THIS week’s Bendigo Weekly highlights two state government bodies and their differing approaches to the Bendigo community. After three years of controversy, Coliban Water, under the direction of new managing director Gavin Hanlon and first-year chairman John Brooke, looks set to finally be steered in the right direction. The Coliban board has decided to take the role of deciding what water projects are needed and how they are operated back to where they belong – in the hands of the community and the biggest users. This stance will be well received by the community and is to be commended. Change can often take a while, but this time it might be worth the wait. On the other hand, we have the Department of Transport and the issue of Bendigo’s new bus timetable. The changes have created a quasi-terminal in Mitchell Street that is affecting everybody – passengers, traders and shoppers. No one seems to be taking responsibility for the mess, or listening to the local community and their solutions. Up until now, the City of Greater Bendigo council has played it safe publicly, but was fuming behind the scenes at what they saw as a lack of consultation. Today that fuming became public. Member for Bendigo West Bob Cameron has seemingly washed his hands of the whole issue and Member for Bendigo East Jacinta Allan will not support anything that takes buses out of the already-crowded problem area. All in all, someone needs to stand up and take responsibility. Yes, there are more buses. Yes that is good, and yes, traders would like to see more people brought into the CBD. However, let’s make it a solution that doesn’t negatively impact anyone too much. Peoples’ livelihoods being affected simply to move a bus stop around the corner is too high a price to pay.
