I sincerely believe that the health of a community includes the opportunity for open discussion on any topic of concern. I have always taken the Yass Tribune to be a newspaper about the community for the community. At least, that is my understanding after having grown up in Australia a country girl; you could always have your say in the local newspaper if you weren't happy about the way a community issue was being handled. However in recent weeks I do believe I see both Catholic and Liberal propaganda being peddled in the Tribune and I find that very disturbing indeed.

Our abilities to look after ourselves are being eroded left, right and centre by the present government; even our rights to privacy are being eroded by new legislation being brought about under the guise of 'the fight against terror'. Our right to hear the truth and to express our own opinions is also being heavily curtailed.

Take a recent article in the Tribune that stated Yass residents will now pay less for electricity and gas following the Abbott Government's repeal of the carbon tax. Talk about peddling a Liberal storyline - I'm sure I'm not the only one to take umbrage at having our intelligence questioned.

The thing that has really got my goat though is that comments are no longer permitted under many articles on the web version of the Tribune. Take the recent stories regarding the Catholic archdiocese's decision to close Mt Carmel secondary school at the end of 2014 necessitating children travel to Catholic schools in Canberra from 2015.

This 'fight' was taken on by the community, school and local church with such genuine compassion and concern for the children that one was left full of admiration, Catholic or not. However I was disturbed when the matter apparently took a rather dark turn towards protecting the Catholic Church rather than the children. The Tribune began reporting 'Renewed hope for secondary' and 'Steps towards progress' and so on when clearly there was no such thing. The proposed closure was still going ahead but the school was now being allowed to 'lease' the school buildings from the Catholic Church. However the small matter of the children still not being allowed into those buildings after 2014 was left out. This was reported by the Tribune as a wonderful step forward. Also the local parish priest stated that the archbishop couldn't be blamed and what a reasonable chap he was!

I was furious for the children and also for Tribune readers who were being treated as if they were so stupid that a black card could be held up in front of them and, as long as they were told it was white, they would believe it was white. I placed a comment under the Tribune's web article 'Renewed hope for secondary' by way of a metaphor about a loving wife and children being kicked out of the family home by an abusive husband. Another comment was then added stating that the focus shouldn't be on 'metaphorical negatives' and posed the question 'Isn't it all about creating wonderful options and choices for kids'. To this I submitted the following comment which has not been published and comments, on a later web Tribune article on the school, are not permitted.

Creating 'wonderful options and choices for kids' should be what it is about. But it isn't is it? Not anymore.

What happens psychologically if everyone decides to stay in an abusive game is that they start pretending (aka lying). 'Look at this marvellous progress!' To continue with the metaphor, the loving mother and kids are making that statement after they've 'negotiated' with the husband to lease the family home. The abusive husband has told them 'Yes you can lease the family home but you still can't live in it. I might change my mind about that in two years time. I'm kicking you out and I haven't changed my mind.'

'Oh but it isn't the father's fault - he is such a wonderful man!' That statement in this situation is called 'lying' and it is very dysfunctional. If you're dealt a horrible loss and you're presenting it to everyone as a win - that is very dysfunctional.

The truth is, nothing has changed. For this situation, the kids will still be travelling to Canberra next year and the year after that. No help, no choice and no progress - except that the school buildings are now being leased and the kids aren't allowed to be in them - well, maybe in two years.

The next step in the abuse cycle is if someone points out the truth, communication is shut down/hidden. That's happening. Comments have been blocked on new articles.

'They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. 'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace.' Jeremiah 6:14.

Franny Priest