Cinema

Reading—A beer with Baz Bazza folded his newspaper and took a moment to observe Mick, as he swaggered to the bar table. The light accentuated the dints in his shiny bald head and he exchanged a minimal nod for the odd ‘G’day there, Mick.’ Mick slid a full schooner across to Bazza and folded his arms.

He took a moment to scan the bar, pulled on his cauliflower ear, raised a single eye and finally took a sip. He nodded acknowledgment to Bazza. They sipped their beers in silence. Bazza mo oned to speak but opted to rub his chin. Mick let out a single sigh and looked beyond Bazza. The silence con nued.

Bazza shi ed on his bar stool.

“Well…….ah…. Mick…. The pollies are back in Canberra. It all seems to have a bit of a different…….” Mick squeezed his eyes. “Yeah….. I saw the opening of parliament on Tuesday, Bazza. It’s a bloody love in.” Another extended silence and sips of schooners. “I wouldn’t go that far, Mick……I mean….” Mick cut Bazza off with a grunt. “Parliament has become a chick flick, Bazza. A bloody rom-com. All this touchy-feely and compassion is making me sick. We’ve got a new Treasurer oozing sincerity and empathy while it costs me well over a hundred dollars to fill up the car with petrol. It will all end in tears.” Mick’s forehead glistened. “Hang on, Mick…….you can’t……” Mick slapped the table. “No Bazza, you just wait and see……..it will be Kumbayah with the Greens and before long every minority group in the country will be out of the woodwork demanding a en on.” “Well…..nothing wrong with a bit of consulta on, Mick. I reckon…..” Mick had one eye closed and his Cyclops stare silenced Bazza. “Before you know it, Bazza, there will be commi ees all over the place, inquiries and green papers. They will go for cabinet mee ngs in regional centres, listening tours and the like. They will throw a ton of money at the arts community and that bloody ABC. Poli cal correctness will run rampant and the ‘do good

Reading—A beer with Baz con nues industry’ will thrive. With all these women in parliament every feminist cause will be funded. It’s an unfolding nightmare.” “I don’t know about that, Mick. At least one speech this week indicates there are ratbags on either side of the gender divide. The Member for……” Mick kneaded his fist into his open hand and bared his bo om teeth.

“Nah….. the boys will have to toughen up, Bazza. ScoMo was too so and paid the price. Some early hits are needed. When you see a scumbag, call it out. The boys will need to muscle up to protect the joint and make sure things don’t get beyond the consulta on stage.” Mick leaned in.

“They need to go in hard and oppose, oppose and oppose.” Bazza shook his head and Mick rested both fists on his hips. Another extended silence.

“I be er shout another beer, Mick.” “Well I’m not opposed to that, Bazza.” Have a beer with Bazza at john.longhurst59@gmail.com

www.iga.com.au/

Recently, I held forums on local health issues in Moruya and Bega. They were a ended by over 60 members of the general community as well as local doctors, nurses, midwives and other health workers. It was a distressing experience to hear the despair of these cons tuents concerning the current health system. It reinforced my decision to take up this role as the local Member for Bega in the NSW Parliament. The Bega electorate has 3,500 residents with a history of cancer. There are 8,000 people with a mental health condi on. There are 27,000 cases of arthri s, asthma, diabetes and heart disease shared by many individuals. There are more than 11,000 children under the age of 14 years. But how many GPs, specialists, nurses, midwives and allied health workers do we have? Certainly less than we have lost. Specifically, the a endees at the forums iden fied the mal-distribu on of paediatric, psychiatric and geriatric services. They noted the reliance on FIFO locums who are being employed at great expense and without the provision of outpa ent consul ng or elec ve surgery. They noted that out of area local health districts are being funded to provide services which are or should be available locally. Most disturbing was the feedback from staff who reported that they were “scarcely maintaining services” and that the system was “poisonous” and “going backwards”. They commented that there was “chaos”, “disorganisa on” and “lack of cohesion”. There has been resigna on a er resigna on due to the sense of ingra tude, lack of care, and from being overworked, unsupported and under-resourced. There are repeated submissions to my office from residents who ask why do they have to birth in Canberra, why are antenatal clinics being closed and why are they being referred outside the coastal health network. I have received submissions regarding the lack of the most basic rights such as the right to good con nence, demen a and cancer care. Work has not commenced on the new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital, nor have the final bed numbers and models of care been released. Any cri cism on health services is invariably denounced as poli cising the issue. This is not a personal poli cally mo vated cri que of the NSW Government. These are the experiences of the community which I have been elected to represent. I cannot be an apologist for this Government’s neglect and failure on health care in my electorate. I have met last week with Ryan Park, Shadow Minister for Health and representa ves of the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives Associa on to discuss nego a ons towards safe working models in our local hospitals. Our community par cipants iden fied the need for State and Federal consulta on to resolve the issues of lack of GP access, workforce recruitment and reten on. With the NSW Shadow Minister for Health, Ryan Park, and our local Federal representa ves, Kristy McBain and Fiona Phillips, I will work on these issues. In the next two weeks I will be a ending the AMA Na onal Conference and the Na onal Rural Health Conference to hear from and to share our needs with na onal health workers.

