State Government shift costs, business lobbies for more financial gain, developers demand flexibility and faster development application processing, many organisations see council as an easy source of funds, almost everyone wants the Southern Highlands’ amenity and lifestyle.

To my dismay I’ve discovered some people in our community have an almost pathological dislike of council, of some staff and councillors in particular. Accusations of corruption, incompetence, nepotism and such are shared among this ilk. Certainly this and worse has been said to me but I have seen evidence of none.

Council works hard. Council isn’t omnipotent nor responsible for everything. State Government determines council’s role. Resources are limited. After spending years in large private corporations I can confidently state that by and large this council delivers the key infrastructure services very well.

Tourists flock here, businesses are growing, Aldi and Woolworths plan to build, housing approval rates are the highest ever. This is a council success story in establishing a balance between infrastructure and amenity. The proof is in the pudding, people are voting by coming here in ever-great numbers.

Whatever malcontents say about this and previous councils, no one can dispute that this council’s performance is a major factor in making the Wingecarribee Shire the envy of NSW. Where else would you rather live? So I ask those in the community to look beyond anger and take the time to appreciate this wonderful place. Take a deep breath and look afresh.

Join a council committee, join a productive community group – there are plenty who need active informed volunteers. Go for a walk in one of our beautiful parks, hug a tree and smell the tulips. We do indeed live in a wonderful part of the world. Wingecarribee Shire, a great place to live, work and play.

So Angus Taylor says that more renewables will send a “wrecking ball” through the economy, according to a story in the Australian Financial Review (Sept 17). “We’ll all be rooned.” I’ve heard that before somewhere. 

Oh, that’s right. Wasn’t one of his colleagues predicting something like that in Wyalla – “wiping them off the map” – if Ms Gillard gets her way with a carbon tax. It didn’t happen, like many of the doomsayers’ predictions with renewables. Or was it Mr Abbott who said we would all get a $500 discount off our energy bills once he abolished the “Carbon tax” – which wasn’t a tax anyway. What happened to “Axe the tax” Mr Taylor? The “tax” is gone, but no bill relief.

Pity the English who already generate more than 25 per cent of their electricity from renewables or the EU who have a target of 30 per cent by 2030. Or Wales (they’re the ones with the Welsh coal mines), who have announced a target of 70 per cent by 2030. They’ve got a wrecking ball heading in their direction I suppose. Mr Taylor is meant to represent the electors of Hume – one of the best places in Australia to generate power from renewables, one of the best ways to generate income for the region, and one of the best places to live if you are a farmer and can drought-proof your farm by earning income from wind and solar.

We already know that wholesale prices are coming down because of renewables. The problem is the rest of the electricity bill – the other 75 per cent that isn’t from the actual power but the poles and wires and the retail margin. How’s Mr Taylor going to force the now privatised retailers to toe the line unless he employs socialist-style measures to disrupt the market he so admires?