Archive for Community

| October 8, 2012
One comment

It’s a Sad World

What a melancholic world it would be if all letters to the editor and all contributions to a debate were devoid of humour, rhetoric and, yes, even sarcasm. Sadder still if it was up to the editor of the paper to filter out all correspondence with even a hint of these attributions. Yet that is just the world that Southern Highland News letter writer N Pryor would have us inhabit.
N Pryor, (stated firmly as of Bowral’s east), responded recently to my letter about proposals to re-name East Bowral to something else.

I will not re-state the various alternatives I offered, for fear of once again drawing N Pryor’s wrath. However, to respond briefly to his/her points:

  • I am not ashamed of myself to have brought some levity to the debate. It is one that should be had with a twinkle in the eye as we are not discussing sending troops to war, or methods to alleviate poverty or anything nearly so serious.
  • I have lived in the Southern Highlands for (nearly) all of my 26 years, and I adore it. I would not live nor work anywhere else if there were opportunities to stay and contribute. Sadly, for many people of my age, this area offers little in the way of employment or education. Nonetheless, I have stayed thus far because of the region’s beauty, safety and community spirit.
  • I did not claim that any of the options to formally rename East Bowral were endorsed by all residents, and I too eagerly await the outcome of the community survey.
  • If N Pryor is relying only on the community newsletter for his/her information, then he/she is as informed as I on the matter and ought not cast mindless aspersions on my knowledge.
  • I began volunteering in this community at 13 years of age. I have spent thousands of hours since in activities with a wide variety of community-based organisations. Should N Pryor or anyone else be interested in further details of this volunteering, they would find Google or the search engine on this paper’s website to be a useful tool.

I look forward to N Pryor’s continued engagement through the pages of this paper, or online. However, I will not be inclined to respond again if the personal attacks, ignorant aspersions, and lack of humour evident in the first letter is still on display.

Category: Community | Tags: , ,
| September 27, 2012
One comment

East Bowral, Actually

In light of the new push to re-name that suburb east of Bowral to something more befitting (I have heard ‘Bowral Gardens’ mentioned as a probable alternative), please see below some further suggested names for residents to consider.

  • If the aim is to disassociate from big brother Olde Bowral, then perhaps West Roberston will suffice?
  • To reflect the style of row upon row of home with little heed for what was there before, South Campbelltown.
  • To put pretension front and centre, North Burradoo
  • If they just want to be ‘put on the map’, then try North Haverbrook.

Should Bowral’s eastern residents wish to complain about my suggestions, please look me up at ‘Mittagong Links’.

Category: Community | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
| March 13, 2012
4 comments

The Plane, Sir, The Plane

It seems a near certainty that a second Sydney airport will be built soon. If only they could agree on a site!

The recently released Joint Study on Aviation Capacity in the Sydney Region [PDF] proposed Badgerys Creek once again as the best option. However, Transport Minister Anthony Albanese quickly ruled that out. Instead, Wilton – the report’s ‘second best’ option – seems the clear favourite. The town has clear access to the Hume Highway, and is quite close to the main southern railway line. However, it is also near water catchment areas (ironically, the site is identified in the report by the names given to its two Sydney Water dams) and flights would take off and land over Wollongong’s Northern Suburbs. The proposal has alarmed residents of the Macarthur area. Wollondilly Shire’s Mayor has also spoken out against the proposal. The Wilton airport would be inside his Council area.

Further up the hill away from Sydney, the Southern Highland News rejoiced at the suggestion, hoping it could bring economic opportunity for the region. But residents in the Highlands should be careful what they wish for. The Government ruled out Badgerys Creek based on local opposition, and if there is enough opposition to Wilton, they could backflip again. In the report, the Southern Highlands (defined as “Mittagong, Moss Vale, Berrima and surrounds” on page 186) was identified as one of the seven most preferred sites. If enough of a Highlands-based support for the Wilton site is developed, the government could well assume it might be wanted closer to home. After all, the same road and rail advantages apply, and the airport itself could be built further away from dams. Sites that spring to mind include land west of Mittagong beyond the existing airport, around Yerrinbool, or even between Berrima and Moss Vale (right next to the mostly under-utilised economic enterprise zone).

For what it’s worth, I still think a Canberra airport expansion is the best option, provided it is accompanied by a high speed rail link to Sydney.

What are your thoughts?

Category: Community, Media | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| March 13, 2012
No comments

Rotary VS Rotaract Twitter Showdown

Rotary vs Rotaract Twitter Showdown

Visual.ly has just released a bunch of tools that allow users to display stats from Twitter and Facebook in infographics. I used one of the tools to compare the Twitter accounts @Rotary and @Rotaract. Rotary monstered Rotaract on almost all the measurements. While on one hand the results were unsurprising, on the other hand they do pose some questions. Rotary has a much bigger profile than Rotaract around the world, so it is not surprising to see they have more followers. However, Rotaractors are Gen-Yers and it would be fair to assume they have a higher level of engagement with social media than Rotarians do. I’ve only had a cursory glance at the stats, as there really are other things I need to be doing right now.

If you see anything interesting, point it out.

Category: Community, Social Media, Web | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
| March 11, 2012
No comments

It’s Just a Conference

In 2010, I attended the Asia Pacific Regional Rotaract Conference in Sydney. It was the first time APRRC had been held in Australia. Evidently, Australians had been conspicuous by their absence from conferences elsewhere. The Sydney conference was a good first attempt, given many of the organisers had never been to one before. Nonetheless, there were some things that could have been improved.

I came away from that conference interested in the potential of the conferences, convinced of Rotaract’s ability to melt borders, and inspired by many of the people I had met. I also wondered whether my district, which centres on Canberra, would be able to host APRRC at some time in the future. 2014 seemed like the ideal time, given the Rotary International Convention will be in Sydney that year, and APRRC could serve as an ideal warm up act for Rotaractors from our region. We would have made the bid this year in Thailand. For various reasons, including the relatively small population of Rotaractors in our district (we only have two clubs at present), we decided to do away with that idea. Instead, it was generally agreed by senior Rotaractors that a bid for the Australian Rotaract Conference might be more appropriate. ARC is only in its third year in 2012, but few (or no) other districts were forthcoming in making a bid.

These conferences provide a number of advantages, including the opportunity for personal development of host members and a chance to boost interest in Rotaract in the region. They also offer good fundraising opportunities. For attendees, the conferences should give them a chance to meet and network with other Rotaractors, be inspired, and hear from great Rotaract and non-Rotaract speakers.

I’m very pleased that we won that bid. By happy circumstance, the conference director will be my girlfriend Meghan, who is the 2012-13 District Rotaract Representative.

This morning, we had the first meeting of our district Rotaract committee since we received official word on the bid. We have a lot to do, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.

Category: Community | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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