OVER 20 members of the C. E. Church met at the cemetery on Saturday last and felled the two trees in the Methodist por on, the wood of which will be u lized in making the palings for guards required for the proposed avenue of trees in St. John’s Church ground. TORRENTIAL rains, accompanied by cyclonic gales, have fallen here during the week. All the low-lying land has been under water, but since the slight cessa on from rain on Thursday the water is fast receding. Owing to the heavy rain in Araluen, our river rose feet above the ordinary level, overflowing near the old showground [Albert Stewart Park, Shore Street] and at the steamer’s wharf [Riverside Park]. The mails and telegraphic and telephonic communica ons have been disorganized. The mail due here on Wednesday, via Nowra, arrived at 4 p.m. Thursday. Yesterday (Friday) the Nowra mail was despatched but the Bega mail was unable to get through, owing to Bodalla flats being under water. … A WELL-ATTENDED mee ng of farmers was held at Mosquito Bay on Wednesday night last, 19th inst.. The object of the mee ng was the building of a co-opera ve cheese factory. The tone of the mee ng was most enthusias c, and it was unanimously decided to erect a factory on a suitable site. Mr. H. B. O’Neill was appointed Hon. Secretary to this progressive movement. THROUGH the horse he was riding falling on him on Wednesday, Mr. Arthur Thomson so severely sprained his knee that Dr. Cutler found it necessary to put the injured member into plaster of Paris. H. J. Thomson will offer for sale today (Saturday) at the shop in Church Street, the late Mr. Robert Mitchell’s property at Congo, containing 244 acres of well-grassed land, divided into paddocks. EARLY on Sunday morning Mr. Clem Luck and his family were awakened by a crackling noise and on arising to inves gate discovered the detached building, comprising a dining room, kitchen and store room, ablaze. The alarm was at once given but the fire had too great a hold to be subdued by only buckets of water, and despite the willing efforts of the neighbor’s, the building together with the contents valued at about £150 were consumed by the powerful element.

Mr. H. P. Luck made a plucky a empt to enter the store room but was forced back by the flames which burst through when the door was opened. Only by the combined efforts of all hands and the calmness of the morning was the main building saved. Included in the ar cles burnt were large presses containing all the children’s clothing. Much sympathy is expressed for the Luck family in their loss.

YARNS is a collec on of curated stories about interes ng people and places from around the world which are presented with a unique focus. The luscious and exquisite Winter issue is out now! h ps://issuu.com/yarns/docs/yarns_winter_issue_03_2022

YARNS AND ITS AUTHOR Hi, I am Petra Jungmanova a Czech ar st, author and curator living in the beau ful bush Capital of Australia, Canberra. YARNS Magazine is my crea on. In the Czech Republic I was immersed in the crea ve arts, culture, adventure, and nature.

When I came to establish my new life in Australia some 20 years ago, I was determined to discover and expand upon the things I love in this amazing and unique new world that unfolded before me.

