Otways Online

Places of last resort in a bushfire

2011-12-30T09:34:00.001+11:00

Three years ago I published this .Its not perfect or complete .

Our Shire are sitting in the safest place of all

2011-12-29T11:05:00.004+11:00

Its 29th December 2011 . Its now 2 years on from the biggest preventable natural disaster of the new millennium at Marysville where over 150 people died from being where they should not have been in a bushfire. It seems we have learnt very little because
Our public spokesman speak with forked tongues about risk and what they have done about that risk . After saying safer places didn't exist and weren't presumably going to be created Rob Small; has just yesterday listed some safer places.
Last month there were no safer places, but this week Rob Small is saying there are some ; Its easier when no one else is speaking up, to say nothing: last week Surfcoast Shire spoke up and nominated exactly where several were.
Rob Small is not credible about the reasons he hasn't named and created safer places in the Shire. Is the implication in his statement recorded in the CH on December 28th that it is hard to design a safer place, or is it , just , in his opinion, so very hard to cut some trees down? His oft repeated claim that his staff are always too busy doing more important things (like tree preservation )just doesn't mesh with his so called concern for people; The job should have been done before now !
The reality is that if we are going to protect people on roads, more open space areas will need to be created and nominated alongside roads . The job of the Shire is not only to name the places of last resort , but to create them.and the directions to them . Why is it so late in the season that , after months of saying we haven't got any places of last resort we might suddenly get some? Until the government stop shurking the responsibility and saying nothing , I have listed some places of last resort for visitors to the area on otwaysonline.blogspot.com.

Will cricket work today

2011-11-26T11:03:00.000+11:00

The most important questions are dealt with HERE. Last Sat was wet - drizzly wet . These summer lows take a bit of understanding as the rain "coming from the north " is much less common than the weather coming from the west ( normal).
Time though, with all the info on the net , to take weather interpretation into our our own hands.
Well not entirely- these blokes at BOM should be respected .
Seems the general district forecast is supported
ie SW cloudy risk of isolated showers esp on the otways . Radar at 10 supports the expectation that rain with mainly occur to the west and on the hills ( the sensitive nature of orographic effects when the air is filled with moisture like it is today )

SO HERE IS my forecast ( made 10:45 am Sat 26th Nov 2011)

That there is a 90% chance that drizzle will not occur at South Colac ( where it matters) but rain south much more likely as slight northerlies raise the air into the Otways .
There is 80% chance that cricket at South Colac will be OK because the warm air from north will continue till 5pm keeping air clearer than it might be at the head of the front . Showers and cloud expected but not expected to be uncomfortable like it was last week at Birregurra . Expect a clear photo of the north to be taken at 4pm .
I could be wrong .
See the charts for yourself. 2pm above and 5pm below

Unsustainanable reactive approches

2011-09-20T13:13:00.005+10:00

The beach is almost gone and the rock treatments are bigger than ever. The erosion of the beach ridge system is completely avoidable, but the works which caused it have not been dealt with . No mistake has been admitted and money has for the fifth time in a decade been thrown at a solution which fails to deal with the basic problem ( not mentioning it here because noone since 2006 has raised it with me )

Many people want to be called conservationist, but they don't really know what that means - its means preventing problems from happening , not trying to fix up " damage" How can our Shire Call itself conservationist when they try to solve environmental problems with more and more engineering solutions.If land is soft we make it hard with rock--- well if you are real simple and see things in only 2 dimensions its completely rational .
Conservation just becomes a matter of money and people are just allowed to do what they like. Our leadesr are afraid to mention the word mistake and mistaken .At least Labor talked about planning - Libs appear not to really believe in it .
Care is not something you do ahead of time but something you do after an accident or a tragedy . Many new age conservationists are really techno tragics - hooked on the idea that a price on the problem will fix the problem .

Some people at Apollo bay now have Ocean views after that annoying dune washed away .
Mr Mulder will no doubt fund some more works to repair the damage that rich and unthinking people have created on the foreshore . Who needs a beach to sit on when when you can have rocks . Note this problem was identified here in 2006 . http://otwaysonline.blogspot.com/2006/12/welcome-to-our-beautiful-rocky-beaches.html
Why should anyone vote Liberal when they fall for the same old reactionary non science that plaqued their predecessors.

Pelicans come back to Colac

2011-06-30T21:34:00.000+10:00

While plenty of birds have been making their homes on the southern shores since last year , pelicans have been coming this year .Large families of Pelicans were noted feeding tonight off the pier.

Our region missing out on leading science solutions

2011-03-24T11:39:00.001+11:00

Officers paid to talk about big problems have been stopping us from using lakes (and many other areas) for recreation for years

When you next hear someone worried about an environment issue ask them-- is a threat or an opportunity? .

For too long now we hear people being paid to worry us about the threats , when many of us as applied environmental scientists focused on solutions ( http://designwithnature.blogspot.com).

Many of the algal blooms in recreational lakes can and should be managed, not left, like the greens suggest, in a 'no touch zone" .

Algae will form part of our energy future when Departments employ scientists and not narrow focused problem driven project managers

Ordo Amoris: Literature to Fuel the Imagination

2011-01-30T17:03:00.000+11:00

Ordo Amoris: Literature to Fuel the Imagination

It may be sheep country , but we are not sheep - are we ?

2010-12-08T10:14:00.004+11:00

A major post election discussion is symbolized in our local paper (eg today about who should be Mayor )by the straight talking question from Geoff. Have our leaders " got some backbone".
Gotta be tough and straight - not like jellyfish-- moving with the tide . I think its good that people are talking that way. How about you ?
How about being tough with public servants who, as former Minister Don Mc Kinnon shared with me on the hustings at Camperdown on election day,love to snow you with information
Be tough gentlemen and ladies - straighttalking and accountable --- just as you expect anyone who takes office to be.

The people of Polwarth do well

2010-12-03T10:24:00.001+11:00

Thanks to all those who supported us and the need for a change of government . We 3 amigos were there to reduce the influence the new coalition of compromise and together we got 9% of the vote - we were very pleased - A higher % of the vote than the Greens .
If you still wonder why I resist the politicization of green issues click here .

One way to describe a true conservationist is someone who knows how to be both a glass half full and a glass half empty person ; to enjoy the earth's abundance when it occurs and when to conserve things for the times when things are short .This is nothing new to farmers - they live with the earth , unlike so many who get their facts from the TV , the speculative and the superficial.
For a true conservationist there is no quick fix crash through politics here - just planning . After 30 years of defending difficult but wise choices in the public interest , I know which type of green politics works and which makes better use of your taxes. Don't trust the parties , trust in people who put professionalism first. Thanks again .

Why I am standing for FF and why I think you should too

2010-11-06T04:46:00.020+11:00

I love to talk green,

but I object to those who talk about “what’s gotta happen” in conservation when they just don’t know; when parties use my chosen profession to wield all sorts of rubbish on farmers, investors and the people; when politicians play up to that same rubbish; when our world is corrupted by forcing people and parties to do things that are not going to really cut to something sustainable. A lot of the token gestures on environment will cost our children .A lot of the wastage in playing football with complex issues and using the environment as a political badge is NOT really in our children’s interest . That’s why I am standing for Family First, and I think you should too!

Put me first and your favoured major party second and you too will help make our country more like the proper representative democracy it ought to be.

How hard is it to take advantage of a opportunity ?

2010-09-17T14:08:00.004+10:00

Our Council have a history of finding it hard to make decisions . They let developers tell them what to do ( Barham River ) , they let State government tell them where to shift libraries and schools , they let their planners tell them what to do with our library, and when they have the opportunity to think about road planning, they squib it altogether .

Now we hear that the lake Bypass will be too expensive ."Everything is so expensive , we better not do anything ", or wait till the govt has an idea and a budget and we will go along with that! That's easy .
Since when has the opportunity of a lifetime been too expensive . I wonder if we will really get all the facts and be allowed to deal with competence and planning for a project that could really change the future of Colac and Colac's flooded swamp . From an unpredictable quagmire, to a place to stay and play .
The only way to really deal with our lake is to really deal with it . Suddenly we have road talk and fixing the lake is not even linked to it .I hope that dealing with complexity is not too hard for our current Councillors - at least they need to come out and state what really worries them -maybe we can help them ? Maybe they need to share the challenges like they have seldom done before ! maybe the people might even get a chance to respond this time ? Its possible -isn't it ; anything is possible in Colac .

