HAND on heart one moment, pummelling the horseshoe table the next, voice trembling with pent-up but controlled emotion, Larry “wordy wordy me” Whipper feather-thrashed them darn southerners from down Goulburn way with their weasel words, wheedling after our water.
Why, Lazza had been so moved by their appeal for “a drink of water” at the height of the now-forgotten drought, he was bent upon driving down with his trusty followers to distribute cups of Wingecarribee’s pure water.
But now the scene has changed and the script writers of Gunsmoke couldn’t have wrung more pathos out of their worst episode as the besieged ranchers of Wingecarribee confront the demonic water goblins of Goulburn-Mulwaree over a water pipeline.
And it all happened in the hallowed chambers at Ivory Towers this week as 2012 opened, with 14 meetings of the Class of 08-12 to go.
All good populist stuff about a trust betrayed, hopes denied, lost faith.
The plot opened in December just as the water flowed to Goulburn along the $50 million pipeline from the SCA dam at the Sheepwash.
It was mooted that Goulburn was negotiating with commercial users to tap the rising main and pay a commercial rate, thus alleviating repayments on Goulburn’s $10 million loan for which their ratepayers will be levied $75 each assessment.
Goulburn issued a four-point motherhood statement, indicating no domestic users in Wingecarribee or Goulburn would be disadvantaged etc.
That didn’t stop Lazza flying into a fury and drafting a four-point Notice of Motion waffling on about Goulburn “profiteering” from water sourced from us and Shoalhaven, being deceitful about using what was only an emergency drought relief measure and seeking comment from Shoalhaven Shire plus local members of parliament.
Predictably, the Halsteadies rose as one behind his parochial banner and gave visiting Goulburn-Mulwaree Deputy Mayor Cr Neil Penning a right earful, admitting always G-M had a perfect legal right to sell the water and maybe offset the $400,000 power bill to pump it.
The one voice of sweet reason amid the storm of words was that of Duncan “do good” Gair, who introduced some historical facts instead of the load of hysterical nonsense to point out the Water Board had built the dam and Fitzroy Falls reservoir as the hub of the massive Shoalhaven water scheme to “drought-proof” Sydney’s supply in the mid-1970s.
An earlier alternative had been to dam Kangaroo Valley and turn it into a second Warragamba - a nice engineering solution or the Welcome Reef plan for the upper Shoalhaven River, blocked by dreaded “greenies”.
In any event, the local solution prevailed as Bowral had gone through a severe shortage in the late 1950s that saw cement agitator trucks ferrying water to Bowral Hospital to supply the newly opened Milton Park Wing.
Mayor David Wood signed a very advantageous agreement to supply Bowral forever in exchange for Wingecarribee Swamp water rights.
Every local area had suffered water shortages, built dams and run out again until finally the entire Wingecarribee Shire reticulation area was inter-connected and underwritten always by Woodsy’s signature and the Sheepwash source.
WSC now pays Sydney Water about $1 million annually for the water it sells for domestic, commercial and industrial use in our shire and we profit mightily in our overflowing water fund, but who’s counting?
Wake up, Wingecarribee thinkers. You’re being conned by populist hysteria to serve base political motives.
TULIP TIME was another issue where recent events overshone past successes, with Mayor Ken “I play hardball” Halstead calling for a “major overhaul” adding “and (Tourism Manager) Steve Rosa agrees”.
Council will undertake a revamp of Corbett Gardens, from trip hazards to garden beds, provision in the next budget for the work, and they’ll look at the TT committee structure, brought on by a balance sheet in the red by $36,000 (aided by 10 wet days), plus some deficiencies in the street parade.
Ye Ken would hasten to say his little problem with a red fire engine ride did not influence any comments about parade organisation, and I concur.
They did give their rep, Graham “let the good times roll” McLaughlin and the staff a bit of a cheer and Graham was quick to thank the committee, but it was all a bit muffled in comparison to TTs of old.
MARY STREET may not come to mind as Mittagong’s centre of urban development, but the north-facing, 70-plus hectare block sweeping down towards Renwick could be the next big thing in Landcom development.
Suddenly the O’Farrell government is going the way of its predecessors and is set to over-ride local planners to overcome the residential land drought on Sydney’s outskirts.
Remember, Landcom has done all the hard access work, with a bridge over the railway, lights and intersection in place for access, drainage on the way and no planning impediments.
Stand by for Renwick 2 - The Sequel.
QUESTIONERS, or as the late Jim Shepherd once called them “queryists”, were again the most interesting part of the latest econ-fest at The Towers.
Charlie Johns wanted to know where the Poor Jim Mauger Code of Conduct decisions were going, amid shouts from Lazza about “character assassination” and Mayor Ye Ken warning grimly about “legal action”.
Don’t know what the problem was - it’s all part of the Minutes.
Ian Scandrett proved they wouldn’t save much by sacking a handful of directors and thereby losing a heap of experience.
Time will tell, but the quiet departure of Michael Brearley to his Penrose farm on a day’s notice was the greatest loss this council will experience in many decades of top-down reshuffling.
Now they have a list of 11 from which to choose the next Aunt Sallys ... sorry, assistant Sallys, er Assistant GMs.
DUDLEY’S mate Paddy says to Mick, “I’m ready for a holiday, only this year I’m going to do it a bit different. Three years ago I went to Spain and Mary got pregnant.
“Two years ago I went to Italy and Mary got pregnant.
“Last year I went to Majorca and Mary got pregnant.”
“Mick asks: “So what are you going to do this year?”
Paddy replies: “I’ll take her with me!”
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