Get tough on burn-offs
I FIND it quite incomprehensible that residents of Ballarat on normal suburban blocks under 2000 square metres think it is ok to burn garden waste, despite the local laws making this unlawful without a permit.
We have spent the whole weekend intermittently shrouded in smoke, have been unable to leave a window open, or enjoy the amenity of our garden.
I urge the City of Ballarat to make greater efforts to inform residents of their obligations regarding burning off, and that bylaws officers ensure offenders are contacted and advised of the regulations.
- John Canham, Golden Point
Hall should help needy
TURN the Civil Hall into a homeless centre, and serve food and hot showers for a small cost like they do at Fitzroy. People line up at 3pm to get in at 5pm then out in the morning. Creating jobs for Ballarat people.
- Mak Thompson, Ballarat
Address climate change
AS I watched last evening, a daddy-long-legs spider enmeshed a fly with invisible threads. It drew the fly to itself and sucked out its guts.
That night, I dreamed of walking north across Victoria with others to ward off "the menace". We were forced to turn back, unable to refill our water canisters. The mirage of de-sal watering points evaporated. (The current drought is part of the general drying climate in south-eastern Australia, apart from the East Coast.)
China controls Port Darwin and the South China Sea. How long will it be before we are forced to sell Melbourne Port and Snowy Hydro to pay for our profligate lifestyles?
Will Scott Morrison's forthcoming budget address the changing climate with its surplus of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and the deficit of dollars in our annual accounts?
- Neil Gordon Cameron, Meredith
Strategy for competition
I READ with interest that the Christ the King Anglican Church and buildings in central Lydiard Street are for sale.
How is this going to affect the South Street competitions?
The hall and buildings have been used by South Street for everything from poetry and drama judging to flute for years.
Has the Royal South Street Society made plans for the loss of the facilities? Will they be looking at reusing the Ballarat Civic Hall for these programs as they did years ago?
Is this part of the plans for the Civic Hall and does the Ballarat City Council have any options? I, like other residents, would like to know.
The Civic Hall could be used for so many things that bring commerce and culture to our town, and with the loss of the Anglican Church site, there is definitely a need.
- Alan Penhall, Ballarat
City litter disgusting
HAVING read in our local paper, The Advocate about the efforts to clean up around Daylesford's Coles store, l want to point out that the rubbish throughout Ballarat is shocking.
I have written to many shop owners, big companies mainly, about litter around their properties.
The whole block around Coles/Woolworths in the city is disgusting. Why are there 30 cigarette butts, broken bottles and a used syringe in a two metre square area at the No 3 bus stop? I am a smoker and am sick of counting the thousands of smoke ends everywhere. What are the "mystery" stains on the footpath at Little Bridge Street? Someone removed the bins, and the whole area is an ash tray.
Great first impression for tourists.
Why can't council workers pick up litter on that second Friday in the couple of hours between lunch and early clock-off?
I am more than willing to take a reporter and camera man on a tour of the piles of garbage l see every day in Ballarat.
- Kate Leckey, Creswick.
