Opinions and positions
I SUBMIT a personal positional statement (not Horsham Rural City Council) in relation to the Horsham bypass.
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Firstly, I would encourage people to read all of the July 17, 2017 motion.
- To not support or discount any option takes us back to 5.37pm on Monday, September 7, 2015;
- The 2013 letter and submission is quoted to illustrate this;
- The Reports and public submissions between 2008 and last Monday illustrate a similar theme – divided opinion among the community.
- Since 2007 there have been more than 18 different route options considered.
- This has gone on for too long;
A councillor is entitled to both an opinion and a position.
For example, it is my opinion that the new Optus tower will detract from a Mount Arapiles vista.
It is, however, my position to support better communications for our community and so I support the application.
In relation to the bypass, my opinion is that option 2 is too far out, option 5A severs the city and that option D is too close to the city.
I have listened to, and sought counsel from, people I trust – including local business people, an experienced local aircraft pilot, former local leaders and many community members.
I have reached the conclusion that the best way forward for this community is to get a line on the map. If this motion is successful, I am confident that it will bring us a step closer to reaching that goal.
Mark Radford, Horsham Rural City councillor
Sport stadium location
AS A 70-year-old active sporting member of the Horsham community, I welcomed the opportunity to have a say regarding the proposed multi-use indoor stadium.
My children and grandchildren – and the whole community – are the ones who will benefit from this vision, so it is important to get it right. As a nation and community that is becoming less fit and less healthy, and more obese, we need to maximise the use of such a great facility.
Thus I believe the McBryde Street site is not the best option to get maximum numbers of our community using the sporting complex. We know how important it is that children are exposed to sporting activities.
If the stadium was built on the west edge of town, there are many hundreds of school children at the Horsham College and Horsham West Primary School who would be able to use the facility every day. Currently these students are not particularly well served by what they have available. There is huge potential for expansion on the west edge of town, too, though I do understand this land may need to be purchased.
On the other side of the coin, schools at the east end of town are already well catered for with their own large sporting buildings – namely Lutheran and Horsham 298 schools and St Brigid’s College.
As proclaimed in the literature, "exciting opportunities to enhance sporting facilities for locals and visitors alike," is not something that will be unique to a McBryde Street site. As for "future growth" in this area, I fail to see where this is coming from – apart from a proposed closure of the street. Are the nearby residents happy about this?
Is the lovely little copse of trees behind the basketball stadium to go before or after as part of the future growth potential? I see no mention of the trees. Also I know the Wimmera River does not flood often but it should be a consideration.
All my friends and family I have spoken to on this issue believe, as I do, that the council should be looking at maximum usage by the community of a multi-use indoor sports stadium and this will not be achieved if it is built in the McBryde Street area.
Joyce Mills, Horsham
Chance to save lives
OLDER Victorians play a vital role saving dozens of lives a year through organ and tissue donation, but many more could be saved if we all considered and registered our intent to be donors.
Almost half of organ donors are over 55 year of age, but sadly a large number of older Victorians do not consider donating, believing their body is too old or “damaged” to be of any use. This is absolutely not the case at all – in fact people in their 80s have successfully donated.
As Commissioner for Senior Victorians, I want to advocate for the hundreds of Victorians of all ages on transplant waiting lists and urge you all to consider registering to become an organ and tissue donor.
One in five Australians on the waiting list never receive the organ needed to save their life. The sad reality is that only one to two per cent of deaths occur in the very specific circumstances where organ donation is a possibility, so it’s crucial we maximise the number of donors by maximising the number of people registered.
The good news is that very few medical conditions rule you out from becoming a donor, and thorough tests are done at the time pick up any issues. It is quite amazing what can be donated – more than 10 people can benefit from one donor.
Once you’ve made the decision, there are a couple of things I would urge you to do.
First and foremost, register your intentions on the Australian Organ Donor Register at donatelife.gov.au or call 1800 777 203. It’s important to also discuss your decision with your family or carers, so they know your wishes and respect them. Nine out of ten families say yes to donation when they know their loved ones’ wishes.
Finally, I encourage people to consider having have an advanced care plan laying out their wishes for the future. Make sure this plan includes your wishes to be a donor.
Gerard Mansour, Commissioner for Senior Victorians