The inspira on for the Magazine came from my love for adventure, travel, human stories, and connec on to the land. I believe in the beauty and goodness in people, and that as we are the ul mate creators of our lives, we have the power to upli each other. Added to this is my convic on of our need to learn to connect with and understand the collec ve experiences of indigenous communi es around the world, as their stories become increasingly relevant to our lives today and for the future. In YARNS we will all share stories of various dreamers, roman cs, crea ves, travellers, adventurers, and achievers from Australia and other cultures around the world. People who have ‘walked the walk’ and are telling their unique ways of experiencing life in their own way. Plus, we will be featuring places and things, that I feel complement these experiences. YARNS will be published quarterly and contain a curated mix of stories from and about people, places, and things covering the tapestry of ‘real’ life in Australia and places overseas, told in our special way. Importantly, we at YARNS Magazine acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and the Tradi onal Owners and Custodians of the Lands where we live, learn, work and play; and we pay our respects to them and their elders, past, present, and future. Peace, love and happiness, Petra

MORUYA WOMENS GOLF Wednesday, 27th July It was s ff compe on among the 26 contender’s who competed in the Ladies Foursomes Championship held over 36 holes. Congratula ons to the 2022 Ladies Foursomes Champion’s, Robyn Hawkins & Melinda Asbury. Division 1

Gross Winner’s: Robyn Hawkins & Melinda Asbury score 188 Gross Runner’s-up: Jan Lumsden & Barbara Kennedy score 190 Ne Winner’s: Margaret Douglas & Marie Muriwai score 154 Ne Runner’s-up: Margareta Sirec & Kylie White score 158 Division 2 Gross Winner’s: Angie McMillan & Pauline Nash score 213 Gross Runner’s-up: Lyn Gibbs & Val Moore score 216 Ne Winner’s: Vicki Goodwin & Chris ne Bri en score 169 Ne Runner’s-up: Edith Jones & Marilyn Bingham score 170 Daily winner’s for the two rounds were: Round 1 Division 1: Margaret Douglas & Marie Muriwai - 72 ne Division 2: Cole e Blacklock & Kym Ba - 75 ne Round 2 Division 1: Margareta Sirec & Kylie White - 72.5 ne Division 2: Lyn Gibbs & Val Moore - 73.5 ne

Angie McMillan & Pauline Nash

Robyn Hawkins & Melinda Asbury

Marie Muriwai & Margaret Douglas

BROULEE RUNNER’S RESULTS WEDNESDAY 27 JULY 2022

As the weather improves, we can a ract more families to the run. We were pleased to honour Emerson Carver, who celebrated her 30th run with the group. The Carver’s are great supporters of the event with Mum Taryn, Dad Sco and sisters of Emerson, Alexis and Sophia, the family have notched up 360 runs between them. Fresh from her holiday on Magne c Island, where she did plenty of walking, Julianne Domeny was able to improve her 2-kilometre me by 50 seconds. Julie Amphle con nues her steady improvement with yet another PB in the 3-kilometres by 20 seconds. We can look forward to the actual appearance of Karen Harding-Smith and Dave Connaughton, who are on track to achieve significant milestones with the event.

Above: The Carver family Alexis, Sco , Sophia, Emerson (30 run girl) and Mum Taryn

Batemans Bay Seniors Tennis Tournament - 19-21 August

The Batemans Bay Seniors Tennis Tournament will be held once again at the Batemans Bay Tennis Complex at Hanging Rock. As you may be aware Batemans Bay Tennis Club is a non-profit organisa on run by volunteer members, we are very proud to be hos ng this popular event in partnership with Tennis Australia. The tournament which is played over the August 19th to

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weekend caters for players upwards of 30 years of age. There will be all the standard events like singles, doubles and mixed for 30, 40-, 50-, 60- and 70-year-olds. Players can also play in the combined age events which cater for doubles partners with combined ages from 60 to over 140. Entry fees are only $20 for singles and $15 for double’s events. The tournament is very popular and a racts up to 200 players of all standards plus their families and entourage. Players and supporters come from all over Australia to visit our beau ful surrounds and to play in the tournament. There is also the added a rac on of the club’s canteen. Our members and their friends serve up a variety of homemade hot and cold food including our world-famous soups. All spectators get in for free, players can register via our website at: h ps://www.batemansbaytennis.com.au/ or h ps://www.tsnsw.com.au/tournaments