Trevor Scott, Castlemaine
“A manager for People and Culture is another unnecessary position” says Bill Bayliss, criticising our council in last week’s Castlemaine Mail (Opinions, August 12). I don’t know where these notions of yours come from Bill, but I do know that if we removed art and culture from the People, the equivalent of banning artists from our society, it would be a much lesser society. It would certainly diminish a lively community such as Castlemaine, which thrives on its artists, craftspeople, writers and musicians. So I disagree with you, Bill. I think $140,000 every year is a small price to pay for the vitality of this community.
As for “the Climate Change position” which you also mention, hasn’t it recently been shown by the increased frequency and severity in droughts, storms, floods and bush fires, that action to address Climate Change is absolutely necessary? I am of the opinion that the recent target set by the new Labor Government of 43% emissions reduction by 2030, although it is a step in the right direction, it is nowhere near enough, and that Mount Alexander Shire Council, having declared a climate emergency in 2019, needs to do much more.