2024

I have not felt up to writing a blog for some time. After the Referendum, I didn’t feel like doing much at all. And now, we have Australia Day to contend with.

The Mt Pleasant Community Association Inc, which runs the Australia Day Community Awards ceremony decided that this year we would hold it on the 28th. This year the holiday makes it a long weekend, and we had an issue a few years back when many people stayed away. As the event is funded by the MPCAI, sustaining a loss is a big hit for us. Some people have complained to us in the past that we shouldn’t charge for the Breakfast, but as the main event funded by council is held at Tanunda, we have only approached council once for funding, where we received a small amount. A lot of effort for a small return.

We have always enjoyed the community awards event. Taking submissions from members of the community regarding who they think is worthy of an award is always rewarding for us, and we have often found out things about community members that we never knew. There are some great people in this district. Many of whom get no recognition, and that’s the way some of them like it. We are proud of all our past recipients, and are looking forward to this year’s event.

As previously mentioned, we are a small community organisation and would rather spend the money on community projects than sustain a loss, and many of the people who bring this event to our town have been doing so for decades. It’s no small feat to get up early and set everything up to serve a hot breakfast - not knowing how many people will attend.

In the last few years, a few community members have attended a couple of workshops with Chris Sands, who started the Totally Locally movement. Chris is all about passing on free information and advice that encourages communities to be proud of what they have achieved. To support each other and small businesses so their towns don’t die. One of the initiatives was a ‘Meet Your Neighbour’ event, which Eden Valley has used to its advantage over the last year, and Cath Davies from Robbers Dog also used to encourage people to assist with the re-vamp of the CWA garden.

One of the perks of COVID has been an increase in the populations of many small towns, with families choosing to move from the cities where the likelihood of the transmission of virus’ like COVID is more likely, to an area where the population is more likely to not travel to risky places at those times.

A ‘Meet Your Neighbour’ event seems like another good reason to get together at a time when we are more likely to have people willing to take a couple of hours mid-morning to come along and have a cuppa and a chat. We welcome those who are new to our town, and look forward to meeting them and letting them know what the district has to offer.

We hope you’ve had a restful and enjoyable Christmas and new Year, and that we see you at the Community Awards event on January 28th at the CWA Garden.

Listening and being a good friend

I have a friend, a dear friend, and we've been friends for well over twenty years. She has been coming over almost weekly for almost that long, and in the early days, me being determined to be the perfect host would always pop the kettle on to give her a cuppa as soon as she came around. This went on for a while, and one night I noticed her pouring her cold cup of tea in the sink. I said I was sorry, that I didn't realise we were talking so much that she didn't get to drink her tea, and that I'd make her another one - all while I was putting the kettle on and getting things ready. She said "no - it's OK", but I went ahead anyway, because I wanted her to feel welcomed. As I picked up the milk to add it to her cup, she put her hand over it and said "I don't take milk." I looked at her and said "What? I always give you milk." She then said she was allergic to milk and it made her ill.

So, in my haste to give her what I thought she wanted, I was giving her what she didn't need. That it was the opposite of what she needed. She had told me, several times, but I didn't hear or listen. So I did what I always did when I had to remember something important - I put a large note on the fridge which read "Don't give 'Rosie' milk - it makes her sick."

Now anyone who has known me for a while, knows that I have a terrible memory, and putting notes on the fridge was a great way for me to remember important things - like #2 son had to do the dishes for a couple of weeks for whingeing, and #1 son had to do them because he was giving #2 son grief in the first place, and #3 son (toddler) had to stop kicking #2 son when he was lying on the floor.

If I didn't put the note there, I would forget and go back to doing the same stuff over and over again, and nobody won. If one of those notes were on the fridge - no-one was allowed to take it off. If the kids tried, they would be in worse trouble - and the Man of the House knew I was dinkum, and he’d better not mess with it either. It was law.

See the parallels? If we don't enshrine the Voice and listen, we'll keep doing what we've always done, because it's easy to forget what works, and a new government will just overturn it easily anyhow.

So if you want all those horror stories about how bad things are on the lands to continue - keep voting no - and you'll get what you want, but First Nations peoples will never get what they need.

The story about the milk is true - and friends will know who I'm talking about. She's a great friend and I've never seen her get angry.

Yes

I have received some very negative feedback from my opinion piece in the 99th issue, which was pretty disappointing. I was accused of being ‘political’ when I see the referendum as a social justice issue. Not all Liberal MPs are in favour of voting ‘No’.

This is an edited version of an article by Anthony Galloway that was in the Sydney Morning Herald on 16th April, 2023:

The party room’s resolution (at a party room meeting on April 5, 2023) to formally oppose a constitutionally enshrined Voice has caused significant divisions within the Liberals: former Indigenous affairs minister Ken Wyatt resigned from the party and shadow attorney-general Julian Leeser stepped down from the frontbench.

