Further destruction of our natural environment
Banned horse trainers who pretend that beach training is a miracle. Zero real plans to protect environmental and cultural values. Expert evidence that hard beach and sand dune training sends racehorses to their early graves.
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The underlying reality that a conservation reserve belongs to nature and quiet recreation, not the gambling industry.
Yet despite this, Warrnambool Racing Club intends to push on with its land grab in Belfast Coastal Reserve.
WRC already has the sole use of a vast piece of valuable public land in Warrnambool, acres and acres of which are hardly ever used.
Build your own sand dunes there if you must.
Or hand some back to the many local recreation groups looking for space.
Our Wild Coast in Belfast Coastal Reserve will only become more important as the years go by.
Important as Warrnambool's largest refuge for native plants and animals and as a wild place to experience nature through walking, surfing, fishing and the like.
Turning it into a horse training track will just continue the steady destruction of our already depleted natural environment.
Bruce Campbell, Warrnambool
Treated as 'second-best'
When on March 3, my husband tried to submit his intention to take a stall at the Port Fairy Farmers Market for Saturday March 6, he was told that the market this weekend is run by the community house - despite the first and third Saturday of every month being allocated to the farmers market.
This is very disheartening as the local producers, selling fresh food, are finding themselves pushed aside by markets selling a mix-up of local and imported products, some with a long shelf-life that could be sold at a later date.
It is especially disconcerting when a new stallholder has fresh produce prepared for the market and finds out a couple of days prior, that his products will be wasted.
Why is the Farmers Market second-best to the community market?
Will the farmers get at least another weekend this month for the locally produced goods, as fairness would imply?
Tatiana Cimpoesu, Warrnambool
Disappointing visit
I had the opportunity to visit Macarthur for the opening of the Veterans' Retreat, visited for five days. Retreat - great/awesome. Town of Macarthur - not so.
We had spoken to the caretaker saying that a group of us was arriving on the Tuesday. No showers.
There was fresh water, then it was turned off, tap taken and disconnected; other vans arrived - not here for retreat opening - and left no showers or fresh water.
RV-friendly town, don't think so. So we spent our tourist dollars in Penshurst, great cafe/bakery and bought fuel. So yes, visit retreat but don't stay in Macarthur - not RV-friendly town at all.
Jenny Synnott, Sunbury
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