EDITORIAL
  Among many factors that have contributed to human disasters in history is the dead hand of apathy. Apathy is lack of interest or a will to do anything. Its symptoms include indifference, despair, gullibility, frustration and that saddest of human attitudes, fatalism.

  What has this to do with Cardinia? Well, in November there will be council elections and ratepayers will have their one opportunity to give some of our current elected representatives the heave-ho – an opportunity many ratepayers have looked forward to for some time.

  As election day looms we can expect a flurry of advertising and showy initiatives to gain our votes for councillors who, in the opinion of many, have not performed in ratepayers’ best interests during their term of office.

  Hence the observation on apathy, which, alas, is far too prevalent among us ‘simple folk’. How often do we hear ‘Nobody listens’, ‘Nothing is ever done’, ‘What’s the use?’ about council priorities and bureaucratic inaction?

  The only way to change all this is to elect a council which will represent ratepayers’ needs and aspirations, not those of the ‘get rich quick’ members of society whose pressures result in flawed planning, ugly developments, unwanted prestige projects and environmental degradation.

  Well before November, let us encourage, and promote as best we can, candidates worthy of our trust to stand for council. Let us also examine the efforts of our present councillors and whether or not their votes on all issues at council meetings have been in the best interests of ratepayers in the whole shire.

  Come November, away with the apathy and let’s vote in a council in which we can take pride and which will genuinely work for a better Cardinia for us ratepayers and residents.

A FEW WORDS FROM CR GARRY RUNGE, MAYOR OF CARDINIA
  Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the CRRA Newsletter. These are exciting times for Cardinia. We’ve come a long way to provide the services our new and existing residents need, but there’s still work to be done. We’re doing our best to share the cost equitably, so this year we’ve eased the burden on pensioners with a $50 rate rebate. Together with other subsidies, the average pensioner will pay just $6 more in rates this year. The Emerald library is under way, with tenders for construction closing this month. We will pull out all the stops to deliver this urgently needed facility for the hills on time and on budget. We asked the public to tell us what you want from our new local laws on public amenity, and we’ve listened, redrafting laws to reflect residents’ concerns. The shire’s largest-ever road construction project will be completed mid-year, with 50 km of our most important rural roads from Split Rock Road in the north to Caldermeade Road in the south constructed at a cost of $13 million.

  As part of the state government’s designated urban growth corridor we face a lot of challenges to provide facilities for new and existing residents, but also a lot of opportunities to build an economically and socially strong community. I invite you to work with council to help build our shire.