The price for farm milk should be regulated so they receive a living wage for their efforts and the wealth they make can be spread out into rural communities.

Let the processors and retailers pass on the expense to the consumers.  

One wonders if there is too much profit-taking by middle men if the farmer gets around 35c to 50c a litre and the consumer pays $1.

It was announced that a supermarket chain will charge an extra 20c which will go to a fighting fund to help farmers.

This seems bizarre to me as it was the retailers that started the problem in the first place by wanting to sell milk cheaper than water. It seems to me that the government needs to regulate a fair farmgate price for milk.

This will protect our rural communities and stop small business from being consumed by large corporations, where instead of profits being shared by local communities they will leave the local area and go to head office somewhere offshore.

THANKS to Ray Goodlass (The Daily Advertiser, May 17) for pointing out the multiple paradoxes that Baird's new Biodiversity Bill contains.

He nails a key point: that the native vegetation act and the brake that it puts on broadscale land clearing helps us all.

For farmers, the act is key to protecting soils and productivity. No-one wins by increasing clearing.

It's for these reasons that environment groups, who are united in their opposition to the reforms, support stewardship payments for farmers but also retaining regulations on clearing.

Gundagai, now is the time to embrace change.

As a community you've fought hard against the rising tide and should be commended for that fight.

However now it is time to make the best of the situation that we are in.

The merger is a reality we need to deal with it and move on so we can create a strong combined council.

The people of Gundagai that I know aren't whingers, we have battled in sport against bigger opposition and have lost with grace just as we have equally enjoyed our successes.

So what is the situation? 

A proclamation has been made by the state government and the wheels have been set in motion.

Now the huge job of putting this newly announced Gundagai Council together is upon us.

My mum Christine has been appointed as the administrator and she will work together with the staff of both councils and a panel of past mayors and councillors to put the processes and hierarchy in place to facilitate fresh council elections in 18 months.

We need those with the intimate local knowledge to play an active role in this process so we can get the best possible outcome for the people of the shire.

I can ensure you that she will do her best. I am very proud of her and extremely glad that we haven't been appointed some pencil pusher from Sydney.

She'll need help and I hope that you'll all help too.

Our overall goal should be for growth. Growth in jobs, growth in population and subsequent growth in services.

All eminently possible under the guise of the new Gundagai council. So let's dig in, get through to the new elections and really get behind the task that is at hand.