Enter the new Steph Cooke, who has done a complete about-face. Apparently she now believes that the government “has got it right”. She now fully supports the Cootamundra/Gundagai merger despite previously saying that the government had “got it wrong”. Also, she said that she has heard the concerns of many Gundagai residents but to date she has done absolutely nothing to alleviate  those concerns. This is despite the fact that she is well aware that over 90 per cent of our residents are strongly opposed to this shameful, undemocratic take-over.  

Ms Cooke has also informed our Gundagai Council in Exile (GCIE) that she will be ignoring the wishes of the vast majority of the residents of Cootamundra and Gundagai who want the two councils demerged. She is supporting her government’s flawed amalgamation policy that was based on the heavily redacted KPMG report, which the government had initially refused to release. Even the Court of Appeal said it was blatantly unfair to forcibly amalgamate local councils on the basis of a secret report. 

Apparently, Ms Cooke is quite happy to sit back and do nothing about this “blatantly unfair” merger.

Australia, being a representative democracy, means that all representatives should make their decisions only after consulting their constituencies, which would give them a clear view on what their constituents require on a particular issue.

They should then try to accommodate those requirements as best as they possibly can or, postpone any decisions until an overwhelming majority of their constituents would be happy with the final outcome. 

The Gundagai residents have already given her a clear indication of what their views are on the forced merger with Cootamundra yet, she has done absolutely nothing to appease those views. 

And as for the certainty the merger is supposed to delivered to the community. The only certainty it has delivered so far is the uncertainty that lies ahead with the prospect of higher rates or a possible cut in essential services. 

But out of all this there is one thing that is for certain – this Berejilian/Barilaro government and all those connected with it cannot be trusted. 

If anyone has any doubts about this then just take a look at their track record. Besides showing incompetency, it is also littered with broken promises. 

Let’s hope that after the next elections this hypocritical and arrogant government will be just another unpleasant memory. 

I met a young man a few years ago, a student at the time, who had started to turn his life around and was enjoying and attending school regularly. On the outside, he was a healthy teenager who just had some trouble engaging at school, I didn’t recognise the pain he was starting to suffer. This young person moved away from our services at Youth Off The Streets and to another city. Gradually he became overwhelmed by an intense internal trauma.

October is mental health month and this year we are asked to share the journey for better mental health and wellbeing.

What I want to share with you is one of the reasons I think we should take mental health so seriously.

These days mental health issues are far too common, particularly in young people. Issues of anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and many more plague some of our most vulnerable people. 

Sadly not enough people get help with these issues, which often extend from some form of abuse, and those that don’t get help addressing their health often go on to suffer from further disadvantage, a life of crime or spiral downwards into alcohol and other drug abuse.

It can be easy to tell when someone is not physically healthy and it can be easy to miss signs that someone you care about is struggling, but we need to take those extra steps to help our friends, family, colleagues and anyone else in your life.