I have been a long term supporter of the RSPCA, and have served on the Committees of Management of two other branches of this wonderful organization, over the past 18 years.

As a ratepayer of the City of Greater Bendigo I wonder, and am concerned, about whether their decision to rescind the contract with the RSPCA is going to be a cost effective use of our rates, and would hope that at the very least they will treat current staff of the shelter with dignity and common sense and re-deploy them rather than undertake a costly and time consuming new recruitment process.

Read more: Council to foot costs in animal welfare service change

I have had personal experience of the great work which the Bendigo RSPCA Shelter does for our region , having adopted a wonderful canine companion (Jim, aka Sir James, and the Wonder Dog!)  in September last year.

Surely a Council taking back on an animal shelter and its special needs, which by its own admission will involve” significant set up costs in terms of compliance, accommodation and staff recruitment” after a  long break since last doing so, is risky and not cost effective?

Let’s hope that ‘common sense’ will prevail.

The comparisons of Brexit in the United Kingdom and the total chaos in the United Stares are similar, but not a dangerous yet thank goodness, regarding the struggles we have in Australia tackling far right ideology.

It is alleged that only 52 per cent of the UK population voted on the Brexit deal, mostly because they could not understand it, and now their collective reply is “Bollocks to Brexit”, both from people who originally voted for it, and against it.

You would swear that the mottor of right wing leaning Governments, including Australia, is “give us a challenge, and we will make sure it fails”.

How often in our own country on a daily basis is this happening.

Is it anywonder that people not only in Oz, but around the world, have declared “bollocks to politics and politicians”.

They don’t listen anymore – and can you blame them?

On Australia Day there was another tragic, unnecessary death in an on-shore detention centre.

This brutal regime of detention without justice, without hope, without humanity, must end.

We need an independent inquiry.  

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