Ange’s Chat
What a great informative Zoom we all enjoyed last week with Lynn Lawson in her capacity as secretary of the Far South Coast Country Women’s Association of NSW. She was on the organising committee for the 99th Annual Conference held 2-6 May in Bega. Lovely to have Frank Eden (Grandpa) and Iris (Omi) join us as well as Mike Young from Broome basking in 30deg.
Four hundred delegates attended from all over NSW. The CWA is the single largest women’s advocacy group in Australia and this gives them great lobbying clout. Lasting five days, the conference was the culmination of superb long term planning by a great team which helped make it such a success. They also achieved great business sponsorship together with generous media coverage.
Many motions, all of which originated at the ‘grassroots’ level, were debated and voted on. Lynn highlighted several that were passed:
– to advocate putting prescribed medicinal cannabis medication on the PBS – to mandate Australian wool insulation in all new public buildings in ACT and NSW – to change organ donation registration to opt out rather than opt in.
Others motions included:
– to advocate for a just transition from coal and gas – to oppose large scale solar plants on prime agricultural land and protect food and fibre security.
There was lots of entertainment and fun, including a bush dance. In the lead up to the conference, the committee organised a stand up cow theme competition involving local schools and had a cow trivia competition, very appropriate for such a significant dairying region.
We came to appreciate that CWA is a vital and highly respected lobby group to all levels of government. Definitely so much more than ‘ tea and scones’.
THIS WEEK
We’re at the Golf Club with a combined meeting of old and new boards at 5pm, followed by dinner with everyone 6 for 6.30pm. Please let Secretary Rod know if you are coming or not by Wednesday morning.
The Week that Was
Concern about Buckeridge Lookout
Having finally found out which government agency actually owns Harold Buckeridge Lookout and adjacent land at North Narooma, our Board is now seeking permission from Crown Lands to do some much needed work there. Meanwhile on the Narooma Community Facebook page last week there was some community concern about the Lookout and its sorry state plus an increasing realisation it was/is a Rotary Project. So we responded accordingly, both on our Facebook page and on the Community Facebook page; the story was subsequently picked up by the Beagle Weekly.
Many thanks everyone for your interest in the Harold Buckeridge Lookout at North Narooma which was a Narooma Rotary initiative in 2001. While a lookout was there years before, regrowth had blocked the view so in 2001 Rotary restored the view and created a viewing platform. Harold Buckeridge was a highly respected local forester with State Forests.
Over the years the Club just went in and did what was necessary to maintain it as a lookout, but times have changed. The land and road area is Crown Land under the jurisdiction of its Goulburn office rather than being Council or State Forest land.
As a responsible community organisation, the Club must get the owner’s permission to maintain and restore this wonderful lookout which will become even more popular as the nearby bike trails develop.
We are currently waiting to hear back from Crown Lands’ Goulburn office; hopefully we will get the ‘go ahead’ soon. We will keep the community posted.
Vale Matt Deveson
Matt and Jen Deveson hosted our Rotary meetings at The Whale for many years until we moved to the Golf Club a few years ago. Matt was a true friend of our Club. His memorial service was held recently at The Whale. Quoting from the Chamber of Commerce’s tribute, “In the past fortnight our community lost a champion when Matt died far too young leaving so great a legacy for his family and the rest of us who knew and loved him”.
The Chamber’s tribute notes Matt and Jen moved to Narooma in 2006. They managed, then later owned, the Whale Motor Inn and Restaurant introducing fine dining and the slow food movement to Narooma with its emphasis on local produce. Matt was a founding member of a revitalised Chamber of Commerce in 2007 which launched the ‘Narooma – How Life should be’ brand, introduced annual business awards, and established the Oyster Festival. He was involved in organising and running of the Festival over many years, and always a major supporter.
Matt was a member of the Liquor Licensing Board in Eurobodalla, a member of the Mayor’s Disaster Relief Fund, and had been a member of both Eurobodalla Business Advisory Committee and the Eurobodalla Tourism Board. He instigated the NAB Working Group in Narooma and from there organised the Narooma Community Workshops to develop the Narooma Community Plan – a strategic plan for future development which we heard about at the last Business Breakfast.
Our Club joins with the Chamber of Commerce in offering Jen and Matt’s family our condolences .
Out and About
It is a shame Batemans Bay’s and our Changeovers are on the same night which basically prevents us or them attending each other’s. Moruya representatives though will attend both functions.
NEXT THURSDAY
Our June Breakfast Business meeting with guest speaker Zarina Fitzgerald from Apprenticeship Support Australia for the Far South Coast & Snowy Region. It is again at Narooma Surf Club at 7am and all members are invited. Cost is $10 a head. Bookings essential with PE Andrew.
Zarina will talk about government assistance for businesses. She says with the release of the latest Government Budget, adding apprentices and trainees to your business make both financial and practical sense.