This is where its all happening

2010-08-23T14:54:00.001+10:00

The whole of Australia will have to wait till Thursday to find out whether people who voted in the building behind these two passionate people made all the difference.
Meanwhile many of us are enjoying the idea that for a short period the average Aussie s getting to see some sense in voting independent .
The country is the home of independence thinking - please help us to get the right representation, get rid of the rubbish and the rorting.

Bob Brown may talk about love , but we bushies know and practice symbiosis every day - otherwise we would be outahere. The major parties may symbolize competition and cooperation in their extreme forms but in a symbolic way, some minor players with there feet on then ground are more committed to marrying the two together. Join us in the revolution ; Sustainable environmental practice that isn't just talk .

What real choice do the voters have ?

2010-08-11T06:41:00.002+10:00

Most of us, its pretty clear, are not sure we have much choice this election. The choices we do have, though are best observed in debate and chatter, not in the pretty coloured brochures and news blurbs we get every day .
So on that basis, it was great that Colac Business Inc group organised an opportunity to hear most of the candidates in a good chat last night; To their credit CBInc allowed the candidates to make clear where they were all coming from.
The common level of agreement among the speakers about some of the more difficult issues ( young people's lack of engagement, the talk but little action to improve school education , the absence of the sitting member ) was refreshing, and set a good tone for a meeting which was interesting and informative .
Mike made a very impressive sales pitch for new methane energy supply sources from farms claiming they had together with new geothermal somehow solved the problem of the trains running out of power last week ( base load) . The other green candidate Sally -Anne was advocating all things alternative as well .
Anne from Family First spoke of her qualifications to speak up for families and why it was important people thought about the minor parties and how they can represent the things that major parties left off the agenda .

Sarah contrasted with several who spent most of their whole time featuring what they personally were concerned about , by talking in some detail about what the people in the area were concerned about. She was obviously interested and engaged on the ground in the realities of representation and she was prepared to get on the phone and try to fix them- whatever they were, already.
Sarah 's defence for her parties failure to support Labor's innovative broadband plan was an interesting example of the challenge of credibility in science and technology matters, as she pointed out that Labor's commitment to a grand optic fibre plan ( maybe a bit like the grand heating up everything energy plans of the greens) was not necessarily the most appropriate technology for giving fair access to all Australians for broadband ; She made the point that adoption rates with associated mobile access were increasing, making some adjustments to our technological and infrastructure commitments not only sound , but more cost effective .
It was refreshing to hear that the advice was coming from scientists and not polys locked into their own ideas of what works.
As an applied scientist on the ground here its very hard to watch wannabes blundering through a list of wonderful sounding ideas with no idea of how to implement them - trying to pass themselves themselves off as scientists . With them usurping others role, its no wonder when we can't even keep some of the best science teachers in this country who live right and used to work here .More here
With some candidates clearly setting themselves up as gurus on the subject of science and technology we ought to know that something is wrong .
If your kids as scientists ever got to work for them , would they get a word in edgeways ?

How many windmills to keep the trains going in the morning?

2010-07-27T09:12:00.001+10:00

A lot of things are very slow in the morning , but nothing is slower than the horses our Mr cheeseman and Ms Gillard want us to back . Base load and marginal cost of power - the big issues this week .
( Choosing technology is NOT the polys job) . You heard it first on Blogger .

The tough business of living on the land- Men's shed groups

2010-07-06T03:13:00.004+10:00

John Durr opens the Queens Street Men's shed last week

They say we men never talk . Maybe our wives are right and we need to talk to each other more than we do ; to talk to someone who knows what its like to be out there in the cold and damp , with the back and the forth , with the making do and the making up; all those unexpected but awefully real ups and the downs of the struggle with nature and low returns .
Proved true at the shed on Wednesday .
Even though I have lived here for a good part of my life, I was reminded again last Wednesday of the number of people who live without around here ; who don't even have decent footwear in gumboot country ( not that i noticed any there on the day) . But there was the friend Chris talked about who had socks in plastic bags to keep the water out and the famous runner I knew whose only gumboots had the sides completely worn through.

Not that we are often overwhelmed by these things , but you don't share your own coping strategies lightly .At Blokes business days we enjoy celebrating how we mange to cope in our special roles as productive ice cream men in our shared space of great beauty ,productivity and purpose.
You see the place of a man is with his dog and away from all thats ordered and nice.
We blokes learn to celebrate the tough disordered stuff of making do in an environment that often works us to our limits, and pays us little in real comfort payments.

Colac - a place where we lead and leaders follow

2010-05-24T08:19:00.004+10:00

RE Our very own 3 amigos

How often are townfolk honored by personal letters from , not just one politician, but every politician in the district , telling them about the wonderful thing that they've just done . No , |No not that they did a lot compared to the three of our own wonderful hardworking women.(Sorry Terry, we know you did some good work here) .

Our very own three amigos got some real competition going amongst the pharmacies, demonstrating that Colac is a long way from Boganville, and more .....

Should we still be able to harvest timber in the Otways?

2010-03-17T08:05:00.013+11:00

Bracks said "No" to the public areas, but now it seems, even those who manage forest on private land must let it rot or burn, rather than harvest it . No one in particular has made this decision , its just lodged in a formula in a big pile of paper that people in the highest authority in our land will refer you to once you have spent weeks filling out the other formulas to get you there in the first place .Its like maths,only very simple maths. It looks like decision making , but its nothing like it .
Lots of Victorians are rightly concerned to make sure we look after our forests because we have knocked them over too easily in the past . If you are not clear when and where harvesting should occur Click here
Duck shoving is a great Aussie word ( as early as 1850) that has now widespread use in the English language . It's not a word to be used lightly, but it does apply to the type of decision making last week where no-one in particular is responsible for making a decision that says No . If the problem is not dealt with , more paper will be printed and less tough real world decisions will be made . The system of referrals is dumb unfair , unworkable unreasonable and irresponsible .
The proposals that were knocked back last week were in the light green area ( ECV 201 and 30 )
As you can see, the biotype at issue is extensive ( infact its the biggest and main type of tall timber forest in the Otways ) There are lots of private blocks under that green area and the high rainfall means the green area covers the most productive high quality forest for timber harvesting . EVC 30 and 201 are listed geographically as " common " and the conservation status is listed as of " least concern" .
None of us have, I trust, any objection to being careful when the ecosystem is rare, but the geographical extent is broad , the general status is" least concern", and no clear statement of rarity or risk has been made.
The point is, if the light green area can be rated very high significance, no particular species issue identified, and then no logging is permitted as a result , how can anyone expect to safely regenerate timber on their own properties in the Otways in the future ?
Even "existing use rights" cases could take a bit of proving when you , your father and your grandfather have had to leave the forest alone for at least 60 years ( while you made some money elsewhere) before you can get a return for the rates your family paid for all those years. And the proposal is to regenerate the forest to a standard better than the last fire left it . Questions welcome .
If you are interested in reducing the number of agencies hiding behind strategy plans and other excuses see the post below on "the arts precinct"( September 2008), or add some newposts of your own .

Kana and other Festivals

2010-03-17T07:38:00.000+11:00

Great day and great display ---especially by all the schools .
OCR FM won the musical prize of 100 CD's and the opportunity to go to APOLLO BAY MUSIC FESTIVAL If you can't go, listen to Brian broadcasting live from the Bay between 3-5 pm Sundays( and maybe more )(Some photos please)

Smoke Concerns

2010-03-17T07:33:00.000+11:00

Smelling smoke? - wondering where its coming from ? Some idea can be gained by checking exactly where the wind is coming from ( click on Mt Pourndon on sidebar )

Thanks to those who have been talking about the need for a smoke information service .( see post below ) Bit of a paradox there somewhere . You know there is something burning somewhere, and smoke is clouding the view, but you are not sure where its coming from .
The Yeodene fire in the peat is reportedly burning as deep as 20 metres down and is unlikely to go out for years.( some pictures coming) The peats high water repellancy and petro chemical nature means it remains an ongoing risk.Seems that the coal type smell from this area is a distinctive
Smoke is also coming from DSE control burns at Aireys Inlet /Lorne area . More control burns are planned for this week.Some across Jancourt way see HERE. Apparently even Lake Colac is on shedule for a burn.

