It was fascinating to travel in parts of Europe in recent weeks to see France's government struggle to get policies to reduce debt and increase productivity.
Last month, the French Prime Minister proposed several measures to increase efficiencies, including abolishing two public holidays, namely Easter Monday and Victory Day, which commenced after the end of World War II. The French Parliament knew this would not make their voters happy, so threw out the Prime Minister.
Victoria is headed down the same road with debt, yet the Victorian Labor government persists with the public holiday next Friday, so we can go and watch footballers in the grand final parade in Melbourne.
It would be laughable if it wasn't so serious.
Labor again shows it is anti-business and unrealistic.
On another matter, on the sixth day of our holiday, our neighbour contacted us to say burglars had cut out the lock on our back door and burgled our home in West Wodonga.
We have joined the growing number of victims of crime in Victoria.
No wonder the present Victorian Labor government is known as the worst government in Victoria's long history. Think about it.
The proposal to create a new Great Koala National Park (September 12) once again rests on the untested assumption that the declaration of more national parks is actually improving koala habitat.
Without active management to reduce feral predators and provide young eucalypt regeneration, koalas will not benefit from such a declaration.
Since the early 1980s, successive NSW governments have increased the area of national park from two million hectares to nearly seven million.
Yet the koalas don't seem to have been impressed, while politicians, bureaucrats and activists have been resistant to calls for scientific monitoring of whether this vast and costly experiment has been effective.
Short-sighted political populism, but at a huge social, economic and environmental cost.
Calls for further transfers of actively managed forests and plantations into a Great Koala National Park on the North Coast should be rejected until there is evidence that it would benefit koala habitat.
It is prime koala habitat because it has been actively managed, regenerating forest for at least 50 years and in many cases well over a century.
As for carbon credits, they are created by sequestering new carbon through actively growing forests, not by locking up existing, sustainably managed ones.
We are now going to welcome back to Australia a group of women who abandoned this country to join with their terrorist partners and produce offspring to follow in their footsteps.
I consider these women to be traitors of Australia and should not, under any circumstances, be welcome back!
How will these people ever swear allegiance to, or adapt to Australian way of life? They will be housed and supported (probably for life) by the Australian taxpayer!
I believe this Labor government we have at the moment is the most morally corrupt government Australia has ever had.
Noelle Oke's recent letter Being short-changed on hospital (September 13) should be compulsory reading for the residents of Albury-Wodonga and surrounding communities.
Noelle's personal experiences at both Wagga Wagga Base Hospital and Albury hospital provide a very clear contrast in the provision of health care services in these two regions.
For those who think we should accept what is currently being offered, you might like to think again!
It's not often you see compliments relating to Albury City Council, however, I felt it was overdue.
Therefore, I wanted to give a huge shout-out to some staff who I have had the pleasure of engaging with over the years.
First, to parks and gardens worker Beau. Beau attends to Hume Gardens Park, not only is he respectful and courteous, he also treats HGP as if it was his own backyard!
Keeper and overseer of tree planting among other things, Leanne is in the same category as Beau.
As a team supervisor, Leanne is extremely good at following up and through and never put out by sometimes 'not so intelligent' questions, patience shows, which is a good virtue to have.
Although in more leadership roles these four behind-the-scenes people provide overall exemplary customer service.
Always approachable, kind as well as exhibiting the customer first qualities we want within our ACC team.
Thank you David (C), Richard (V), Nerilee (K) and Mark (L). Continue to lead by example, your efforts are certainly noticed. Keep up the good work! All of you. Thank you.
Late 1982 Midnight Oil released the album 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
A T-shirt promoting the album had a barcode with 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2,1 being the number line.
At the time being a naive 21-year-old, I did not understand the significance of this and how much it would change my life.
Somewhere around 2012, I was introduced to the QR code; if the barcode had been a revelation, I do not have the words to describe the QR code.
I need to go back a few years now; around 2008 I attended an information evening for parents as their children negotiated the Higher School Certificate.
A question was asked if students would be allowed to use a program that once you entered the essay subject and keywords the program would do the rest. I do not remember the answer, I was in shock that such a program existed; welcome to artificial intelligence (AI).
In the past week, approximately five thousand jobs have been lost in the banking industry; management says restructuring, not artificial intelligence is behind these job losses.
I look back fondly to the days you spoke to a local person when you rang the bank, Australia Post etc, with a hello, how may I help you? Remember the days you were served in supermarkets by people and when you went to the bank, by a teller.
I will stop here. Artificial intelligence is telling me how good it has made my life.
How dare the Albanese government approve Woodside's latest earth-destroying gas project after its landslide victory earlier this year? It's clear the gas is not needed in our energy transition, as they like to claim, with the vast majority being exported to Japan, which on-sells it at a profit.
Honestly. They don't even try to hide their vested interests. And who loses this game? We do. Our regional and rural communities and the land and water we rely on are impacted by these terrible decisions.
And just like Rio Tinto's destruction of the Juukan Gorge cave art days before National Sorry Day in May 2020, the timing of approving this latest major gas polluting project is equally insulting.
It will no doubt destroy the oldest outdoor art gallery on the planet - 50,000-year-old petroglyphs, Murujuga rock art, at the Burrup Peninsula; Woodside got the thumbs up in the lead-up to National Reconciliation Week. One's left asking Albanese, what the heck is going on?
Community Accessability is excited to invite the Wodonga community to our upcoming Handmade Market and Free Barbecue, to be held on Thursday, October 16, from 4pm - 7pm at the Murray Valley Centre, 1B Pearce Street, Wodonga.
The event is part of Wodonga Council's Seniors Week 2025 and is a free celebration for people of all ages. Attendees can enjoy a community sausage sizzle, food trucks, live music, and children's activities, while browsing a variety of handmade crafts, gifts, and local stalls.
This market is about more than just stalls - it's about bringing people together. It's a chance for seniors, families, and community members to connect, enjoy entertainment, and share a meal in a welcoming space.
We are also offering free stallholder spaces to local makers, community groups, and small businesses. Anyone interested in showcasing their goods or services is encouraged to get in touch.
We hope to see the community come along and join us for this special evening of connection, creativity, and celebration.
Richard Hendrie's letter in The Border Mail (September 15) is informative and compelling. His lived experience, as he so appositely describes it, powerfully enables him to argue for the new Nolan House to be on the ground floor.
As a concerned local of 50-plus years, I urge the relevant decision makers to revise the decision taken. It will be of enormous benefit to many, particularly the unwell; to not do so, unforgivably rash.
Well done Richard Hendrie (September 15). Incredibly well articulated with knowledge, emotion and accuracy.
In recent years, after lots of discussion, outdoor works have been completed at the existing Nolan House including a fabulous sensory garden and extensive improvements to outside activities area, including gazebo, table tennis table and fresh gardens etc.
These additions were heralded as invaluable and a high priority to the what were "underwhelming" outdoor areas and vital to the needs for the recovery to those needing them the most.
These requests were by the practising professionals and authorities at the time.
To them "the value of fresh air and sunshine!!" was a vital component. That was the motivation at that time and was most needed.
Clearly the voices of those that know are not being engaged or heard.
I must add these inclusions at a cost of many tens of thousands of dollars were presented and made possible "by and large" by the generosity of local individuals, businesses and community groups.
How this proposed facility "locked up and in" on the sixth floor can be considered is unbelievable and as Richard stated, this will set mental health care back years in our better deserving district and is why he and many are astonished, but not at all surprised.