Braidwood Bugle FREE Independent News for Braidwood & the District www.braidwoodbugle.com.au Number 57 26 May 2021 New RFS Shed opened at Majors Creek The NSW Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) Lake George District “This new building is greatly welcomed and will not only celebrated the opening of a new fire station at Majors Creek assist with vehicle housing, but with training and the fighting on Saturday. of fires locally and the old station will be repurposed for use NSW RFS Assistant Commissioner Kelly Browne joined Tim by the community." Overall, Mayor Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council and Assistant Commissioner Browne added the NSW RFS is NSW RFS District staff and Brigade members at an event to committed to providing volunteer firefighters with the mark the station’s official opening and thank volunteers for equipment, infrastructure and resources they need to carry their ongoing service to the community. out the important work of protecting their local “This excellent new station built at a cost of almost $829,000 communities from fire and a diverse array of incidents. is a modern, standalone, fit for purpose building that is “I would like to take this time to praise all our volunteers for greatly welcomed by the volunteers and the communities their ongoing efforts each and every day, particularly when they serve,” Asst. Commissioner Browne said dealing with emergencies here in Lake George District. “I wish to thank Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council for “We also thank the families, friends, employers and contributing $31,716 towards the final cost and colleagues of these and all of our volunteers. We know it congratulate the Majors Creek Brigade and community for takes their ongoing support and patience which in turn raising just over $11,000. enables NSW Rural Fire Service volunteers to do what they do to save lives and property.” News for Braidwood & the district Bugle Letters Page 2 26 May 2021 Cuts to community facilities and programs Place based adult learning proposed while Monaro St gets upgrade We have a system that fosters reductions in local QPRC wants to cut spending on footpaths, services. community hall upgrades, a leaking swimming pool Think of your tractor being hauled off to a regional and the community donations program, among other centre for a simple scan tool interrogation. It’s items, to clawback $2 million from the projected collateral damage in the name of economic rationalization. budget deficit while borrowing $5 million to upgrade It’s the same for the technical and further education Monaro St in Queanbeyan. system (TAFE), without any in-house capacity for In its draft budget for 2021-22, QPRC has identified engine management system analytics. $2.040 million in cuts it wants to make to improve its CAEs filled this role, at least in part, and universities bottom line. But these cuts will just defer spending have not the will, or indeed the capacity, to bring non and in some cases, e.g. the leak at Captains Flat academic learners up to speed! pool, will increase costs. Let’s get real: We missed the opportunity to address As convener of the Queanbeyan Sustainability Group this gap in Technical and Further Educational when universities were handed all that inner-city real estate that has benefitted from the community donations belong to CAEs, without negotiating alternatives for program, I know how valuable these grants are to individuals with less than perfect tertiary entrance local groups. scores. More opportunistic than malevolent. We just Communities should not have to pay for poor financial have to wear it. management. Let’s start again: Attach adult focussed technical The sale of a dozen or so council properties was learning centres to every senior secondary school in supposed to fund the upgrade of Queanbeyan’s CBD the bush. Split them off after year ten to address security issues and teach average academic but a deal signed with a property developer under achievers about technology in general and gain Administration in 2016 fell through, leaving the council familiarity with technology based phenomenon in without the anticipated revenue for re-developing particular. These people will fill the service industries Queanbeyan city centre. So the new council rank and file. headquarters, costing $74 million, will be financed You learn best what you like doing most! mostly by borrowings. Aspirational self-directed adult learners with an The Member for Monaro offered $10.5 million towards entrepreneurial flare will do the rest; where they are, a multi-level carpark for Morisset St, one of the when they can, without leaving their families, and still milk the cows. proposed re-developments under the failed deal. It’s place-based and goes some way to redressing When the project did not proceed, the grant was re- rural access and equity issues. directed to upgrading a portion of Monaro St, but If innovation percolates upward and builds on existing council had to kick in $5 million, which it has chosen understandings, anyone can do it. to borrow. Rob Woolley QPRC has structural problems with its budget – rising Braidwood costs without revenue to cover them. Deferring basic works and programs that support community groups is not a long-term solution. Nor is relying on increasing rates, fees and charges at well above the inflation rate and wage increases. Katrina Willis Greens candidate for QPRC Queanbeyan News for Braidwood & the district Braidwood Bugle Page 3 26 May 2021 Multi-media retrospective celebrates Dylan’s 80th Birthday Any collection is a window into the mind of the collector. Each small part may be insignificant, but as a Back to the original colours collection can tell a story. On Sunday, the 80th Birthday of Bob Dylan was celebrated with an unusual one day exhibition of ephemera, music and film collected over many decades by David Jones. ‘John Winston and Bobby’ was a multi media retrospective with recordings, concerts, film, documents, books, magazines, trivia and distractions. The Braidwood Servicemen’s Club auditorium was filled with the collectables. Beginning at noon with some of Dylan’s latest music travelled back through time to 1962 ending in the evening with some Dylan New York recordings and the Beatles last performance in Hamburg. The show Braidwood Old Sunday School Hall has a fresh acknowledges the bond between the Dylan and coat of paint in its original colour. With a Lennon as evidenced by his 2012 tribute song – Roll on ‘Tackling Tough Times Together’ regional and John. rural regeneration grant of $56,000 the funds A gold coin entry donation went to the Braidwood Life are being used to repair exterior timbers and Centre. stone foundation along with painting of the outside of the hall. News for Braidwood & the district Braidwood Bugle Page 4 26 May 2021 St. Bede’s Church needs pot of gold for urgent repairs By Terrence Roach The copper nails that have held the slates of St Bede’s Church in place for nearly 160 years have started to fail. Rain is getting in, the battens to which the slates are nailed are rotting; some slates have slipped. It is just a matter of time before the situation becomes critical. St Bede’s is a monument to the dedication and commitment of past generations who have contributed their small donations to build this extraordinary church. With the changes in Covid protocols, the Church is once again open during the week so take the chance to go in and have a look around. The granite walls are massive and the slate roof with its distinctive patterning is a work of art. The rafter design inside is one of only two like it in Australia and the Rose Window at the back of the Church is simply a magnificent piece of art. The problem is that despite continuing repairs and refurbishments over the years, the congregation simply doesn’t have the money to replace the whole roof. A crisis finance meeting was held at St. Bede’s last week to discuss what can be done. The bill to fix the problem comes to about $300,000 and the parish STOP PRESS : St Bede's Parish has been successful doesn’t have that kind of money – although the in its application and will receive $111,150 for the committee is confident, it can raise up to half that repair of the roof. amount. More than 220 projects are being funded under the An application has been made to the Caring for State NSW Government’s NSW $5.5 million Heritage Grants Heritage Fund and an application to the Community Program. Building Partnership Program run by the State The grants are awarded to heritage owners and Government, will be submitted . custodians, local government and the community. This enables the delivery of a broad range of heritage The great thing we have discovered is that we are not outcomes including conservation and repair works, on our own. A range of community organizations see education programs, and heritage interpretations. the importance of this piece of history and have rallied In this 2021-23 round, funding has been prioritised to round to support our applications. We all value the support recovery and preparedness for natural importance of heritage in this town and we know that disasters, with more than $4.6 million invested in 182 we have to work together to ensure that the heritage projects in areas affected by declared natural fabric of the town as a whole, is preserved and disaster. enhanced. Long term, the alternatives facing the parish community are dire. The regular income is spent on running the parish and work in the community – there is nothing left over for capital works of this size.