Border bloggers seem to be spending so much time on Twitter they’re neglecting to respond to comments on their blogs (or make them on other blogs) which in my opinion is a far more informative and important pursuit.

Hey boys, I enjoy what you write on your blogs and the exchanges of opinions they prompt but I don’t want to know what you’re doing every second of the day via Twitter … and I’m buggered if I understand why anyone else does! Can we please get back to some normal blogging?

Cruel council

The report obviously came from the admin overseen by Wang's CEO Doug Sharp. But why?

Wangaratta to tax the elderly

“Our residents do not actually own their properties – what they have is a contract which gives them right of occupancy” - St John’s Village chief executive, Joe Caruso

Last week’s decision by the Wangaratta council to impose rates on the elderly residents of St John’s Village aged care facility smacks of a council that can only see $ signs where it should be seeing a responsibility to protect its most vulnerable citizens.

Some good news at last

Recovery already underway?

Maybe it’s in response to our record low interest rates and to the cash bonuses the Government is handing out, but this article in today’s Herald Sun about the property market & retail sales is a positive sign that the doom & gloom merchants might have it wrong:

Bright’s identity under threat

Myrtleford’s footy woes raises merger prospect (again!)

I don’t usually reproduce entire articles from newspapers – I normally prefer a few key quotes to highlight my point. But this article in today’s Border Mail recommending a merger of the Myrtleford and Bright footy teams warrants breaking that rule … because it is just so flawed and ill-informed:

It could happen again

The heavily populated Dandenong Ranges are 'overdue' for a major bushfire.

So let’s use more foresight next time

I’m saying this more out of public interest than as ‘yet another Dixon know-all comment’. The conditions out there might be cooler and calmer but my observations are that it’s far drier than it was just before February 7 and it won’t take much to ignite another major fire somewhere. Forget the light rain we’ve had up here today, just go outside and pick up one of the many leaves that have persistently been blown off the trees – they’re so dry they actually fall apart in your hand and I haven’t seen that in the entire time I’ve lived here.

The weather outlook for the next week or so is for more dry conditions with temperatures in the mid 30 range and strong winds. All it will take is a spark to put us back to (almost) where we were.

I’m not predicting a repeat of the very extreme fires of  ’Black Saturday’ – that probably won’t happen again for another 10 or 20 years - but I think the chances of another major bushfire that threatens a lot of lives before this summer is over are pretty high. And again, in my opinion, the areas at greatest risk of tragic loss of life would be those on the outer fringes of Melbourne.

Brumby stymies land sales

Victorian Premier John Brumby has just guaranteed that no one will get a good price in fire-affected areas.

Premier needs a lesson in basic economics 

Sometimes I think Victorian Premier John Brumby is really stupid. His “just stay at home” message issued on February 6, the day prior to ’Black Saturday’, was meant to be directed at the elderly in safer suburbs in response to the high death rate caused by the heatwave. But it came out at the same time – in the very same interview! - in which he was warning everyone of the extreme fire conditions and, in effect, he advised people to stay indoors and shut themselves away. 

Many did just that and remained unalert to the forthcoming dangers.

Now Brumby has found it appropriate to go into the widespread media to warn people about “vultures” trying to buy land near the fire zones cheaply. From ABC Online:

Fighting fires in paradise

Wilson's Promotory, Victoria is not a bad place to be 'stuck in'. I bet this fire burns for a while yet.

Please don’t misinterpret this but the last fire they had at Wilsons Prom was a DSE controlled burn that ‘got out of control’. It burnt for weeks, as this one has. Hopefully they’ll put it out soon and allow the public access to this unique and pristine (but fire-damaged) area. (Photo ABC Online)

Mario builds his case

Former councillor Mario Vaccaro is no fool.

Will we face a new election in Alpine?

The Municipal Electoral Tribunal will decide, at a full hearing set down for 30 March in the Melbourne Magistrates Court, whether or not the Alpine council election of November last year is to be declared “void” and a new election ordered.

Former councillor Mario Vaccaro, who was defeated by a handful of votes, lodged an appeal with the Tribunal in December on the grounds that the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) failed to conduct a fair & equitable election by its failure/refusal to retrieve ballots held for collection at various post offices in the area on the final day of voting, Friday 28 November, despite repeated requests that they do so. It is claimed that about 150 votes were wrongly excluded from the count AND from the subsequent recount.

“SP AusNet caused Beechworth fire”

“A branch fell on the power lines and brought them down to the ground. It sparked and then the whole paddock exploded at once”- eyewitness to the start of the Beechworth fire

According to a report in the Wangaratta Chronicle, power company SP AusNet is facing a class action over allegedly faulty power lines blamed for starting a fatal bushfire at Beechworth on ‘Black Saturday’, February 7.

In the writ prepared by Slidders Lawyers and filed in the Victorian Supreme Court on Monday, the plaintiff Leo Keane claims the Beechworth fire was caused by a faulty and/or defective power line, and spread to and damaged his property. But SP AusNet have said the claim is premature and inappropriate, given the establishment of the Royal Commission.

The Beechworth fire spread to Barwidgee Creek (near Myrtleford) where couple John and Sue Wilson were killed at their property. It destroyed another 14 homes and damaged a total of 268 other properties. It burnt more than 32,000 hectares, including 2000 hectares of pine plantations. I guess there are going to be a lot of others joining this action. And they’d be justified in doing so, in my opinion.