Does someone have to die before Barwon Water is called to account?

2010-03-02T23:49:00.004+11:00

Today several of this districts public spirited citizens were out following up one disaster created by mismanagemenet of our underground water resources when the very thing predicted to cause yet another type of environmental impact, had started in the peat on Boundary Creek, Yeodene .
Smoke .
They rang the fire service and got the fire listed . The point is, you can't easily control fires in peat.  Last time this happened, the fires got away and one in 1998 nearly tore through the Otways ( the Yeodene fire of 1998)
The Yeodene fire on 12th March 1998 started in this drying peat and was going so well it spotted  into near Forrest within minutes . A call went out to evacuate the Otways as there was no way anyone would survive between Forrest and the sea . Amazingly , an earlier than predicted wind change prevented a really big Otways blaze .
Another fire got out of control there in 2007 .
Why worry you might say ? Well on the 12th March1998 the smouldering stuff  had been monitored quite closely, but it was obviously not monitored closely enough. Peat fires caused by excessive pumping of the water out of them are almost impossible to put out .
What does this mean for the residents of Forrest , visitors along the GOR , Lorne Wye and holiday makers along the coast and Otway hinterland?
A fire could start anytime day or night in the Yeodene area , and be outside your door within a very short time . There is possibly nothing the government can do now but sit on such areas fulltime when the bushfire risk is high .They can't put such fires out ; not even with something bigger than  Elvis.   ( you heard it first on blogger 11.30pm 2nd March 2010).

NEWS - don't wait to be told - see what's coming !

2010-02-03T11:08:00.004+11:00

Thanks to Sue , now you can see what WIND and WEATHER is coming ( if its coming from the west!) by clicking on the link to the side "LIVE right NOW" at Mt Porndon

-about 30 km WEST of Colac ..View is towards Camperdown

Is anyone really going to be there?

2009-11-12T12:33:00.009+11:00

Everyone in the media is telling us they care .They will "be there" even though they weren't there last year. Is it really possible that someone is really going to be able to warn us when some highly specific risk is upon us ?

How do the agencies avoid being too out of touch at the time?Are the Ads they create too much like crying wolf , offering the impossible and doing what the govt insurance advisors are telling them - don't overcommit yourselves ? Why did it take so long for the Premier to use the word "evacuate" ?

Our Mayor is happy to let the ABC have another go at being our best friend ( local), but what about 3CS and the station who started it all-- OCR community Radio in 1994?
I thought the idea from The RC into the recent bushfires, AND the recent memo of understanding with Commercial radio stations was that ALL radio resources be notified and Radio of all sorts should be available. Mobile phones JAM when there is a lot of traffic, so more telephone towers are not reliable .

What balance between volunteer action and Government action is appropriate?
What balance between you doing what makes sense and YOU doing what the government thinks make sense?

My suggestions
1. If you have tall native trees any where near you, simply get out of there on bad days.
2. Tune in to ALL the stations listed to the left , particularly those who don't just give " regular" updates, but who on bad days , where there is smoke in the area , and the forest is extensive ( V high risk everywhere south of here) will broadcast continously as a public service.

Politically correct injections

2009-10-15T09:13:00.002+11:00

Be interesting to know just how big the uptake really is for the free flu vaccine . One popular Local clinic doesn't give many during the week, but only this week organised an evening injection for 85 people. ( saves vial wastage)
Should we all line up? - why aren't we ? what do you reckon?

Oh No! The Colac Extra is no more

2009-10-09T12:34:00.009+11:00

But the lakes growing!. Will it make it to the top? .More here .

Now The EXTRA is gone ,what will WE NOW do for that other angle ? Many interesting and individual stories appeared in "THE EXTRA". Everard added so much to the content and variety of news locally. Nick Jenkins was brilliant too, adding great life in action to the sports pages. We will miss the paper.
So what do we do ? Answer : Build into the new wave of News services on the net .Like this one!!!

This site was never meant to be just from a few of us . Why not send me (John Modra)an email,(look me up on facebook) and more importantly BOOKMARK the site so YOU can get your photos published on The very DAY it ( whaever "it" is ) HAPPENS. I will only remove stuff that doesn't meet basic authorship obligations or space considerations ( needs to be short/small jpgs so) .

YOU can then make the news with your photo--Like this one of the lake level this week! More pictures here
Internet services too enable MANY MORE Stories to be told .

This site, while it is moderated, is intended for PUBLIC USE - please send us stuff or post it in directly once you join.

How much rain to fill the lake again?

2009-09-25T09:55:00.004+10:00

We have finally had some good rain . The heavier soils in the catchments of Lake Colac are wetted up, so there is a good chance over October and early November for some significant runoff into it.
However, even above average rainfall over that period is unlikely to change the lakes prospects of being anywhere near full by the end of this year.
--So will it ever come back ? Yes the lake will fill again, but it will most likely take a series of wet years with runoff starting a lot earlier in the year than this year.
--Do springs make a difference to the lake? ;
--Does it leak ? and other questions - click here ,

Don't worry, Our polys know best and need to do these things .

2009-08-31T10:27:00.018+10:00

This protest at Lakeside Bowls Club turned very nasty last Friday with serious personal threats and actual physical contact from protesters. The group felt strongly enough to come from across the State to tell our local member that he's backing the wrong horse; .... but why did it get out of control?

While there is clearly no excuse for such behaviour, Labor would do well to examine why so many people in the country are either depressed or very angry BOTH about the things they do , and the way they do them - the "get your back up Kings" ?.

It is not sufficient to say all the protesters are bad or mad. Many will dismiss all protest as NIMBY driven (often can be) - but that's part of the reason for anger and depression- the re only victims and no reasoning ; without a credible planning process the government is not credible and the council are a rubber stamp ; The leader throws a party and only those who want to clap him and are paid to clap are invited. Where is the governments wind policy? where is the government water recycling policy ? - up in the air somewhere !.
If the governement insists on imposing their best intentions in your backyard on some of these issues, you too would be mad. Since when was it sound for Sir Humphrey to celebrate "Yes minister" in Public ? . Great win for Darren if he can get away with it ?
Is there a planned policy of where these things " have to go ", or does the industry and its incenetives set the pace, and the place? - it seems that way ( and that in itself is bad) Is labor now just like the libs, leaving things to the market and leaving our local governemnet planners to just sit there and say Yes? - sort of ?According to the reports, everyone was nodding nicely inside the building ?

A lot more people would have come to protest , I think ,but they either have no horsefeed of their own to offer ( not paid to sit there) or they feel that Don Quixote Cheeseman will just keep riding on, like the plantation industry did , (incentives that created an artificial bubble )till the bubble bursts. Then the Party's all over till there is more money in the kitty!

What we all know is that the pocket liners love their hobby horses, and they are happy to back them at ours, and the investors expense . City people solving environment problems ! Don't dare use your own money , when they don't!
This is only the tip of a huge iceberg of slow moving taxation drift that will eventually sink yet another ship (that should have a life beyond quickfiz politics ); and their own?

Labor's totally inconsistent picture of engagement with planning and industry makes a lot of us think that planning in the long term public interest is , on their part ,just plain hypocrisy . If it "looks good , do it" seems to be their version of "it feels good,it must be right" ?Sorry, mature governments live beyond such short term gain wins.

Maybe I'm wrong about some aspects , and the meeting moved the planning agenda on - Well if that actually happened ,and it wasn't just hard sell from the saddle , why didn't someone say so?

More meddling by those in charge ?

