The Merimbula and Bega communities helped us celebrate 27 years of McHappy Day and raised more than $4.8million for RMHC nationally. These donations ensure that Aussie families get to stay together while their seriously ill or injured child undergoes treatment.

We want to personally say a big thank you to everyone who got involved last weekend, making generous donations that helped McHappy Day raise more money than ever before. Fundraising efforts like McHappy Day are vital and ensure RMHC can be there for families with seriously ill children when they need it most. With so many Aussie kids requiring treatment, every donation goes a long way to keep families together in their toughest times. You can continue to support families in need by donating to rmhc.org.au all year round.

The operating cherry picker crane and the work utes were a hint, and the entry gate was closed and the big sign did read car park FULL. But that was not stopping people parking in the new Woolies car park on Friday night, November 9 – some two weeks before the store opening. Cannot wait to see the mayhem that will ensue when both car parks are operating. 

Greg Box and Chris Warner (Letters, MNW 14/11) are fully entitled to express their views on the North Tura Beach Residents Association (NTBRA) and the Tura Beach Coastal Reserve (TBCR).  However, any misrepresentations  and unfounded allegations should not be allowed to go unchallenged.

Initially the principle objection to NTBRA proposals for a small tract of land in the vicinity of Dolphin Cove/The Point was the threat to endangered species.  When subjected to scrutiny this assertion was shown to be without foundation and has since been discarded. Now the principle objection appears to be to be preservation of the coastal corridor. 

Nothing proposed by the NTBRA threatens the existing corridor, the continuity of which is guaranteed by its classification as E2 (Environmental Protection) and remains untouched.  Nor has the NTBRA ever advocated wholesale clearing  of the land in question, not even back to its original state at the time of development, that of pasture and the occasional tree stand.  What it does advocate is an end to uninhibited and unsightly regrowth; an end to encroachment into the designated Asset Protection Zone; the removal of deadwood and other growth which adds to the already substantial threat posed by bushfires; and improved access to the beach.

The community consultation process conducted by Council was in the context of the whole TBCR stretching all the way from the golf course to the Bournda State Forest and the discussion points raised were so broad as to be motherhood statements.  No discussion was allowed of the specific area of land in dispute nor the issues raised.  As a consequence, the findings of the consultation process and the survey that followed were biased. 

The recent NTBRA petition perfectly illustrates the point.  Only those homes in North Tura Beach considered to be directly affected were canvassed (roughly an area bounded by Headland Drive, Elizabeth Parade, Kangaroo Run, Bournda Circuit, The Point and Dolphin Cove) and the issues raised specific to that area.  Here it is worth noting that the great majority of these homes do not have views which could be enhanced or otherwise by the NTBRA proposals.  They do, however, have other real concerns.