Letters to the editor

This year we are exploring the Murray — from its source near Cowombat Flat as far as Swan Hill.

In every town along the way we first contact the local information centre to ensure we discover all the local treasures.

We also open our wallets and eat and feast locally — we buy local crafts, produce and memorabilia to take home with us.

We were completely taken aback when on arrival in Moama we immediately headed to, and arrived at, the seemingly recently non-existent Echuca-Moama Visitor Centre.

There we discovered it no longer exists and we were directed to the wharf area by someone in an office there.

The wharf area was very sleepy but we did take a ride on the Pevensey paddle-steamer.

We then tried calling both NSW and Victorian national parks offices (please leave a message) and then drove to the Murray River Council offices on Perricoota Rd.

There the staff tried to help, but clearly, it’s not their job.

Never mind, they suggested maybe the Yorta Yorta Centre at Barmah could help.

We drove to Barmah and found the Yorta Yorta Centre could answer some of our questions about Cummeragunja, and they gave us one helpful local map.

And … they suggested there’s an information centre at Mathoura.

We drove there and thankfully, yes, there is an information centre at Mathoura.

It’s small, but it’s open and the staff were very helpful!

They encouraged us to visit many fascinating sites around Mathoura.

Extremely interesting, thank you.

But on getting back to our lovely accommodation in Moama, we decided best to cut our stay in Echuca-Moama short and head on downriver to Swan Hill.

On reading two copies of the Riv, we realised what an unsupported decision it had been to close the information centre.

We really wanted to write in support of the energy and interest there is and has been from the local community to build and support such a centre.

Whatever the decision has been to close or move the centre seems to us absolutely not in the best interests of your town.

We both wholeheartedly support the sentiments of the Riv’s letter writers — a really good information centre delivers wonderful support to travellers and tourists and thus to the local community.

Please, please reconsider your decision and quickly reinstate the information centre here.

Elizabeth Lloyd and Valerie Atkinson,

Randwick

Centre’s closure ‘catastrophic’ call

The closure of the Echuca-Moama Visitor Information Centre is a catastrophic decision made by the Echuca-Moama Tourism Board and the councils on both sides of the river.

A bizarre decision shrouded in secrecy — it is believed the decision for the closure was made in February, but kept secret until July.

The tourism and hospitality industry generates revenue in excess of $350 million per year for the twin towns and surrounding districts.

A huge employer and driver of a vibrant community.

But, wiser heads at EMT board level believe destination marketing and digital information will replace the friendly face-to-face contact from our wonderful staff and volunteers at our vibrant visitor centre.

It’s time for a fair dinkum rethink.

Ross Veale,

Former chair of Echuca-Moama Tourism

Selection of finals venues is puzzling at best

I have been thinking about the Goulburn Valley Football League administration and their actions in the placing of venues for the current finals.

It seems to me that their first objective is: where do we place these two teams to get the smallest crowd?

Now I am only interested in Echuca, so take week one of the finals, with Echuca playing Seymour in Benalla.

That is too far for an old guy like me, so I can only imagine how big the crowd would be.

What about week two?

Echuca and Kyabram sent to play at Euroa.

What was the crowd there?

I’ll make another comment.

Surely the side that finished on top of the ladder at the end of the season could be rewarded with, say, one final.

What sort of a crowd would we get if Echuca played Kyabram in Echuca?

Big crowds surely mean a bigger dividend for all clubs.

I was thinking if the AFL were to run on the same logic as the GVFL, then Collingwood would be sent to Perth, Darwin or maybe even Paris.

It all seems madness to me.

Kevin Woolnough,

Echuca Football Club supporter

Meetings welcomed

I would like to express our gratitude for the two meetings that were held in Rochester recently.

The first, on August 22, was informative.

We actually found out at this meeting about the Lake Eppalock technical assessment being undertaken by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action following the 2022 floods and the five options that are being looked at.

This was information that we were not aware of until this meeting.

It was really great to have the Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee Inquiry here in Rochester on August 23 to listen to the many key speakers during the day and to also have an open mic session at 3pm that allowed many other residents to tell their stories.

Well done to all of those who contributed and to those who organised this meeting to be held here in Rochester.

We really hope that some action is going to be taken this time, as a lot of people know that not much was done after the 2011 floods and we cannot do this again.

Paul Poort,

Rochester

The Voice will make a difference

The Salvation Army is one of the biggest providers of social services in Australia. We are a pragmatic movement, not really into empty gestures or performative virtue signalling. I don’t think in our 140-year history in Australia we have ever been called “elites”.

But we do support the Voice.

We support the Voice, simply, because we believe it will make a difference.

For 140 years, the Salvos have rolled up their sleeves and helped where we can. We started small by assisting discharged prisoners at the prison gates in Melbourne and now we provide over 2000 services across every state and territory in Australia. We support people experiencing homelessness, family and domestic violence, financial hardship, unemployment, substance use disorders, social isolation and loneliness, and help them recover from natural disasters.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are over-represented in almost every service we deliver — and that’s why we support a Voice.

There is no escaping the fact that what we are doing right now, as a nation, is not working.

The Salvos will always do what we can on the ground, but the issues we see are deeper; they are structural and systemic. We believe the only way to practically address the hardship experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is to change how the government makes and carries out policy. We believe the best way to do that is to actually listen to the people affected — to give them a voice.

Not everyone agrees with us on this, and that’s okay. We just ask that people respectfully consider, before they decide on October 14: “Will the Voice make a difference for people who really need help?”

We think the answer is a resounding yes.

Captain Stuart Glover,

The Salvation Army Australia

Act now for dementia-friendly future

During this year’s Dementia Action Week (September 18 to 24) we are encouraging people to learn more about the signs and symptoms of the condition and how to make their communities more accessible to people living with dementia.