2009-08-03T13:41:00.004+10:00

Whichever place the council are committed too ( the Beechy precinct ) (or the Bureaucratic precinct ) its very questionable whether the councillors are in charge of either .
They got given some money, so they went there . It's one thing to be poor, quite another to allow yourselves to be patronised .

All councilors are on Notice : Why is the building at the back of COPAC not available for ARTS as it was intended and funded?
If the future of the existing arts precinct is to be a home for all things Council ( instead of the Arts as i think most people would prefer) then the PUBLIC are entitled to know - right now !

Otherwise planning is a joke and any more calls for more room for them will also be treated as a sad joke .

Our Town -A great play done very well

2009-07-04T06:25:00.005+10:00

COPAC . This is a play not ever to be missed. He might have only one line , but as John Symonds says,this is one of the best plays and words you could find; the one line a symbol of the special journey and paradoxes of the play because John says his only line when he's dead .
It was an outstanding theatre experience, making the contributions of all those involved highly commendable . Go and see it - that's the best way to know what I am saying is true . Another great choice by the Colac Players . A royal command performance when you are so close!

More misguided meddling by the reactionaries

2009-05-22T14:51:00.023+10:00

This sketch doesn't quite say it all . Imagine the people as children " one more child ? The bureaucrat says " You need him - your numbers are low" : he says !
Good on the Colac Herald and Stephanie for telling the story of some of the nonsense imposed on professionals in our Region . ( Norma Sell and teachers- Friday )

Under the new State model , model teachers will seek model pupils to have model classes - pity about public education for all!
As Sir Humphrey said of the model hospital - " yes it is clearly the most efficient" - Bernard "but it has no patients".

Performance Assessment Pay PAP is such a simple idea that’s its popularity with politicians is completely understandable.
What is Labor doing following the Libs down into the cul desac of idealised business models of governance -
While some form of assessment is necessary , PAP is too often used by Sir Humphreys team to force everyone to do strange snow jobs with stats and clearly results in cynical, counterproductive lights and mirrors games. The idea is also built on a false focus on financial motivation when there are other things that motivate people to work; PAP often rewards individuals rather than team performance, resulting in more risks of single focus ( those who take on hard jobs have lower levels of " success") with less team solidarity and effectiveness ( eg difficult kids and needs for diverse client management).
How do we know ? - we've seen it all before - great waste of time; breeder of cynicism and obfuscation in any workplace where resources are stretched. Where the camel too was willing .

Is State Labor so empty of depth they don't recognise a simple old nigger in the woodpile ? Or should we say the mere straw of more paperwork -esp uneliable stuff. If Mr Kennett was wrong about what motivates the peanut gallery, why would Brumby get more out his old pile of nice sounding ideas than he did? Large numbers of very capable professionals left their jobs in the public service over Jeff's highly frustrating and insulting piece of social engineering . Our loss - we trained those people and they were a great loss.
The idea that you can quantify performance assessment and then link it to motivation and change in the care professions is a complete myth from the frustrated control freaks handbook. There is no simple fix to make things better in the real world where there is never enough staff! ( maybe in some polys office?) Imagine testing mothers along the lines of how clean the house was ( nice long checklist) , or how much the children liked her cooking or their partners view of all she did or didn't do ( with ratings) !!!!!! Doctors and nurses won't be helped by such drivel ( I hope a few write in and support other methods of review )
Professionals are multi baggers ( the industry term)too, which means they function by making difficult decisions; If we want the willing to work, we should support those who stay out in the colder spots, to help them do the jobs they are trained for – not presume to know how and when they should be doing certain things - esp by the poorly focused and comfortable teams upstairs .
This false expectation is worse than dangerous --its clearly a crippling old virus : a very effective disease that depresses, deters and threatens the willing horse or camel- the very people you want to be involved with your children . Busy People who have time for people .

We not only need more " general practitioners" in medicine, but more GP's generally . The country is losing those who would work on a multitude of tasks and risks. Now our communities are getting diseases they never used to get when we encouraged carers to exposure themselves to a diversity of risk and demand . Pay obviously isn't the only incentive for carers. Helping other people make difficult choices can be!
If blind following of business models are part of Gillards and Rudds education revolution , then we already know how effective they will be , and in which old circles they are still revolving in.

Why houses will never be built on the Barham River floodplain

2009-05-21T22:38:00.009+10:00

Because the first builder will find himself uninsurable because of either settlement, flood risk or both .
As we know , that hasn't stopped some of our councillors from thinking the whole idea is a great idea.What a waste of time.
Our councillors are too willing to trust reports and guarantees from afar . Guarantees that aren't worth all the reams of paper they are now printed on .
It's not what’s in those reports that we need to worry about -- its what‘s not in them. . All those megabucks our Council spent listening and responding to report after report.
Why did noone mention engineered fill failure ? A simple evaluation of the catchment landscapes and soils capability was not done - The local fill will not consolidate. That capability information used to be a statutory requirement in the scheme, but the word and job has been removed in the last few years and DSE don't bother providing such advice anymore.
The very last review by VCAT of the project failed to pick up this important matter , assumming the many hundreds of thousands of tonnes of local fill would be suitable - when they clearly would not be! Up until 2005, such matters would have been identified in a one page report to Council, as would the vanity of trying to protect houses from damage at the end of a high energy boulder river with frequent landslip and debris loads. How much more time and money will we see wasted on reports from un-authoritative Authorities? Time Mr Mulder helped us weed out people who say a lot, but say nothing.

The lake has turned dark

2009-03-10T10:01:00.006+11:00

Many of us remember how, when the lake first dried out, and the fairy grass was on the move,that it looked like the whole lake was grassed . The yellowy tinge . The reason was the fact that at just about every crack in the lake for a while there were fairy grass heads . Viewing at a low angle, the whole area looked like a grass paddock . Clearly with such an effective seed set ( the seeds grow well in moist clay) the bed will blossom with an absolutley huge amount of fairy grass . Fortunately its likely that average rains will kill most of it before the year is out. Mind you next summer could well be worse that the last one just passed.
Like all good irishmen of olde - don't forget St Patricks day when we rid ourselves of all the worries that so easily crowd in on us .It will rain again and nothing we do or don't do will prevent seedtime and harvest and the opportunity to celebrate both!

Improving communication within Colac Otway Shire

2009-01-16T12:22:00.011+11:00

Take Control ----Blog!
Most of us know that some important planning issues are not aired very well in the Shire. Why did the Council pay up for a bypass discussion and not consider it ? What is the planning commitment to the arts precinct? You name your own issue! Why do the facts not get presented? Are issues being shoved in the too hard basket or conveniently "moved On" onto some consultants desk to lie low forever ?
Not good enough - A previous generation of counsellors would have spoken on the practical issues below, and so should this lot!

The people deserve better than to have one lot go out and a new lot come in without a way of getting to the bottom of the issues. We know the Council aren't very powerful, but while they all run to consultants, or give in to cringe or fear of some group , they will continue to not make the hard local decisons or run a decent discussion on them.
Worst of all, the options for some basic directions are not being clearly before the public - for example
---What can or cannot be done with the lake ? .
----What are the practical options for a bypass ?
----Why aren' the traffic issues (incl in apollo bay )addressed in the grand master plans we just approved?
----Why isn't the general planning of COPAC/library/block not in the grand master plan we paid for recently ?
You will notice i used the word practical - a practical approach is to recognise WE CAN decide because ultimately the choices are few and they are ones average people can deal with ---ie practical.
So ----I am saying ---the future is OURs, IF WE DARE TO take control of it and NOT go pandering to some government institution who know even better how to pass the buck . No solution there! Decide men and womenon Council
YOU can be better informed, insist on reasonable answers and get your message across !.WE can work together . We may not be able to do these things for a while because of finance , but we can talk practically about the possibilities , can't we? YOu can join this BLOG right now - send a email to fester@eftel.net.au requesting same!
Be good to hear U .

How credible was the previous Council?

