People who had come from Melbourne were wandering around looking lost.

Sacred Heart Cathedral, always open, and one of Bendigo's treasures, was not on the list. (European cathedrals cope with tourists wandering around while worship services are on. Surely Bendigo can cope one day a year.)

Were all other churches open to the public? No. Was there a fleet of free trams, one per block, taking people up and down? No.

It was a poor effort all round. Surely, if we run this, we can ensure that every listed building is open from 10 to 4 on both days, with informed volunteers.

It doesn't seem too much to ask.

Read more: Iconic buildings to open for first Bendigo Open Day

Premier Daniel Andrews and his government are giving with one hand and taking with the other. They're doing great work with public transport and getting rid of level crossings. Their solar panel subsidy is really generous and batteries are going to be added to the list. All good things for the environment.

But, there are no decent feed in tariffs for people who get solar now. This government continues to cut down native forests for forestry deals settled some time ago. Just out of Healesville there are great swathes of land with all the trees gone. These trees are used to make copy paper. We need them to soak up carbon and native fauna needs them for a home.

There doesn't seem to be any end to new housing taking more and more land stretching far away from much-needed-and-expensive-to-replicate infrastructure. The new houses built are unsuitable for our heating climate and so need energy for cooling.  

There's plans for V/Line trains to have some toilet and luggage areas removed to make room for more seating but making it harder for people who ride bicycles to trains to get on with their bikes. They’re riding, not driving on the roads but can’t catch a train too.  This government’s doing well, but could do so much better.

Read more: New plan for solar panels leaves renters out of the loop

Towns are growing fast and spreading in all directions. While more water is gurgling down the sewers, farmland is turning into dust. The rainfall is uneven and has no set time.

We need more reservoirs to catch the flood waters and keep up with the population growth. Owing to the shortage of water, many primary producers are becoming dependent on government subsidies.

Read more: Snowy Hydro windfall to be spent on dams

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