Only two Liberal MPs, Leeser and Tasmanian MP Bridget Archer, have publicly declared they will support the Yes campaign.

However, a number of other MPs – including Andrew Bragg, Russell Broadbent, Jennie Ware, and Richard Colbeck – spoke against elements of the position.

Three frontbenchers – Simon Birmingham, Paul Fletcher and Marise Payne – spoke out in a shadow cabinet meeting against the party’s plan, favouring an option put forward by Leeser to allow all members to have a free say on the Voice until the parliamentary committee completed its work.

In the months since the Referendum was announced. Paul Kelly has gifted a song, Jimmy Barnes has lent his support and John Farnham has given permission for ‘You’re the Voice’ to be used in advertising for the ‘Yes’ campaign. Many prominent Australians have stepped forward as allies, and there will be a march in Adelaide on the 16th, joining with a weekend of marches throughout the country. I will be there.

This is what I wrote:

A few years ago, Kevin Rudd said ‘sorry’ on behalf of the Australian Government. There was no riot, no clamour to get to the nearest lawyers to start proceedings, the sky didn’t fall in. It was as if we all took a breath and a great weight was lifted. People looked at each other and smiled. There were tears and laughter and hugs. It was done.

Now we are being asked to allow First Nations people to have a voice. Just a voice. But how powerful for First Nations peoples to know that at last, the Government will listen.

There will be no avalanche of money being spent on initiatives that don’t work, that some person thousands of kilometres away thought would be a good idea. In fact, there is every possibility that by governments listening to First Nations peoples, money will be saved.

Outcomes for First Nations peoples are bad. Really bad. They haven’t improved at all in decades. In a country so advanced, we still have people dying from preventable diseases. Education outcomes are dismal. Employment options are limited. Just by born who you are or where you are, can severely limit whether you can earn a decent living. Incarceration rates for First Nations peoples are much higher than for non-indigenous peoples.

Our country has the oldest living culture in the world – over 65 thousand years. Nowhere in the world can claim that, but until we start listening and paying respect, we are not a complete nation.

My husband Don worked with Aboriginal peoples for the majority of his policing career – by choice. His policing district covered most of the north and west of South Australia, and he had the privilege of working with some amazing people. Humble, funny, smart people. So many times, we were amazed by the expertise and adaptability of people he worked with, their resilience and willingness to help, and their forgiveness when the system let them down.

I met Aunty Pat Anderson at WOMAD this year. What an amazing person. I had been waiting to have a quick word with her after the Planet Talk on The Voice, and even though there were a lot of people there and she was surrounded, she saw me waiting and indicated she would be there in a minute. I felt very privileged to be able to speak to her and she made me feel like I was listened to when I told her of my support for The Voice Referendum. I told her I printed a small newsletter, and that I would make sure that there would be information in it for the Yes campaign. This newsletter reaches a few hundred people on a good day, but I hope that those of you reading this will listen to those asking to be heard, and ignore those who wish to frighten us. Those who have told lies and obfuscated – because apparently unlike a normal election, in a referendum you are able to tell lies and not be penalised.

The last year has been such a uniting time. Much of the damaging and divisive rhetoric has gone, and I think most of us feel more optimistic that the big issues – like Climate Change – will now be treated seriously, and even though times are undoubtedly tough for many of us, they will get better. We just have to get through it.

What the Uluru Statement from the Heart asked – agreed upon by 250 First Nations leaders – was for Recognition, followed by Treaty, then Truth Telling. The referendum is the long overdue first step. It’s a Voice.

“When we have power over our destiny, our children will flourish.”

Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Gearing up for Christmas

Work continues apace with the return of the Mt Pleasant Street Party and Parade in December. A mostly new committee has taken over the reins and they are working hard to ensure we have a great celebration.

We are hoping to put out a Christmas Buy Local supplement to the newsletter, as we have often done in the past, and urge our community to support our local businesses. Thanks to Kath for chatting with shop owners and taking photos. Stay tuned for that one.

After my little piece on the Blue Wrens pecking at my car mirror, I was interested to hear that David Bevan’s guest on this morning’s radio was Dr Grianne Cleary, who I’ve heard before, and she has some interesting and funny observations about our feathered friends - including why wrens peck at mirrors and windows. Apparently it’s all about sex - or more specifically - the mating season, and should cease once there is no need to protect his claim to his female. Whew! That’s a relief. She also spoke about Plovers and why they have this need to have their nests in seemingly ridiculous and unsafe places. That too is the result of evolution, whereby if they had their nests in the open, it was much easier to spot predators. Sadly, that also means that evolution hasn’t caught up with things like trains and planes, and picking fights with them never ends well for the Plovers, that clearly defend unto death.

The link to Dr Cleary’s book ‘Why Do Birds Do That?’ is below.