2008-12-02T12:02:00.019+11:00

Even if the previuos leaders were competent in some areas , they weren't effective in convincing lots of people. They tell us they tried, but going on the elction result , few enough people believed them. What I predicted happened - the council were out of touch.
If planning was not just a lot of talk talk for the old Council, the education departments taking over the name "arts precinct" just wouldn't have happened . the master plan would have said something about it - as it would have said something about bypasses and lake improvemnets that go deeper than windowdressing

Employing a publicity officer was anything but credible. Putting ads in to talk about controversial private developments and not public ones is plain unconvincing. Employing a PO when You want to leave the future to someone else or "marketforces" is no way to be convincing esp on planning , --ever ever councillors!.

Why do our increasingly aged population have to go to increasingly greater lengths to read the newspaper, magazines , get internet access and borrow great DVD's - things that maybe we once could afford to buy outright, but now are happy to SHARE.

Lucky our forefathers had the good sense to create libraries that come to us.
Spring street get the jump on us over the arts discussion because we aren't far enough ahead of them! see below

Meeting the candidates

2008-11-11T09:26:00.006+11:00

21 choices for the Election of 7 is going to be a bit of a challenge . Unfortunately the planned forums on Otway FM ( 98.3 0 are not going ahead - either on my time slot, or the time slots originally planned.

Victoria: Watch The Otway Election

2008-10-29T08:10:00.011+11:00

State government meddling in the democratic process is about to reach yet another turning point; The kind where you find yourself well behind after too much careless talk about "moving forward". Brumbies legislation to try and remove parochial and personal preoccupations is, acccording to the Age thursday , hamfisted, at best .

We agree .
-Will those locally who encouraged the removal of councillors under the idea that " you can't vote on something you are passionate about" get back?
It's blatantly obvious from talking to most of our 21 candidates locally, that many are reluctant to state the specific things they " are likely to want to change" . So much for encouraging free speech about specifics ; our people don't now feel free to speak freely . Great outcome for democracy , I don't think!

What about all the things we also want to hear about . The future of Colanda, the halt to decades of window dressing around the lake , the place for tertiary global connection,

And then there is this kneejerk reaction to getting rid of the Wards here - we will live to regret or reinstate them, methinks . The previous governments reduction of Council numbers to 7 would have made more sense to review than the encouragement to remove Ward boundaries. How workable will Colac Otway shire be if we get even just 2 candidates from Apollo bay? ( a quite likely scenario to get at least 2) And there is only candidate of the 21 from Colac itself - brilliant !.

The key issue with the sacking was the very widespread recognition from those who know the area and its limits that the environmental assesment was not adequate. Maybe they should have voted ,but like Voltaire said is you are going to offer yourself for sacrifice make the cause worthwhile.
What would you do if you knew the development was going going to leave Council and hundreds of householders without a penny in their pockets ? What would you do if independant advisors, at their own expense told you that people who bought to build on the filled area would never get insurance.( Ask for that advice in detail form the Public relations officer? No try here )

Council/ counsellors must be more convincing too BEFORE they sign up for us . Employing a public relations officer or railroading the controversial is no way to be convincing!!! The remaining old councillors risk losing any credibility they may have in the responsibility stakes by
1. Voting at the last minute to establish the library shift ; just before the chance the community might have had to say No to what they were saying, or modifying it.
2.Claiming " we need to be decisive" but not doing anything with the bypass report - big dollars again for what?
3.They get in to " do something about the lake" - and what have they done? What decent review is available now at the library on the lakes future ?
4 They pay for full page defences of developers wisdom, but not full page ads of why they acted or didn't act on the above.

At this election, either the people will be wrong, or the law will be. If its the later, the councillors and the people will remain as close to divorce as they are now.

Why in the world would the remaining old councillors what to be remembered for supporting and testing some of the most reactionary, inadequate and illframed legislation in Victorias history?

Quite clearly, the councillor most likely to get the most votes here this month is the one the government of the day sacked; the one the government of the day would keep out of office with their new legislation. Something is either wrong with the law, or the people.
Many of us would back those who want to move on as long as they could convince us they are actually able to move us on sustainably-in other words, tell us what views they specifically represent - something the alliance members are notably not doing . "Trust them" - they say . "Why" the people will say, we pray !( later posted in on 15th November)

On the bigger issues at stake here for our liberal democracy,even many Fabians of old would, I am sure, have recognised that its better , if the people, and the dispassionate especially, are really noisy about an issue ,to hold back , to take more advice; and certainly not try to force feed us through the public relations officer. What a waste of our resources! "I may disagree vehemently with a man's opinion , but I will fight to my death( = not allow a publicrelations officer ???and even break the law now?) to defend the other man's right to put his point - something one trusts you can still do in a council meeting. "Who knows?

Supporting democracy is not about constraining it, but allowing it to be as inefficient as it best is. Copyright

Supercharged soil arrives down south on Sunday

2008-10-27T16:35:00.008+11:00

Cars from Portland to Geelong were covered in soil from up north on sunday night . a whole 20kg/hectare in many cases .
See the posting on swearthnews.blogspot.com

The Arts Precinct - why isn't the Council the one to move?

2008-09-04T22:19:00.021+10:00

The arts precinct ---Who should occupy this 1 hectare site in 2020?
The council will in its last days ( the next few days ) push through its decision to shift our library out of town. Noone seems to ask half the planning questions on the minds of many - where is the node for internet access closer to town , the future of arts in Colac? etc etc How can they vote with a clear conscience tommmorow night?

Why should we accept the Council pushing the Library out to the outskirts? Have the Council properly planned what should happen on that site in the future ?
Maybe the council should move out further ( like they have done in other areas) and let the Arts precinct grow !
Whatever the Council are doing well , its my view that their " leadership" in planning is not seen by many to be working too well . Lets call for a halt to signing away, in one hit , the proper planning for the Arts precinct . The devil is aways in the detail - so we ignore the detail of a proper planning process,, do we ?
Common fellas , Put the whole matter out for public and proper planning discussion . Its not what we know that worries us ------its what we don't know.

"Our Democracy is not seen to be working, so is it really working"
The evidence for poor planning is there . . The doubt is there. Instead of talking to the many questions on the Arts precinct use area, the Council offers only one opinion --Some expert from out of town reckons a shared library is a good idea and we , it seems , are to be the guinea pigs .
The council's agenda , as often seems to happen, seems to be driven by agendas created and pushed for outside the electorate.

Tell us then , if we must do what is good for us ---
Who wants the library shifted ? --- The State Government
Why do they want it shifted ? ------Because they have a new education revolution they want to try out on us ?
------Deny it !
Unlike the CHerald , the old guard don't want to canvass anything with a questionaire . Its not too hard for the Council planning department to do, is it?
For eg :
Would it be better for our grandchildrens sake , to put more pics and books in the arts precinct, and kick the Council out? Just think what it would do for parking problems !!
Would you be in favour of the growing Council to find new accommodation , perhaps closer to the roads department?
Are you happy that planning for the library shift has been adequate ?
Would you prefer the Arts precinct around COPAC to grow , or the bureaucracy precinct to grow? Do you think the area around the Arts centre should be retained for the arts?Do you think Council have considered the proper planning of public facilities, or is this decision driven by funding ,, and the force of it ?
What policy has the council about sharing videos and DVD's available at the library now ? Do the council think the days of reading a good book , or printed newssheet are going? ( sorry but maybe you have to read too much "literature" in the arts precinct already, to remember the real value of properly published works !
Why isn't the current library site use retained to allow for the growth in Internet access Arts , pulished works and public access to them ? Will the council fund rental of shops to retain such a service or do we all have to pay for information access in the future?
Surely the amalgamation will mean we no longer have to fund another high level CEO for the CRLibrary service ?

The old guard may have the courage of their convictions on the library , but they do not have the confidence of the people on this and many matters .

Ihe old guard need to think again whether they are doing the job they are called to do, and what they need to do to regain what is more precious than their hasty, and clearly inadequate, building approvals processes.

Your questions email me at fester@eftel.com.au

OTWAY FM -another of our greatest assets and export agencies

2008-06-20T08:51:00.010+10:00

Many of you are probably too young to remember the early days with Greg and Wayne Cahill on Sunday Mornings being as creative as anyone can ever be on radio.
The young doctor from all Saints like many had a stint there as have many of the wags and wayward citizens .
Maybe its your turn - OTWAY FM needs young talent and you could be it
Vision FM and The ABc would like to take over the valuable licence we have and if we as a coomunity don't support it soon , such a losis likely .
OTWAYFM is too important to lose to outsiders; ....outsiders who INCREASINGLY are telling us what to do.

