your say
Letters to the editor THE area is growing, this [Woolworths] is needed. It is out of the main town centre so I hope this goes ahead. I drive to Maroochydore to do my shop, it is more than 20mins to get there. Also, it is money being spent in the town instead of out of it.
Carol McCormick, Cooroy I WAS horrified to see in the Bouquets and Brickbats section of the August edition a “BRICKBAT” with the writer calling for the Cooroy-Noosa road speed limit to be restored to 100 kph. Whoever wrote that clearly has no appreciation of the carnage that has taken place on this road over many years. I would also assume that the writer lives in Cooroy or Noosa and does not have the dangerous experience of turning on and off this road. The turn into Sivyer’s Road off the Cooroy-Noosa before the reduction in the speed limit was the scene of some terrifying accidents. Ask any resident of Sivyer’s Road, Gumboil Road, Clearview Road or Colwood Road who has to make the right turn into Sivyer’s when arriving from the Noosa/Tewantin direction what it felt like to take one’s life in one’s hands. Residents have formally petitioned Council and State for a solution in the form of a properly marked turning area (as now exists for the Sunshine Road turn off). The Road Traffic Authority recognises it as a black spot but does not have the funding to carry out the works. There are other intersections such as Dath Henderson, which are also very dangerous. Sadly, it will likely take a fatality for government to take action. The lowering of the speed limit to 80 kph has reduced the risk to a great degree and brought us some comfort while we continue to wait for a proper turning to put in place.
Hugh McGarry, Cooroy
Editors note: Sivyer’s Rd intersection being upgraded, see page 4 WHEN fishing licences were proposed in Queensland by the then State Government, the opposition by voters was so huge that if the licence was brought in, the State Government would have lost the next election by a landslide. But when it comes to a new tax, they bide their time and around the year 2000, they talked freshwater fishing clubs into agreeing to the licence in some freshwater impoundments, with the promise of most of the funds raised going into restocking the impoundments, so the clubs wouldn’t have to fundraise to do this. To their credit, this has mostly been the case. The fees were set at around $35 for a family. With the new increase in effect from August 2021, it will now cost $57 for a single person. The cost of fish fingerlings has not increased anywhere near the rise in fees.
Now there is a proposal by one group to have an overboard freshwater fishing licence statewide. Whether this would do away with the present licence cost, or be a second fee is not known at this point. Most fishermen I know are against this proposal, knowing full well as time goes on the stocking would decrease and admin fees will keep climbing. Quite some years ago a survey was done on the cost to an amateur fisherman per fish caught. It was around $30 per fish, taking into account GST, rego, insurance, fuel tax, cost of fishing gear, bait, licences, and on the list goes. This would be much higher if done in the current year. Due to the incompetence of bureaucrats, no decision has yet been made on whether the Lake Macdonald wall will be replaced in the near future, or at all. Don’t dare ask anyone in fisheries, water board or government, they are all too frightened to stand on someone’s toes. So the local stocking group has not been stocking for three years due to indecision. This means missing out on roughly $18,000 in funds to restock. Where has this money gone? The stocking group places around 40,000 fingerlings into the lake per year. Due to fish stock losses over the spillway wall due to floods, natural predators and fishing, the fish numbers are decreasing and will take years to get back to previous levels, and good-sized fish. So do we get an exemption offered on fishing licences for Lake Macdonald? NO. Do we get an increase in licence fees? YES. It’s all about revenue! You’d think if they can’t make up their mind about our lake, they might look at the ever-increasing population in our area. Some years back we had a bad dry year or two in Gympie and the Sunshine Coast, causing very low dam levels, and we were close to running out of water. After some good rainfall and a top-up for our dams, Brisbane then had a bad dry spell with very low dam levels. Quick smart, the State Government put a water line in place to draw on water from the Sunshine Coast dams to supply Brisbane. We were in trouble then and I shudder at the thought of the next dry spell. Another increase in the Borumba Dam wall-size would make a huge difference to the capacity for it to keep up with the demand for water in Gympie and Sunshine Coast areas. We, as kids, and then our kids fished and camped in National Parks for free. This was a great and affordable lifestyle for lowincome families. Due to government fees and licensing, gone are those days. Short term government greed, long term financial and social cost to all taxpayers. Well, that’s my personal opinion and my little blowout. Happy fishing while you can afford it.
Gary Kenzler, Cooroy
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Cooroy Rag, 1 September 2021 - Page
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