The newsletter this month also has some recommendations for books that sounded really interesting, and as gift giving time is fast approaching, might be good options for bookworms.

https://www.angusrobertson.com.au/books/why-do-birds-do-that-grinne-cleary/p/9781761067235

Winter in the Hills

Work on Melrose Street continues, and unforeseen problems are being found. It is hoped that the drainage issues (for the most part) will be dealt with, and people who live around the butcher’s shop will not have to worry about wading through water to get to their front doors. The level of the main road has risen quite a way since it was made over a century ago, and whilst the camber allows for good drainage, the issue was that the footpaths and drains didn’t cope well with the run off during a big event.

Saleyard Road has been totally re-done, which makes it safe for traffic during sale time, but more importantly, for the school and kindy kids and families. The curbing is complete and now the water drains away. The drain at the bottom of the hill required more attention, but seems to be working well now.

Meantime, at the other end of the street, work is continuing with the new owners of The Totness Inn Hotel undertaking extensive restoration and renovations. They have been researching the history of the place and uncovering many interesting facts about the old building and the publicans in the process. It will be great to see the old building used again, and we wish them luck. If you want to see how things are going, check out the Facebook page, where there are blow by blow descriptions. https://www.facebook.com/TotnessInnHotel

Rex Amber was an imaginative and productive community member who was responsible for the wooden animals adorning Talunga Park. A few years ago, The Beat pondered what was to become of these wonderful creations, and thankfully the Progress Association tasked John Bowd, together with offsider Peter Wilde to repair, restore and re-install these fantastical creatures for future generations of children to enjoy. They now take pride of place in the picnic area, near the playground and the Men’s Shed ‘Train’.

And finally - we wish the new committee of the Top of the Torrens Theatre Group all the best with their winter production of Noel Coward’s, ‘Blithe Spirit’. The TOTT productions have been a staple in the community for decades, and considering we are a small community, it is great to see so many people still putting their hands up. So many great performances and productions - a particular favourite of mine was the performance for the 90th celebrations of the Soldiers’ Memorial Hall. What a great night! Even though there might be a few new members on the committee, it is to the great credit of all those who kept in going for so long - because once we lose these fantastic groups, it’s very hard to get them back. https://www.facebook.com/Top-Of-The-Torrens-Theatre-Group-Inc-200700436615816

It might be really cold outside, but there are still lots of events in the hills - especially if you like food and wine - and lots of things also for kids during the School holidays. Get out there and get into it!

Single, red vine…. on the road to Gawler.

Totness Inn Hotel

Above - Saleyard Road during, and right, after.

A line in the sand

Whilst our family travelled around various towns in South Australia, we were aware of the things that bind a community together. Forget tight knit. That’s an over-used phrase that journalists quote when describing the response to the latest disaster. Most communities DO work together, it’s how humans rose to the top of the food chain - by helping and supporting each other and working for the common good. For the most part that works well. If you have good leadership, it’s pretty damn good, but if your leadership is found lacking, cracks appear.

There are tell tale signs - losing institutions like schools and sporting clubs, loss of services like banks, hospitals, doctors, general stores, post offices - and libraries.

If you pass through any rural communities around any state or country in the world, you will see the same devastation, when any or all of these things happen. Learning how to cope when one of these things happens becomes par for the course, small changes, bigger changes, and the next thing you know, the population has halved and there are tumbleweeds in the main street, and no-one wants to buy your house when you can’t stay any longer.

All of these towns have one thing in common, there are amazing groups of people that spend countless years (yes years) on keeping the halls going, the sporting facilities, campaigning for the schools, the banks - giving money out of their own pockets, holding numerous fundraisers and applying for grants (and hasn’t THAT worked well over the last few years for sporting clubs?), and now we are campaigning for our Library.

This should be our line in the sand. This is Gandalf at the bridge saying to the Balrog “You shall not pass!” Enough.

There are some very good resources online regarding Libraries and their contribution to health and wellbeing, literacy, and providing safe places. A good Australian one is https://librarieschangelives.org.au . Set up by the Victorian Libraries, it contains research and evidence on why we should keep these amazing and vastly underrated places.

It’s not about the number of people who borrow books. It’s not about turnover. It’s about community. It’s about people having a safe and welcoming space when everything else seems so unwelcoming. No judgement. You can go into a Library and just BE.

It’s a place where our community can pick up information - there are council records there - apart from all of the usual Library paraphernalia, it’s a meeting place - for artists, for poets and writers. It’s place where children feel safe waiting for parents to pick them up after school. It’s a place where people connect - maybe for the only time that week - were they are greeted with a friendly smile and a helping hand.

So, even though it may have been a while since YOU dropped into the Library, there are others who cherish it, rely on it, DEPEND upon it. If you can’t send a message for yourself - send it for THEM.

