Just sayin’...

from The Local July 3, 2023

by The Local - The Heart of the Highlands' community publication

Local Lines

By Donna Kelly

IWAS going to write about The Voice. It seemed appropriate given this week is NAIDOC Week. I know, National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee Week. I guess one day was not enough.

But then I started researching, even more than usual, and I don't know enough about The Voice to write about it. And I think that could be the problem. A lot of Australians don't know enough about it - even though millions will be spent on the referendum later this year.

And that is where, and I never, ever, thought I would say this, I agree with Peter Dutton. The referendum should be delayed. Of course, we all know that Yes is the correct answer to: "A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?". But a lot of us, myself included, would like a little more detail.

I think, as it stands, with the detail left until after the referendum, that the vote will be No. Australians are a suspicous lot and let's be honest, there is still racism and ignorance to overcome. I have very good friends, who would do anything for us, salt of the earth, but were always going to vote No. Mind you, they also watch Sky News.

Anyway, I thought instead I could write about the pandemic - and all those lockdowns. I have even got a TL tee-shirt that says "We're Victorians - We know lockdowns". Who knew it would ever be a bit of fun.

So during the lockdowns some people rearranged their pantries, or painted their walls or learnt how to make sourdough - hands up if you have now thrown away your starters? You know what I am talking about. Feeding them was only fun for a while. But other people, like former ABC legend Jon Faine wrote a book, and personal trainer Beth Whiting got herself ready to become a kettlebell world champion. Millie Gouldthorpe, as she went blind, literally threw herself into painting and Clunes' Karen Heap continued her amazing work as Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative CEO and has just been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia. These are some of the stories we have in this edition and I am, as ever, always amazed by the talent of the community. I know, Jon Faine does not live here, but he is a regular visitor and loves his time in the Central Highlands. So he gets a pass.

I have probably said before that when we first started The Local, Kyle asked what would happen if we ran out of stories. I told him that was never going to be a problem. And it hasn't. This is Issue 283 and I reckon we do about six feature stories in each edition. So that's roughly 1696 stories featuring people, places, history, festivals and events. And a total of 596 Just Sayin'...s and Kyle's Rants. (Those plural ss are annoying to look at - yet we must resist the temptation to make them possessive.) And we've even run 283 of Glen's garden columns - might have to double his wage when we get to 300.

We are quickly heading towards our 10th anniversary in September this year. Never thought about that when we started but there you go. There will be a little bit of a celebration - invites are going out in a few weeks. (Let me know if you want an invite...) But I guess the main celebration for most of our readers has been 10 years of free reads each fortnight - and weekly for the first year of the pandemic. We just felt we needed to keep our community informed. Will we be around for another 10 years? Why not? Powerball hasn't come up yet. And even if we won, we would still be here for the community. Wouldn't we? Just sayin'...

Ageing DisGracefully members, including Max Primmer, get together at the Daylesford Mill Markets cafe on Thursdays at 11am. All welcome. For information email ageingdis3461@gmail. com, call 0427 131 249 or head to the Ageing DisGracefully Facebook page.

Ageing DisGracefully is an initiative of Hepburn House.