It is quite possible that some local farmers have been seriously and adversely affected by action by the banks to unfairly foreclose, but weren’t the cases chosen as examples absolutely dreadful?

One farmer had his property and machinery sold out from under him for a fraction of its value, even though he hadn’t missed a repayment.

Unbelievable! 

Many people have made the observation that blue-collar crime is treated very harshly but white-collar crime is dealt with much more leniently.

Unfortunately there’s a lot of truth in that comparison.

Putting a few disreputable bankers in jail would help correct the balance as well as send a massive message to the rest.

What do you think?

*************************

The sentence in the landmark case against an archbishop has finally been handed down, being for 12 months home detention with 6 months non-parole.

Whilst this person was not himself accused of child abuse, he deliberately declined to take action which could have saved some of the wretched victims.

The court found that he had placed the “good” name of his church before the welfare of the abused, and still shows no remorse.

Not sure when Jesus said:

“Suffer little children to come unto me” that he meant this sort of suffering. 

The non-custodial sentence was praised by a church representative who stated that sending the archbishop to jail would have been “draconian.” Hello?

Some of them still don’t get it, do they?

How a jail sentence was avoided is beyond your simple scribe, and now even that relatively light sentence is likely to be appealed.

****************************

So this week’s dedication is to all those who still believe the holders of high office within the churches are separate from and above the law, and is the 1965 classic sung by the Byrds to music by Pete Seeger, “Turn, Turn, Turn.”

You can find the lyrics in Ecclesiastes.

****************************

Mobile phones in schools have become a hot potato, especially when so many students are using them to harass and bully others.

A government appointed panel is looking at banning smartphones from primary schools at least, after finding that one in four children under 12 have been affected.

At present the matter is up to individual schools to determine their own policy.

The review is also examining practices overseas to learn what works best. 

It is rare to see a young person without a phone in their hand these days so any ban will need to be accompanied by an extensive counselling and rehabilitation programme to help with the separation process.

Good luck to the teachers: one would expect their stress levels to rise considerably in dealing with the fallout.

***************************

It would be quite obvious to readers that the Feather Duster has a high regard for heritage matters.

For many years the tourism focus for Grenfell and the villages has been based around their old buildings and their historic significance, and it is difficult to see that changing substantially. 

One of the downsides of a heritage town is the additional cost of maintaining or restoring listed buildings in the approved manner, not just in the Weddin Shire but all over the country.

So it was with great interest that a proposal by an economics professor at Macquarie University was received, suggesting that heritage funding be raised by the running of a lottery as was done to build the Sydney Opera House.

Apparently Britain conducts a Heritage Lottery which has contributed over 7 billion pounds to heritage projects since 1994.

With the Australian penchant for gambling, it shouldn’t be long before the funds would be flowing right through the State.

This would certainly be a much better cause than simply adding to some company’s profits as happens now. 

The NSW government has set up an expert panel to investigate options for heritage funding so we will have to wait to see what recommendations are made.

A lottery would be a good and easy method for financing this important work which always struggles for adequate funding.

**************************

As foreshadowed, the council has called an extraordinary meeting for Thursday 12 July, which has now been deferred until Thursday 19 July, to consider the submissions and determine the development application for the new TAFE college.

At this point the report by the council’s Heritage Advisor should be tabled and made available to the public.

Hopefully there will be a decision which takes full account of the heritage significance of the area. 

Any interested person may attend in the public gallery and witness the proceedings.

Unfortunately your scribe has a family function that day and will not be able to attend.

Bummer!

Feather Duster No 3

T Lobb

*************************

*************************