Thumbs up for the sheep
Thumbs up to the council, community organisations, businesses and individuals who contributed to Yass’ newest public art, the sheep at the trough at the Waroo Road, Petit Street and Yass Valley Way intersection.
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Sculptor and local identity Roger Buckman has again created a wonderful attraction, which is sure to become an icon.
Roger dug into his own pocket and provided an excellent wine and cheese spread for the 50-80 people who attended the opening and lighting by the Deputy Mayor on December 1.
Thank you to everyone involved; with a few more of these in the Valley, I’m sure the area will again become known far and wide as the fine wool capital.
Mark Bosma
South Bowning
A Thumbs Up to our new travel agent
A Thumbs Up to our new travel agent, Ushi Howard at The Travel Compass. Very professional and handled our recent excursion in very capable manner. Good to see people who know what they’re doing opening a business in good old Yass.
Brian O’Connor
Yass
Tax-free threshold
The Coalition does not like the new tax-free threshold enacted by the previous Labor government. This lowers the amount of tax that can be collected from we ordinary taxpayers and places uncomfortable pressure on the LNP to go after their big donors who pay little or no tax.
It beggars belief that the Treasurer would inflict such damage on the interests of farmers (assuming they are LNP voters) by making a grab for the money earned by backpackers by instigating a new tax to off-set the negligible tax paid by these workers who fall mostly below the tax-free threshold in their itinerant work patterns.
At one point, the National Party ludicrously claimed a 'win' by reducing the still non-existent tax from 30% to something lower (the details are unimportant). The fact was, there was no tax, yet they had lowered it!
Backpackers have predictably shunned the agricultural sector on the hint of this new tax and the subsequent damage to this year's harvest is now being blamed on Labour and some cross-bench Senators who tried to either lower the tax or abolish the idea all-together.
In order for Malcolm Turnbull to achieve something to offset his apt nick-name, Fizza, a deal which sees a tax finally passed into law at a cost of some $160 million more than the tax would recoup leaves me wondering when will good government begin?
Phil Armour
Yass High School
Response to Barnett on a safe country
I would like to respond to David Barnett's column (Yass Tribune, November 11, 2016). He wrote "This is no longer a country which is safe, where young people can get work, find partners, have kids and bring them up to expect a good life." I am sympathetic to this sentiment but his explanation is simplistic and his solution is wrong.
Voters for Brexit, Donald Trump and Pauline Hansen are angry. They see a growing inequality in the world and feel incapable of dealing with it. They see multinational companies who avoid tax, while they can't avoid GST. They see CEOs paid obscene salaries while workers’ pay stagnates. They see TAFE destroyed while skills atrophy. They see over endowed rich private schools, and they see private hospitals with no waiting periods for the privileged.
Banks prey on loan seekers, house investors prey on renters. Firms employ casual labour to avoid work place agreements, and misuse 457 visas to avoid training workers.
People notice city financial growth versus rural decline, and the list goes on.
People around the world now have the technology to see that they are being sidelined by automation and artificial intelligence. More people in Africa have access to mobile phones than clean water supplies, and they are angry.
What is the Australian government response? They criticised Malcolm Frazer for bringing in Lebonese Muslims!
In times of disruption it is common to find scapegoats; Mexicans, Jews, academics, elites, and the media. David Barnett supports Peter Dutton's attack on migrants.
Analysis has shown that the voters who supported Trump hate the establishment but admire wealth. That explains how they could vote for a billionaire business man who pays no taxes.
The solution to the situation is to support agencies that promote fairness, wealth distribution and global trade, so that all countries will be rich enough to provide a reasonable standard of living to obviate the need for the citizens to migrate seeking a better life for their children. Stopping military conflict would help too.
Peter Applegate
Yass
It’s the ‘write’ time to get your letters to Santa
Australia Post is encouraging children in and around the nation’s capital to post their Santa Mail as early as possible this Christmas to ensure the jolly man in red has plenty of time to read and reply before coming to town.
With less than a month to go until his busiest night of the year, Santa and his little helpers are checking lists twice, gearing up the sleigh and responding to Santa letters from children in Australia and around the world. To ensure Santa receives your letter, send your wish lists to Santa Claus, North Pole, 9999 with a 65c Christmas stamp on the front of the envelope.
Australia Post