The Editor

Dear Sir,

Displaying their usual sense of impeccable timing, just while the whole of Australia is being enthralled by the exploits of our national swimming team in Japan, Wingecarribee Council, last Wednesday, voted overwhelmingly to close two of our own swimming centres.

From the sham of a debate, which clearly indicated that the councillors had already made up their collective minds, one can only wonder how in touch they are with the residents and ratepayers they purport to represent.

Cr Carter for one thinks that the pools are only open for two months while Cr Reynolds contributed the only way he knows how by dragging out the old economic rationalist argument that Council budget subsidise pool users!

Excuse me, Cr Reynolds but I thought that the provision of services was one of the reasons I pay my rates.

And if it is not the Council budget, then who exactly subsidises the Bowral, Mittagong, Moss Vale and mobile libraries?

As a sweetener to the loss of these two pools, Cr Gair suggested that a free bus service will be provided in the Bowral aquatic centre, however I noted that this was later watered down by Mayor Yeo to a ‘subsidised bus service.’

Notwithstanding the sheer logical nonsense of such an idea I wonder how long it would take Cr Reynolds to begin to question the cost of this subsidy and demand its scrapping.

The saddest indictment of this whole sorry affair comes from a group of local teenagers - the future of our Shire - who, when told that Moss Vale and Mittagong pools will close, replied, “another reason why we can’t wait to get outta here.”

Dismal isn’t it!

Yours faithfully,

Colin F Beszant,

Moss Vale.