How many decisions are made about Colac by people who actually live in Colac . Once upon a time not so long ago , our local paper used to join the chorus about CEO's that "if you were to govern us, you should live here" . Now all is quiet on the growing numbers of gas guslers we pay for on the Princes highway each day > now all is quiet - All is quiet on Lake Colac . All is quiet, except for OtwayFM

- THE EVER CHANGING TIMBER INDUSTRY have the greens and Brumbys mates finally realised they don't like plantations for timber and would rather like us to use mixed forests for timber production. Lets change direction again shall we ! ( joe no help today-- how predictable !)
- WHY DOES ONE HARDWARE STORE IN OUR TOWN EMPLOY MORE PEOPLE THAN Experts in AGRICULTURE and ENVIRONMENT in the area. Does anyone really believe downsizing DPI is justified by throwing that money at changing our attitudes to change( if only they knew us, they wouldn't even try!??)

-LAKE COLAC what is really happening with all the money government bodies throw at lake colac .
-CONFUSION over COUNCIL DECISIONS Are our current counsellors really right in saying that the people of Colac support the shift of our oldies and others out of town ( To a new library).
-WHOSE IN CHARGE at RAE st ? Is the council operating like a law unto itself ?
- TRUST THE EXPERTS paid for by the SALESMAN Will anyone building on the earthfill on the floodplain of the Barham River ever get insurance for their houses.(Of course not - Remember you heard it first on Blogger in June 2008 Copyright)

OTWAYFM This modest budget broadcaster can really help put across the detail by having just 200 local members . One of those people should probably be you or one of the many great local but highly stretched groups here.
The permanenet licence of OTWAYFM ( obtained by locals in 2003) is estimated to be worth about 20 million dollars and could easily be lost to outsiders .
We have been broadcasting the local football for the last 15 years ( a record no doubt) but with the high cost of fuel , it seems we can no longer continue the service .
Call in today 5231991 and show your interest .

Speed freaks

2008-05-29T13:03:00.004+10:00

Yesterday police cars raced down the main street at speeds never before witnessed. ending their chase in Apollo bay at a Barham road blockade.
Only a few months earlier they were encouraging the fastest speed possible in Colac's billycart derby down Dennis St.

Getting things done

2008-03-20T23:22:00.012+11:00

It used to be that if you wanted something done, you got on Council .I'm not so sure it still applies .
Carol Wilmink has confirmed that the reason she's on Council, and the reason half the country wants her there, is to stop something environmentally unsound- The building of houses on the Barham river floodplain .
But 3 sacked councillors couldn't stop that happening, so why should she be able to -We don't even know what the other 2 new councillors think. Whatever you think about the new councillors who weren't elected, they represent the will of the people even LESS than the ones now out of office .And wait until they fill her mind up with the overflowing obligations of mere statute .
Surely we will watch them all fall under the heavy hand of mere statute - statute that causes them to all throw common sense out the window.

It used to be that if you wanted something done, you got into Parliament. Terry Mulder tells me today he feels powerless to get a reasonable study of the lake done -
Tell me its really our country any more?

Forum calls for some proper order in Apollo Bay planning

2008-01-21T10:38:00.000+11:00

Should it be Ammendment C29, C17 or C55 that gets approved first?
Are Colac Otway Council really serious about putting the strategy before the specifics? The locals Otway Forum click here are very clear that the strategy should drive development - not the other way around .

Quite sound and simple really : To approve C29 or C17 before a review of C55 is clearly to put the cart before the horse--whoever owns the land and however good it is for housing.

Adding greatly to COTshire's lack of credibility is their unreasonable haste and insistence that the truckload of genuine questions about the appropriateness of any future development on either ammendment site are invalid - if the new councillors don't want to be the subject of target (for poor planning) practice , they need to check the many questions of liability and risk have indeed been answered .

Note how C29 compromises what should be a clear landscape boundary between apollo bay and marengo .How C29 compromises landscape interest along the Barham river road. Locations only approximate. For info on Colac click here

What do we make of McCarthurs loss?

2007-11-26T17:28:00.000+11:00

It's very easy to be smart. While it would have been very sensible if the Liberals had fielded a younger candidate , noone who knew Stuart could really say he was not hardworking for the rural sector, and it will be truly amazing if the new guy fills his shoes in that regard. The real problem was the complacency and incompetence in the Liberal party in particular. The problem from the point of view of we who have supported him and the conservatives generally ( often at our own expense ) is The Libs lack of credibility in a number of key planning areas like health, labor relations and the environment. They think they know, when they are out of touch with those who clearly do. see for eg
We had a good time on the hustings , not because we agreed on much, but because we all got to talk more deeply about things that many in the community do not seem to care about. On election day here, we talked directly amongst ourselves across party lines about the challenges that the Libs faced .

To keep the power you have to cut it where it counts - in the credibility stakes .If you are not credible, or even too arrogant to listen the people who know, go quiet.
To be sure, with all the birdbath antics and shallow splashing, there is a great risk of superficiality and unsubstance driving the resul; but, at the end of the day incumbents need to punch hard at what's being talked about - the local libs were too comfortable about their "right to rule "--

The best form of defence when your in for 11 years is attack -- they didn't attack the simple rhetoric and make the most of competent alliegances ; ties that clearly could have worked for their benefit - we know because we know from talking to them , who the libs were really listening to . More could be said of course, but Yes the Libs need to take a very good look at themselves and No - it's not before time.

Dear Paddy

2007-11-19T11:02:00.000+11:00

Highlight of the week - celebrating the life of Paddy O'connor at the Anglican Church in Colac this week --a bloke with a great giving attitude. He gave much much more than most and his attitude of service, respect for others and the truth endeared him to many. The packed house celebrated his hard working style ,his humility, common sense and great contribution to public life .
He could be relied on to put his hand to the plough when it really mattered - he was out there and up front even when the numbers were small - on ragwort removal, riding for fun , and reminding anyone to excercise some common sense on the environment he knew so well.

Here he was talking to the few that would listen about how good the water was from completely logged catchments like Geelong's main water supply in the background.
In a treat typical of his team that night , Paddy read poetry while Russell and Tim played dualing banjos to a handful of absolute admirers . Tim played violin and russell guitar in the sendoff on Monday.

Naturally It rained on Show Day

2007-11-05T14:19:00.000+11:00

Perhaps we should have two show days a year . ( always rains on show day- garden or agricultural day) The unusual , but special low , giving us this welcome rain could happen to anyone . You can see from the animation how much of Victoria missed out and the Otways coped a lot . see chart http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/nmoc/archives/radar/mthloopr.pl.
More on how the seasons progressing click here . Will Lake Colac fill?
How do like this for a fantastic show exhibit - just one of hundreds of special items .

2007-11-02T15:02:00.000+11:00

One of the highlights of this years Show is to see some wild birds in action.
Zorro the 3kg eagle ( about half full size)
,it seems, thinks Luke ( from Fullflight) is his girlfriend.
In a unique sort of relationship ,
he does what he says .

Something in the water

2007-10-02T09:11:00.001+10:00

Geelong - Deserving winners !!!!!!!

Well done boys, what a win . You deserved to win because you worked together. You didn't rely on psychology, you walked the walk and made us proud !

We export some of the best sportsmen in the country ( People who say we are deprived out here are partly right!) Nathan Foley , Luke Hodge . Cricket Baseball and all .

The secret is actually not in the water but the mud ? The marls out here make everyone out here a master of muck .

