JANUARY is the time of year when seemingly two-thirds of the population take a holiday.
Regular news contacts flee town for the beach, the river, the city or anywhere other than home, leaving those of us still at work in the newsroom struggling just that little bit more.
Many of you reading this column today are lucky enough to have been on holidays for the past three weeks, but reality is about to come crashing down in the form of the alarm clock on Monday morning.
At this time of year stories on the latest fashions for your pet might get a run, along with yarns about what the next 12 months hold and what happened in the previous 12.
Weather stories abound - has it been hot, why is it so cold, is it climate change or drought? And then there’s the news that people don’t want you to know about, which sometimes brings accusations that governments are trying to sneak something through.
That’s why bad news is often released late on a Friday, or at quieter times of the year such as between Christmas and New Year.
That was the case with the VEAC report that recommends establishing four national parks along the Murray River downstream of Barmah. The release of this news item brought just as many howls for its timing as it did for the substance.
It was similar with the environmental effects statement for the proposed desalination plant near Wonthaggi, and the proposed Gunns timber mill in Tasmania’s picturesque Tamar Valley. Judging by the depth of feeling associated with these issues, we are destined to hear a lot more about them as the year unfolds.
It has also been interesting to note that although the newsroom fax machine has been relatively quiet these past few weeks, the political party churning out the most press releases by far and using the most paper has been the Greens. Should we congratulate them for their hard work right through the holiday season, or chastise them for the reams of paper that have spilled out of the fax machine during this same time? And yes, we got the same releases by email - in fact, several times over.
On the local news front this week, 150 years of tradition associated with Bendigo’s exclusive Sandhurst Club could be under threat if Deputy Premier Rob Hulls and Bendigo East MLA Jacinta Allan have their way.
Mr Hulls says a review of existing legislation could require clubs such as the Sandhurst to revise their membership guidelines, which exclude women.
Mr Hulls, a renowned strongman of the ALP, and never one to duck the question, referred to restrictive membership rules as offering a fossilised view of the world.
Locally, a straw poll of business women and community leaders found no great concern about the club’s rules, and little motivation or support for them to be changed.
One of our regular letter writers who, for the purpose of today’s exercise shall remain anonymous, penned these words in response to the occasional - rather than ongoing - debate on the Sandhurst Club.
“Australia is a democratic nation and equality is fundamental to democracy.
“It is one of the greatest traditions of civilisation and it is fundamental to Australia’s own greatest traditions.
“Equal treatment of women is civilised and democratic. It is now firmly established in the ideals of modern Australia.
“Organisations like the Sandhurst Club should be as open to women to join as they are to men.
“They lose nothing by opening their doors to the 21st century.
“On the contrary, they gain much, not least in the respect which they will gain if they act on their own initiative to change, and do so in a timely way.
“Such organisations show wisdom when they recognise the time has come to be part of the contemporary world, and they show vision when they choose to leave behind not the past, but that part of the past that can no longer be justified to society.
“Is it not wiser for the Sandhurst Club to make the necessary changes itself while the opportunity is made available to it, than to have the changes imposed by the community through its elected government?”
Meanwhile La Trobe University’s failure to secure the necessary funds for a $39 million school of rural and regional health as part of the so-called medical precinct, was as disappointing as it was a shock to some local stakeholders. Construction of the Monash University School of Health - and Bendigo Regional Clinical School, which has been earmarked for the same precinct - is due to start soon.
The Super Clinic has been approved for the site, but there is no certainty about any other proposals to complete the precinct.
Finally, our city is mourning the shock loss of teenage sweethearts Rachael Zimmer and Luke Arnott, killed in east Gippsland last Friday.
Yesterday’s packed St Kilian’s church service celebrated two young lives tragically taken all too soon.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Rachael and Luke’s families at such a sad and difficult time. We hope they find strength and comfort in the incredible support and love shown by so many for these two young people for whom Bendigo now grieves.
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