Please check the recommendations from the Library Services Review below. Survey forms are available from the library and must be returned before the 10th March.

One rule....

I try not to get too political in the newsletter, as proper journalists do it so much better, and many of the stuff that upsets me is nothing to do with the district - but…

In the last year or so, a local politician was flagged by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) for submitting documents regarding entitlements for overnight stays, travel, etc. As he resigned from his portfolio, and said he would not be contesting the next state election (and his replacement is almost a permanent fixture on local newspapers), and paid back well over $30,000, we are not untouched. So when I listened to the the head of the ICAC Commissioner The Honourable Ann Vanstone QC speak against the bill that was presented to Parliament last week, I was interested in her point of view.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/26/three-south-australian-ministers-resign-from-cabinet

The bill that was put forward by SA Best MP Frank Pangallo, who in a former life would have hunted these miscreants down, passed in an embarrassingly short time. But the thing that really upset me, was that NO MP voted against it. Limiting the powers of an investigator to do what they were hired to do is unconscionable. The former ICAC Commissioner predicted this as he left office last year. (Justice Bruce Lander QC released the Oakden Report, prompting a Royal Commission.)

For more information on The Hon. Ann Vanstone and her predecessor: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-27/ann-vanstone-announced-as-new-commissioner-against-corruption/12495202

For those of us who have worked under rules that prohibit us from passing on any information, sharing documents, even talking about our employer on social media, asking people not to rort the system would seem to be a no-brainer. Asking someone with some sort of degree in business or finance to at least make sure their documentation is on point - especially when it comes to public money (because yes, WE pay THEM) - shouldn’t be a big deal. It’s what a good employee would do. It’s what an honourable person would do.

If the Tax Office wants our money, they are onto us fast enough, but apparently it only works one way - although, in the face of a class action, the Federal Government admitted liability for the unlawful Robodebt scheme.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/29/robodebt-government-to-repay-470000-unlawful-centrelink-debts-worth-721m

Just as I was composing this, this happened:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-01/icac-investigating-gladys-berejiklian-daryl-maguire/100506956

Not unexpected, but listening to the news conference, Premier Berejiklian made it all about her and how she was fighting for NSW against COVD-19. Yes, it has been arduous, and she has fronted the media and tried to hold it all together, but hubris is often the only thing we remember, and it’s not like this is a new thing. I think the reprieve she got when COVID-19 ramped up gave her breathing space.

And on a lighter note - the wind has finally blown the last of the blossom from the ornamental pears in the CWA Garden, leaving a carpet of ‘snow’ on the ground.

End of an Era

Yesterday we farewelled Dr Ken Sieben, who has been a huge part of our community since coming here in 1989. It was clear from the feelings expressed at the event, that he was a much loved doctor and member of our community, and his calming presence will be sorely missed. Naturally because of COVID restrictions, the event was a lot more low key than we might have liked, but somehow I think Ken preferred this. Many thanks to Aylene Mueller who was the organiser - it can’t have been easy - and to all those who came, what amazing memories (none of which can really be shared because off the unique place that health professionals hold in our community). Good luck to Ken and Julie on the next part of their journey - and hopefully we’ll still see them around a lot. Thank you.

Recreation!

I start writing this blog months ago, and it’s taken me a while to get back to it.

Recreate was hanging by a thread. The funding to run this amazing community asset hadn’t been approved and the committee had decided that if it wasn’t approved - Recreate would close it’s doors - forever.

Started by Faye McGoldrick (who also initiated the Farmer's Market) in partnership with the Natural Resource Centre, Recreate has provided a safe and creative community space that has not only given local artisans a place to sell their wares, but also fostered new talents - from the very young, to the not so young.

The collaborative environment has encouraged creativity and resourcefulness, as well as expanding to host workshops at a reasonable cost to community members.

Recreate volunteers have blossomed and learned new skills. Some who have felt overwhelmed by their circumstances have found a non-judgemental and supportive environment that has given them confidence and a sense of worth. The community at large has benefited as well, by not only having access to a shop that sells beautiful and bespoke handmade goods, but also a large range of organic and natural personal products. The ethos of Recreate is that everything has a purpose, and the circular economy is alive and well there.

The amount of money that Recreate needs to function is paltry, yet every year, Faye and her committee must go cap in hand to governments to score the needed funds. This year, that funding was delayed long past the release date, and Faye and her volunteers (over 70 in number),were making plans to close. Finally the funding came through, but there were more issues to overcome and quite rightly, Faye was been left wondering about the cost she will pay personally to keep Recreate functioning.

A few months down the track and Recreate is open again for business, and I would urge community members to go and support it. Don’t wait.

The favourite buzz phrase for the media to use when describing communities is ‘tight knit’ - now is your chance to show everyone how that works.

https://www.facebook.com/recreatecommunity