By blindly following his leader, Mr Barilaro is heading for certain defeat at the forthcoming elections. The LNPs forced council policy is tearing their reputation apart, especially in country NSW. Here in Gundagai we are slowly but surely losing our uniqueness. We are now part of the twin towns of Cootamundra and Gundagai. All our approaches to the government to demerge our two councils have fallen on deaf ears.

Do I like John Barilaro ? Contrary to what some people may think, yes, I do like him, and I intend to help him save himself from going down the gurgler when he comes up for re-election. I am led to believe that John is an avid tennis man so I am proposing to send a consignment of tennis balls over to him. When he has them, I am hopeful that he will get out there on the court and practice. Hopefully, this may give him the courage to stand on his own two feet and save his political career. Maybe this will all be too little too late. 

Quietly initiated on September 1 was the state’s new Emergency Services Speed Limit of 40kmh. Our authorities have not favoured us with much information, apart from the penalties involved for disobedience and a brief description. One would think that because this is a 12 month trial, we would be provided with full details. Because all of us are bound by it, we should all read (the policy), then think about it.

There is no doubt about the desirability of protecting the lives of those who must work near traffic. This rule will probably work satisfactorily in urban areas with traffic normally travelling at 50 or 60, where there’s more time to safely lose only a relatively small amount of speed.

Just how this rule would work safely on a main highway like the Hume is not encouraging. How do drivers, after encountering red and blue flashing lights around a bend, safely meet the requirement to lose about 70km/hr before reaching them? Imagine heavy holiday traffic including trucks and caravans, I’ll say no more.  Surely it is more safe to require drivers to move to the next lane away (if safe) to provide space from the roadside people. There is grave risk of this rule, in this situation, creating more risk as it is designed to prevent. If it is to be enforced, there is another discretionary variable that must be addressed. The location of a crash or fire is not discretionary, it’s therefore not controlled by the people working around it. Other circumstances affected by this rule involve the active choice to stop near fast moving traffic with red and blue flashing lights displayed. I refer, in particular, to Highway Patrol cars enforcing rules. Nothing has been said about a driver’s right to wait for a safe place off the road before pulling over. It is now more important than ever to avoid the involvement of all the passing traffic in something that’s not an emergency.