POLITICAL PARTIES SHOULD KEEP THEIR DISTANCE
One aspect of life in Griffith which I quite like is how our local councillors are free from waving the flag of political parties.
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While I recognise we have quite a number of farmers who think similarly and fight for similar interests in our council, it is refreshing that we never see political party based factions emerge at the local government level.
I believe our community has benefited from the fact political parties, like the Nationals don't stand, or even back candidates in Local Government elections.
I personally would hate to see our community become dominated by Coalition vs Labor contests.
I would much rather see the best people (or block of people) on the day win.
The recent news that a particular political party is about to change the status quo of our council elections has disappointed me.
I hope that our council elections remain focused on the values and skills of the people who put their hand up to represent us, and not become about supporting political parties whose main interests are policies which belong to the state and federal government.
Greg Adamson, Griffith
THANKS OWED TO CITY'S COUNCILLORS
I would like to say a big thanks to the Griffith City Council, especially mayor John, Eddy, Brian, Christine, Rina and also all other councillors for deleting the extra charges placed on building granny flats.
While I know council has to recuperate cost but I felt it was no different to putting a ensuite to a existing house, no extra water meter or sewage, just joined into house outlet.
If we would have to pay the the extra money, to recoup the outlay over five years it would have added another $35 per week which would be passed on to renters.
These granny flats are just a tad under 60 square meters they're two bedrooms, shower, laundry, a very neat kitchen and ample living area, gas hot water, gas hot plates, electric oven and reverse heating and cooling and a verandah plus a covered car port.
So once again a big thank you for seeing your way clear to wave these extra costs and I guess a few other builders would like to thank the Griffith City Council also it did take a fair bit of lobbying to get it passed so talking things over cordially helped.
Greg McCarten, Griffith
VAPING COULD BE VALUABLE TOOL TO END SMOKING
Last month the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) announced their support for vaping nicotine as a quitting aid for smokers. This endorsement is a game-changer for smokers wanting to quit and vaping is a welcome tool for GPs and other health professionals, especially in regional Australia where smoking rates are highest.
Under the new guidelines, GPs and other health professionals can recommend vaping for smokers who have failed to quit smoking with the available treatments when patients raise the subject with their doctor or health professional.
Vaping is now the most popular and most effective quitting aid globally and has helped millions of smokers quit the deadly addiction. It is legal to vape nicotine in Australia if a patient has a nicotine prescription from a medical practitioner.
This endorsement will ultimately save lives as smokers who switch to vaping have substantial improvements in both respiratory and cardiovascular health and a dramatically reduced risk of cancer.
I encourage any smoker wanting to kick the habit to talk to their GP or health care professional to find out more about vaping as a quit smoking aid.