Fun weeks in Colac

2007-09-01T08:28:00.001+10:00

Its been a busy week , but a good one . Lots of people got something for nothing - how good is that! and I got rid of a bit of junk - with the emphasis on "a bit" .
It's been great - we've been busily visiting our neighbours ; even offering them things.
Not that we have been talking much to each other - infact rather hoped you wouldn't be standing there when I came .
But oh the smiles of getting something for nothing and now, (since we have the high cost of getting rid of it )- sharing the joys of getting rid of your junk or finding a bit of treasure .
Thanks Colac Otway for organising the recycling( hard rubbish collection) - the locals tell me its never happened before . You won that one .
I presume you are coming around soon seperately for the mattresses. I hope you will let the kids know so they can all enjoy the ride or the release when you untie the load .

Planning Apollo Bay's future - without the environment in mind

2007-08-06T08:33:00.000+10:00

Apollo bay needs to change to accomodate more tourists, but not at the expense of its natural environment .
Any locals unconvinced that Apollo bay planning is out of control need only look at the foreshore on the Melbourne entrance - its a mess : And its a mess because development pressures have not been managed with the natural environment in mind .
-There are more and bigger pipes out to sea than there were ten years ago, when there should be less. -
-Public authorities now address the problems after they happen - throwing rocks onto the beachfront making it less and less easy for young surfers to learn the trade as the rocks break up and grate under their surfboards . ( see post below)
-Developers have been allowed to do what they like. How do they do it ? Simple ! They snow the council with fat technical environmental reports that few read and noone in the current system properly digests ( it wasn't always so) , so the projects eventually go ahead .

-With the sort of results on the ground that we have seen in the last few years , no wonder the State government are asked to step in . But then, their bureaucratic and reactive approach won't work either . Just like in Tassy ( 4corners last week) the big boys run even more expensive unproductive snow jobs with their EIS's and then come in later with a "we will fix it approach" ---sure they will fix it - after it fails . Not much help to us .

Planning is a mess because Council hasn't well resisted the pressure to balance complex issues . Its a mess because private interests now have a way of dominating over public interest . The State government have meddled and messed up department responsibilities so that environment planning is now " many departments responsibility" . Such nonsense is intolerable; - noone is reponsible when " everyone is responsible" .

Unless we all protest directly at the way the council and the state government duplicate responsibilities and allow huge gaps to develop in environment planning approaches - the hard stuff on good environment risk planning will just slip through - like it does now .

Great Car show in Colac

2007-01-25T23:07:00.000+11:00

Definitely a great day and great value on Colac's calendar.where else do you see things like this chariot with lethal wheeltrims! Truck and ute show Sunday feb 19 as part of Country music day .
Lots of good things grow here try our berries

Welcome to our beautiful rocky beaches

2006-12-07T10:34:00.000+11:00

Young board riders who scrape themselves on rocks on Apollo bay's former brilliant stretch of sandy beaches might be interested in how these rocks got there - and oh so recently . see story on Swearthnews

The Politicians playground

2006-11-21T22:51:00.000+11:00

You have to wonder whether our local leaders can cope with their jobs, or even know what they are . When Mulders best effort on improving Lake colac is to copy Ms Carbines and put more lovely tracks in at ...what $400000. The people want you to do something more substantial than windowdressing and dancing around the water qaulity issues.
Where were the councillors this election time , talking about the strategy for Lake Colac .
Where are the councillors talking about childrens needs for playgrounds that are popular rather than politically correct .
What they can do is pass a countermotion to an option documents that rdeuces the options to no options. Its a process a paper printing process They just pay big dollars to connell wagner to discuss options when their are no options -----no discussion of how to improve the lake or the token efforts at a playground down the far end .

Lakes Colac Bypass

2006-11-11T07:49:00.000+11:00

Chris Meade's bypass suggestion is a minimum of 1km from Ross's Point. Option M will retain the existing sailing course is also possible (option M) and would have even less visual impact. for more info and photos click here

How dry? - less than half "the average"for spring

2006-10-27T18:28:00.000+10:00

The clouds tell it all . We could be in the desert - those thin clouds passing over and dropping a few welcome drops but no more.You would get more out of a .... a hose . Normally above 200mm for the three months its been less than half that in Colac . With evaporation increasing every day the very low sept TO oct total (50mm max)the dry is even more noticeable . More on that subject and how much water you can save and expect to use in November on SWearthnews .

Todays Fires -

2006-09-19T16:50:00.000+10:00

6pm 2 fires under control Yeodene (Mcalls Rd)Approx 50ha on private land + Barwon Downs ( Delaneys track)approx 40ha in forest
4pm See DSE website

Great teddy bears,music and movement

2006-09-14T23:45:00.000+10:00

Colac West's concert at COPAC yesterday was a ripper.

RISING DAMP

2006-09-07T19:47:00.000+10:00

Al Gor is making pictures. No doubt he also knows how to make money and tell a good yarn.Seems We''ll all be drowned ,,or dried up ...or something if we don't listen to .......polys?
After watching the hushed silence on Enoughrope , I think that may what he should stick to. He will like Mr Ian campbell and too many power hungry polys, do more damage in the china shop of environmental imperatives ,carelessly jousting poking and proding with our taxes than is productive in the long term .One day this next day that --thats not science or sustianability -its short term suspect stuff more ere. You Don't hear too much about rising sea levels , let alone parrots lately eh!
Too many people quote scientists to suit their arguments but don't listen to US. Care is required, not incentive, bullying and bullsh about crashing glaciers.

Do you share the panic of media and polys about impeding disasters? I certainly don't .Thankfully out here in the Otways there is at least a lot more healthy cynicsm of city centric simplicities over environmental matters- probability is good science and a reliable guide: not the ever changing panic of pedants frightened as they are by a few facts .

If the sea level is rising, Mr DeCecco 's plans for reworking the beautiful untouched estuary of the Barham River at Apollo Bay are all awash. As Counsellor Brian Crook said this week about the Estuary developments- where are the independant scientists? Lots of reports commissioned by the developer, but silence seems to be the theme from others?

As for all this warming , the scientific geological community recognise that sea temperatures are currently rising, but generally agree it probably has nothing to do with man's burning of fossil fuels . If you look at the big picture of geological time , its been up and down within less than 0.5 degree for absolute eons . More to do with radiation reflection, dust, meteors and other gases .
And Cold and dry is more the norm for mid latitudes in geological history than hot and dry -so much for hot is dry simple games in the media! Forget them ask a real scientist Another reason for having some confidence in history is our place in the solar systems stable seasonal influence; the eon age influence of orography and winds on plant biogeography.

So what of this very dry winter? . Its probably within the norm ( we only get an average of 70mm a month, even though we live in the wettest part of Victoria )
He's a test . I reckon we will get within 20% of the average by the end of October ie 140 times 2 by 2= 280mm. Look at the map -check out how "mid winter patterns of the eons?" even ignore orography!
You may not trust me or properly trained geoscientists, but who should you if you have a choice. A lot of this nonsense is clearly an attempt by powerbrokers to try to shake the community into being more conservation minded - and intention is oK - but not the method . Short term gain for science and the community if the truth is not used when we make decisions. Time to support Brian Crook to get action to put the truth first !

ABBA good time in Colac

2006-08-06T09:06:00.000+10:00

Phil Gray has been tearing his hair out for years - its obvious on the top but also its obvious why NOW when he 's writing, running producing 2 or 3 musical pieces all at the one time .
Living in the 70's was good fun. What's next ? JOSEPH and his Technicolour dream coat at TRINITY later this month. They need to put it on for at least another night !(See what's on calendar )
Any other good times . Don't forget our bush dance caller team is still working around here

Floating Islands no moor?

2006-04-05T14:06:00.000+10:00

For about 6mths the floating islands reserve has been without water.( One island shown ) The peat based islands have been stuck and the roots of the plants have been going down at least for that time . Plans are afoot to make sure the presently moored island/s float again when enough runoff fills the basin west of Colac. Apparenetly its very likely that there will be not enough water in one year to float the old islands. That can be easily fixed But the big challenge will be to make sure the peat actually rises again on filling . Watch this space. More on local environment click here

Music festival 2 weeks away.

2006-04-05T14:01:00.000+10:00

Doing nothing in 2 weeks .Head down to Apollo Bay. Join in the Buskers competetion.You too can sing in the rain, hail or sleet. Have you noticed how easy it is to keep track of the weather on this site . bookmark it .

