Real reason for U-turning

Isn't calling attention to a possible U-turn violation at the end of Binney Street (The Euroa Gazette 6 August) responding to the symptom and not the cause?

Anyone who has tried to find a parking space along Binney Street knows that this has become a nightmare.

From mid-morning to early afternoon a free car parking space is a dream, not a reality.

So what needs to be done to try to rectify this?

Should the blanket 2 hour permissible parking time be adjusted down to 15 and 30 minute spots and others 1 hour?

These spots located near, say, the chemist, Binney Street shops and the bank/ATMs being available for people who need parking while they attend to quick business. This already works for post office parking.

With the increase in people in town, including the ARTC workers combined with patrons at the various eateries jockeying for a parking space, let's take a progressive look at how the problem can be solved.

Lynda Griffiths, Balmattum

Letterbox pain, farmers to wait

Reality has already bitten in some municipalities as rates notices arrive in letter boxes.

Highlighted, sometimes in bright orange or red to signify a warning, is an added state government charge – the insidious emergency services tax (ESVF - Ed).

Local councils have been forced to collect Labor’s $3 billion emergency services tax grab, and it makes for ugly reading.

There has been plenty of debate, arguments, and protests about this tax, but seeing it in writing brings the pain to homes – and if your rates notice hasn’t arrived, it isn’t far away.

Homeowners can expect to pay double the rate they paid under the former fire services levy.

I’ve seen one homeowner slugged more than $500 in total – on top of their rates, and many will face even more.

The tax hit on commercial properties will also double and industrial properties will rise by 64 per cent.

Farmers have a one-year reprieve, before another reality hits – a 150 per cent rise.

This tax will not help frontline services; indeed they're being cut.

It will only plug budget black holes.

The Nationals will scrap this tax and ease the cost-of-living burden on all Victorians.

Make your views known at www.scrapthetax.com.au

Danny O’Brien, Leader of The Nationals

Away with gender stereotypes

I welcome the launch of Respect Victoria’s new campaign, What Kind of Man Do You Want to Be?

This important campaign highlights the harm caused by rigid gender stereotypes and encourages men to reflect on traditional expectations of masculinity, such as needing to be in control, hiding vulnerability, or asserting dominance.

It asks men to consider how these expectations affect their relationships and the broader community.

By sharing the voices and lived experiences of real Victorian men from diverse backgrounds, the campaign promotes honest reflection rather than judgement.

It aims to build healthier relationships and more respectful communities.

The initiative is grounded in research and developed in partnership with frontline experts and respected organisations including Jesuit Social Services, No to Violence, The Man Cave, and the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation.

This work is urgent. Breaches of family violence orders are now the most frequent or second most frequent criminal offence in all six local government areas across the Euroa electorate.

Towns like Seymour and Benalla, which have some of the highest rates of family violence in Victoria, still lack dedicated physical support services.

The latest figures from the Crime Statistics Agency show sharp increases over the past year: 21 per cent in Strathbogie, 14 per cent in Mitchell, 21 per cent in Benalla, 3 per cent in Campaspe, 10 per cent in Greater Bendigo, and 31 per cent in Greater Shepparton.

We are facing a family violence crisis, and campaigns like this are a vital step forward.

Annabelle Cleeland, Member for Euroa

Meatasaurus

I'd like to ask: How can it be

that Metasaurus (aged twenty-three)

is such a long-lived cat?

What's the process that's occurring

whereby she still keeps on purring

while sitting on the mat?

Could it be genes, or loving care?

And what else might have come to bear

to explain where she's at?

Though I could speculate all day

on how it came to be this way,

I'll just leave it at that.

Craig Penny, Terip Terip