Some of you may have read my articles on the Southern NSW town of Finley and the war memorial hall threatening, puppy factory loving council they are unfortunate enough to be a part of, Berrigan Shire Council. If not, I have dedicated a category to them on my site now as there appears to be a never ending stream on controversy surrounding them.
Well, the carry on regarding the War Memorial Hall continues unabated.
Before I come to that however, a word of warning to anyone planning on visiting the town, you may want to take some bottled water.
You see the puppy farm being operated by Pam Edwards without any kind of council permit sits right next to the water channel that is a town water supply. With approximately 40-50 breeding dogs plus any puppies all that dog waste invariably ends up somewhere. With no adequate means of disposing such a large amount of dog faeces there are legitimate concerns that particularly in heavy rain that contaminants could end up in the water supply. I have queried this matter with Berrigan Shire Council and as of publication they have failed to respond.
I have also queried Berrigan Shire Council on why Pam Edwards has been able to have significantly large sheds constructed with dog runs clearly to house dogs without any kind of building permit as others are expected to do. Council so far have also refused to respond to these queries. It would seem a free pass is given to puppy farmers in Berrigan Shire.
However a free pass is not given to all in the Shire, oh no.
One such person is John Carr, who is the owner and manager of the local Betta Electrical store, a well-respected, above-board, tax paying, local employing, registered and legitimate business unlike the one mentioned above.
Mr Carr is also the owner of the building that you may have seen me post a picture of previously, if not here it is again below.
Environmental damage or a mentally damaged council?
Mr Carr received a letter from Berrigan Shire Council claiming that the painting on the structure was akin to environmental damage and the structure should be repainted.
Excellent environmental standards in Berrigan Shire:
Dog faeces washed into water supply = environmental tick
Painting structure to protect memories of fallen soldiers = environmental havoc
Mr Carr was threatened with a fine of up to $110,000 if he refused to paint over what was there.
Mr Carr has a democratic right to protest and Berrigan Shire have chosen to breach this well-respected local’s human rights by forcing him to alter the face of his property. There is no doubt that this was a peaceful protest, the only hand raised in this protest was holding a paint brush.
The letter came from Berrigan Councils Development Manager Laurie Stevens who has been one of the most vocal from council’s management seeking to make Finley’s War Memorial Hall nothing but a memory.
As for the man who heads the committee to look after the hall, Ross Whittaker, he is also the man leading the charge for its destruction, which some may see as a conflict of interest, not Rossco though.
Whittaker on his Facebook page had two women make comment when he made a comment re one of my articles. One woman wanted to have a shot at how “discussing” my article was, which is great because a discussion is what I was hoping to start and the other claiming I was paid to write it.
Firstly I don’t receive a cent for writing these articles, I occasionally receive a donation but have certainly not received one from anybody in Finley or Berrigan Shire. I made the six-hour round trip on my own finances.
The only ones being actually paid to write articles are your local paper, and funnily enough they always back what is probably their largest advertising client, Berrigan Shire Council. As we’ve seen, the cadet reporter Sophie Burge couldn’t be arsed making a five-minute trip to ensure her facts are straight. She’d rather just take the word of council who we can see are less than transparent.
As for the woman making the comment, Sarah Gleeson, she is the daughter of the aforementioned puppy farmer Pam Edwards.
One again I’d like to thank Matt Hams from the puppy factory Banksia Park Puppies for bringing his family and this council to my attention by his actions.
These people and their council truly have no shame.
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This is what real journalism looks like. No wonder some people are so scared of journalists
Another load of rubbish article. You need to go to university and learn some journalistic ethics. You should be ashamed of yourself for writing such lies. Not giving right of reply. Not fact checking. Happy to have the discussion directly- if only you ask!
This is the biggest load of bullshit i have ever read, you my friend are one sick minded individual get your head out of the gutter and actually start writting true facts because not one of the facts above you have written are anywhere near true go find a story that someone actually cares about and actually write something that is true not bullshit like what is written above…
cheers
Jo, you do understand you are replying when you wrote this comment don’t you, or didn’t they teach you what a response is at uni?
Apparently my articles on Finley are full of lies that nobody can find
You don’t read much then do you Nathan…?
I’ll leave aside the gutter fantasy you seem to have
Tell me one false piece of information then? Are you saying there was no letter from Laurie Stevens re the painting on the building? Are you saying the photo of the Edwards property is doctored? Are you saying council lied in their written statement that Pam Edwards has had no building approval and is operating without ever obtaining a DA? Are you saying that commentary was not on Mr Whittaker’s Facebook page?
Or perhaps you are just talking out of your arse…
Seems to be the arse talkin is done dy you Peter… pull you head in mate!! Get the facts before running your mouth.
Again. Another detractor incapable of finding one false part in the article
Something’s got you all worried
Whatever happened to writing positive articles? The Council does so many positive things and I’m sure Ross and his committee are doing great things within their community. All I read is someone obviously with a chip on his shoulder loolimg to gain attention from anyone willing to read anything that catches their eye. It’s so easy to twist bits of information into whatever you think people find interesting to read.
Time to move on and write about something else.
I write about lots of other things Amy, but I won’t sugarcoat what I see as disgraceful practices and behaviour. I’m sure Ross does many positive things in the community and I’m glad he does. The productions he puts on are great I’m sure, I’d love to come and watch one when they are next on, but that does not excuse and should not distract from other issues that are not always pleasant.
Wrongs are never righted by ignoring or sugarcoating them
Insults are neither contrary evidence or a rational argument.
“so many positive things” will never excuse the acceptance of puppy factories…….anywhere.
Acceptance is approval of this abhorrent industry.
Looks like Wixxy went clip-clopping across someones bridge because the trolls are out in force! Apparently exposing hypocrisy and vested interests is “not getting your facts right” nowadays. Keep fighting the good fight Wixxy!
Ñot many reporters around today are game to speak the truth but there is one here and the nltpickers all sèem to live in or near berrigan conflict of interest maybe.
Jo, Nathan, Brendan, Amy, your comments make me wonder if you have been paid to ‘troll’ criticisms. Maybe, maybe not. However you are unfortunately displaying your ignorance or perhaps it is a case of blind bias. The facts have been reported, but you all seem to ignore them. what your agenda is, I am at a loss to understand, as by your comments you condone abject animal cruelty, and corruption. This certainly can’t be good for the Berrigan Shire. There is never any excuse for the ‘puppy Factories’ pumping out puppies in deplorable conditions, as if they were just commodities, rather than the wonderful sentient beings that they are. You seem to have shed any semblance of humanity, if you condone this. Also it is imperative the residents of any shire keep a constant watch on their political bodies to ensure they are behaving ethically and in the best interest of ALL citizens. No, go back and do some fact-checking.
Well done again Peter. You know you have struck a nerve when all you receive is criticism backed up with zero facts.