Wonderful strutting of Shakespearian stuff

2006-01-22T21:26:00.000+11:00

Don't U miss em next year .CYC Shakespeare honoured us with eternal funny farmer gags, good song and dance, strong women /weakwilled men oneliners and the wonderful melancholy man in "AS YOU LIKE IT " .All at our fantastic gardens in twilight-WOW!

The sparks will fly in the Park

2006-01-22T15:51:00.000+11:00

The sparks will fly when true love and true honor are on tyhe battlefield .Lets hope .
6:00p As you like It Shakespeare in the Gardens!
Bring a picnic tea and a lightning rod

Up to date Maps

2006-01-22T15:41:00.000+11:00

THis mapo is NOT up to date > Contact dse ' fire for upto date map Currently TODAY they are not available Bookmark RADAR images or weather charts on bom.gov.au site .TRY DSE FIRES TODAY . OTWAYFM is not currently broadcasting news due to a transmission problem . Bookmark this site for NEWS as it happens

Making a better impression for democracy's sake

2005-11-23T22:13:00.000+11:00

It was great to have parliament here- don't get me wrong .But anyone reading the signs ( low attendance , lots of knockers , kids heaRing that parliament is A joke when it is not ) parliament SHOULD BE CONCERENeD TO MAKE ANY DEMOnSTRATION OF ITS IMPORTaNCE A rEALly BIG PUBLICITY EVENT THAT SELLS.
PARLIAMENT and open CRITICISM IS CRITICAL TO OUR FUTURE AND both are At RISK -ESP IF WE DON'T SELL THE 2 IDEAs TO OUR CHILDREN -

key OPPORTUNITY WASTED i THOUGHT .

Colac- a great place

2005-11-23T10:00:00.000+11:00

Do you know the difference between Yoghurt and Colac.? Yoghurt is the one with the living culture in it .Ha , but not true.

While many young people say that about there own country town, what makes so many locals regard Colac, as they put, "a dump"? The problem is not Colac's We blowins know it .
It is a great place to grow up and live - look also at the things we/you export
- some of the best football players in aust and the world ( great cartwheels at the world footy boys!: also baseball and cricket.
- the best icecream and yoghurt in aust
- people from all over the world come here and just right now at the square , give us a whole week of their time, enthusiasm and energy to mark the spirit of the men who gave our district a name for characters of endurance
- the place where NZ chose to export machinery from
- .....................Yours

i am writing this here because YESTERDAY in the space of 2hrs ,2 people who live here whom i didn't know and who have come here from somewhere else over a period of 15yrs said what a great place this is.
I am sure you have some more . How about telling us about it ---adding to the list . send a message to mreforce@telstra.com and we'll send you an invite to publish under your own "penname" .

Ag issues

2005-11-20T22:24:00.000+11:00

Lambs was going to post a list of spuds commonly grown in the area so you could ask for them but he's been crook - been through the op and doing well. So Coming soon

Does anyone care that, not only are we losing our timber industry, but lots of good dairying country is going to trees.Shires are responding too late . This big switch idea is certainly keeping the price of dairy farms up - in the short term, encourgeing young farmers to get out while the going has never been so good. brilliant economic management might be the word for it - flash in the pan might be another ?

Marvel --The best spuds are our very own and chip to less fat overall

2005-09-12T17:56:00.000+10:00

Ask your local chip shop what Australian supplier he uses?
Chances are, if its local, the whole deal is better. YOU can support with confidence our local producers against the whims of big business when they trip over themsleves to push the price down a few more cents per kilogram. One of the most popular chip shops in our town gets their chips from MARVEL in Melbourne- they not only use only AUSTRALIAN but LOCAL SPUDS . The popularity of their " fat chips have less fat" chips has moved most local suppliers onto MARVEL. Good stuff --ditch the thin chips from overseas and MARVEL at the better product !

2005-08-11T10:58:00.000+10:00

Aug 10th 05 Its been snowing all over the Western district . photo mark O'loughlin. Otwayfly

Lake Colac - into the too hard basket ?

2005-06-06T10:32:00.000+10:00

On the eve of tommorrow's big announcement dare we ask whether Lake Colac’s future will really be revealed then? Have our political representatives found an answer, or are they just throwing more money at "the problem" ? We are ready to work on immediate practical solutions to Lake Colac,but are they? Lets call for practice over procrastination.
Will Tuesday be a day when the future challenges are unveiled or just another day when the fog takes over; more research, more duckshoving , or worse ; some half baked tokens that would have gone a long way to really changing the practical situation.
Being prepared to spend money and time to make improvements is not, I think the issue. I believe the people of this town are ready for the tough medicine about working with nature - but we need to know what it is , whatever it is, before we will get behind it ; Not more guessing , procrastination, tokens and subscientific mumbo jumbo. Can we change the lake's situation or can't we - and how ? Lets hope we hear about it on Tuesday, and if we don't , lets call immediately for solutions; not more public servant procrastination, more research and more rates to fund them . A practical reality therapy session is called for More on swearthnews

Our new neighbours ( The sudanese) nearly died

2005-05-30T16:04:00.000+10:00

Oscar nominee "Hotel Rwanda" will be shown at a special sitting in Colac on Thurs 16th June 6:30pm .in 1994 Over 1 million people were murdered in Africa in 3 months and hardly anyone noticed - one man did there did something and now we share in the new hope they bring to our area.

Landslides and Floods

2005-05-20T07:14:00.000+10:00

So I was wrong about the salt. Now I have a sure bet . You say .. what is this shock jock journo up to now ....agin? What's happening in new Zealand over the last few days could happen here . for more info

This mornings power failure -a jump start to Salt week

2005-05-05T12:39:00.000+10:00

This mornings power blackout was most probably caueed by high salinity .
Find out more on swearthnews

2005-04-28T09:00:00.000+10:00

Fireweb will also tell you what's happening.

Where there is smoke- there is panic

2005-04-04T14:18:00.000+10:00

Intense wind last Sunday, SO how bad was the fire risk?.
Autumn has periods of intense calm making it fairly safe to burn as moisture and calm come back in the evenings . Watch out for middday day hours when then the winds can pick up.
You try sailing on Lake Colac towards evening - we had to row back in on friday !Lots of smoke about because of calm
If concerned about smoke dial up 1800 240 667 or click on State Maps on http://fireweb.dse.vic.gov.au
Don't forget to bookmark http://swearthnews.blogpot.com

For all the local envir news - as it happens

Flushing Lake Colac

2005-01-25T09:20:00.000+11:00

Not exactly the title for a movie eh . And it's not as though it hasn't been tried before (recent leaks)

Now being practical - what are we going to do about it ? Fight fire with fire , rich water with clean water. Is the bowl paradigm a case of technological fix. (

Unfortunately while it sound s good,completely emptying all of the Colac reservoirs would only raise lake Colac by 10 centimeters or so , an induced level that would disappear with evaporation within a month.
What we need is to use a series of overly wet years and to use the dry years better. Design with Narure.

Some small planes able to get in

2005-01-07T10:07:00.000+11:00

Jan 4, 2005 — By Dean Yates

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Reuters) - Hungry and filthy, Indonesians queued for water in their thousands on Tuesday as aid deliveries to tsunami-ravaged Aceh province hit new snags.

The main airport in Banda Aceh, a key hub for relief flights, was closed to planes after the landing gear collapsed on an aid flight in the early hours of the morning.

"I can't imagine anything worse happening to this airfield right now," said Captain Larry Burt, a commander with the U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln group that has been playing a pivotal role in flying in supplies to the region.

Updates on local flying service MAF onsite http://www.maf.org/aceh/index.html

Who to give to ?

2005-01-07T10:02:00.000+11:00

Aceh is notoriuosly remote with seperatists resisting the Indonesian government for a long time . Some who are able to get in there at the moment are listed on the links to the sidepanel . Some like Doctors without Borders are advising people to give more broadly . Please advise this site of any developments/ local contacts.

Just money?

2005-01-07T09:39:00.000+11:00

Are there any local goods or services we can offer?