There are estimated to be more than 400,000 Australians living with dementia and more than 1.5 million involved in their care — and those numbers are set to rise.

As dementia diagnoses increase, it’s important to learn more about the signs and symptoms and how to make our communities more accessible to people living with dementia.

That’s why this year’s theme for Dementia Action Week is ‘Act Now for a Dementia-Friendly Future’. Many people can continue to live well with dementia, but it’s important they feel supported in their community.

Greater awareness helps to create discussion and break down stigma or barriers that could stop people from seeking help. Increasing our understanding of dementia can make a big difference to the lives of people around us who are impacted.

There are things we can all do to make our communities more dementia-friendly.

To find out how you can make a difference, please visit dementia.org.au.

Maree McCabe and Bobby Redman,

Dementia Australia chief executive officer and advisory committee chair

Lost in the hysteria

Recent Australian research has found an overwhelming majority of youth vaping is experimental and short-term, with only one in 20 14- to 17-year-olds vaping frequently. Importantly, half of these were already smokers.

This is a far cry from the alarmist headlines of a youth vaping ‘epidemic’ and a ‘new generation addicted to nicotine’ which has generated draconian enforcement measures at schools and created a political environment where total bans are viewed as favourable.

Media reports on vaping rates rarely distinguish frequent vaping from lifetime or ever-vaping — i.e., people who experimented with vaping but did not pick up the habit long-term. These measures substantially over-estimate the rate of frequent vaping.

Many young people who vape were former or current smokers who turned to vaping as a safer alternative or as a quitting aid, according to the National Drug Strategy Household Survey.

A 2022 of 721 youth aged 14 to 17 in NSW found only 16 per cent had vaped in the past 30 days. However, more than half vaped on only one to five days in the month. Of the total sample just 5 per cent were vaping frequently (defined as six times or more in the past 30 days) and only 37 per cent were vaping nicotine. Other recent studies have found similar results.

The very low rate of frequent vaping by non-smoking youth in Australia is a similar phenomenon to other western countries. In New Zealand, just 4.3 per cent of young people vape daily. In England, only one per cent do so more than once per week.

Of course, the Australian Government has a responsibility to protect all young people from nicotine addiction. However, current policy is swimming in a swamp of misinformation, distorting the benefits of effective policies on nicotine vaping products.

These restrictions have created a hotbed of illicit black-market vaping products, often supplied by dangerous criminal gangs and sold freely to children.

For Australia to get a proper handle on the illicit vaping crisis, the government needs to abandon the fearmongering and understand the role that nicotine vaping products play in helping adult smokers quit deadly cigarettes.

The truth is, vaping is the most effective quitting aid for cigarettes, and is substantially safer than smoking tobacco. Nobody has ever died from vaping nicotine. Meanwhile, smoking kills two in three long-term smokers. Denying access to a potentially lifesaving product as a result of misleading data costs Australian lives. As is the misinformation that is deterring smokers from considering a product that could save their lives.

Further, if nicotine vaping products were available as adult-only consumer products, the black market and its inherent dangers would wither away. Fewer young people would have the opportunity to experiment as a result, and fewer would become unnecessarily addicted to nicotine.

Vaping is not recommended for non-smokers, especially young people; however, concerns about the harms of youth vaping are greatly disproportional to the harm it causes. We need to change the way we look at youth vaping. Factual, evidence-based awareness campaigns are necessary to do so. Consequently, it seems, the government requires the same factual information if they are to create effective policies which save lives and protect Australia’s future generations.

Dr Colin Mendelsohn,

Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association founding chairman

Energy shock

When you open your electricity bill, you’re likely to get a ‘shock’, as costs keep going up.

Before the last state election Labor promised to lower energy bills, but costs have skyrocketed, putting significant pressure on families.

Prices recently went up by 25 per cent and in some cases electricity costs have doubled.

Despite being in power for many years, Labor has failed to deliver reliable and affordable energy for Victorians.

Power bills continue to rise, placing households under pressure when they can least afford it.

Amid a cost-of-living crisis, many regional Victorians are grappling with the heart-wrenching choice between staying warm or putting food on the table.

Last year, Victorians reaching out to the National Debt Helpline were burdened with an average energy bill debt of $2459 — an alarming increase of 43 per cent compared to the previous year.

In a recent report the Energy and Water Ombudsman revealed that disconnection cases doubled in the most recent quarter.

A report by the Australian Energy Market Operator shows that Victoria now holds the title of having the worst energy security in the country.

The energy minister has refused to rule out power blackouts this summer, and the situation is likely to get worse over the next 10 years.

Victoria’s largest power stations are due to close in 2028 and 2035. Between them they produce 50 per cent of the state’s electricity supply.

Victoria’s largest offshore wind project is years away from production, and transmission lines need to be upgraded across the state.

Labor’s decision to ban gas in new homes will place even further pressure on supply, and lead to further price increases.

Victorians are growing tired of Labor’s spin.

Before the last election, Labor made big promises about the SEC, but 10 months on nothing has been delivered.

Victoria’s energy transition needs to consider all energy options in an environmentally responsible way, because every household and business deserves clean, affordable and reliable power.

Gaelle Broad,

Nationals Member for Northern Victoria

OPINION POLICY

The Riverine Herald welcomes letters to the editor.

All letters must carry the writer’s name, address and telephone number for verification purposes.

Preference will be given to shorter letters emailed to editor@riverineherald.com.au or you can post your letter to Riverine Herald, 28 Percy St, Echuca, 3564.

The editor reserves the right to edit all letters, either for length or legal reasons, or omit letters.

The views of the letter writers don’t necessarily reflect the views of the paper.