The Northern Rivers Echo Main News

Our Finest Aussies

Story & photo:Terra Sword

Lismore's Australia Day Ambassador John Coutis (right) with Pat Hill, who received the Citizen of the Year Award on behalf of her husband Peter on Monday.

Lismore's Citizen of the Year, Reverend Peter Hill.

Reverend Peter Hill retired two years ago, but his work and his compassionate nature haven't been forgotten.

Peter, the former chaplain and counsellor at St Vincent's and Lismore Base hospitals for 21 years, was named Lismore's Citizen of the Year at the Australia Day ceremony on Monday, leaving him deeply humbled.

"I thought I'd retired into comfortable obscurity, so I was in total shock when I found out," Peter said from his home in Wollongbar. "I have been fortunate in my life to work with many beautiful people who gave so much in their field, so it feels strange to be picked out - there are just so many other wonderful people in the community who deserve this recognition.

As well as being hospital chaplain, Peter was a minister with the Baptist church, trained Lifeline counsellors, worked with Mensline and has been a friend to many in their greatest time of need.

Despite the grief and trauma he has seen, Peter said he wouldn't have had it any other way.

"It could be very draining and tiring dealing with personal grief and struggle, but it was also enormously rewarding - you get very close to people in those times, share their pain and walk in their moccasins as the Red Indians would say," Peter said. "People would say to me 'I could never do what you're doing' but I always looked at nurses and ambulance officers and I would think I could never do what they're doing - there's someone suited to every job and I feel privileged and blessed to have done this work. I feel I always got more than I gave because I worked with so many beautiful people."

Peter's retirement was due to health reasons, so his wife Pat collected his award at Lismore's Australia Day award ceremony on Monday.

"Peter always had a passion for helping others and his faith in God always had a lot to do with his philosophy in life - he was always bringing people hope," Pat said. "He had a great compassion for people and always did over and above what was required of him. I'm very, very proud - knowing Peter and his humble nature, I know he feels there were others who should have received the award, but I think he deserves the recognition. It's like a big thank you from everyone."

Lismore Australia Day award winners

Lismore's Australia Day award winners were (l-r) Art/Cultural: Jyllie Jackson, organiser of the Lismore Lantern Parade; Senior Sportsperson: Arthur Maloney, boxing trainer, who has been involved in the sport for 50 years; Community Services (individual): Lizette Twistleton, who has been involved in a number of community projects, most recently the Nimbin Community Centre; Environment: Geoff Tomkins, who has been involved with Friends of the Koala for 14 years; Citizen of the Year: Pat Hill (on behalf of her husband, the Reverend Peter Hill, hospital chaplain and counsellor for 21 years); Young Citizen of the Year: Shannan Puckeridge, the Lions youth of the year and student of the year; and Community Services (group): Maria Kelly, Nancy Casson and Lynne Carr, Kids in Community organisers. Absent is Junior Sportsperson recipient Rhein Gibson, world junior golf title winner, who has been offered golf scholarships in the US.

Ballina mayor Phil Silver with citizen of the year Bob Wilson and Australia Day ambassador, actor Nick Bishop.

Many people will know him as 'Bypass Bob' for his tireless efforts in securing the Alstonville bypass, but Alstonville resident Bob Wilson's efforts on so many other fronts saw him named Ballina's citizen of the year on Australia Day. Over his 32 years in the village, he has been involved in a number of community campaigns during including the Alstonville Primary School P&C, the Safety House program, the LifeSaver Rescue Helicopter, the Show Society, the Alstonville RSL sub-branch and recently as Ratepayers Association president.

But it was the fight for $36 million in state and federal funding for the desperately-needed bypass that revealed his tenacious and determined side.

"It never entered my mind at any time that we were not going to achieve what we set out to do," he said.

He was overwhelmed and humbled by his Australia Day honour. "There's a lot of other people out there who do a lot of good things and they're still unrecognised," he said. "You can't do these things by yourself. I want to thank the people who have worked with me. They're the ones I would like to share this award with. There's a lot of people who've put in the hard yards and have the community at heart too.

"We live in the most beautiful part of Australia and I'm very proud of where I live and the Ballina shire."

Mr Wilson dedicated the award to his father, Claude, who died on Australia Day seven years earlier.

Bob Wilson is currently part of the liaison committee finalising the details of the bypass with the RTA, and has already set his sights on his next protect - the beautification of Alstonville's main street.

"It's not far away and it will be a beautiful little main street when it's finished," he said. * Ballina's best, page 5.

Save money and buy local

Launching the new V Card promotion is local business owners (l-r) Richard Fisher from Woody's Original Sports Shoes & Clothing, Chris Cox from Sista's Café and Rohan Wijeyekoon from Just a Tease hair salon.

Shoppers in Lismore can now get discounts from a number of CBD stores and it will cost nothing except a little loyalty.

Independent businesses have joined forces to launch the V Card (V for Value) to encourage customers to buy locally.

The move comes after what they described as "a slow year", believing that more and more people travelling to Tweed Heads or the Gold Coast to shop.

"We recognise that there are many cards available, many with the big players who transfer their big profits out of town," said Rohan Wijeyekoon, from Just a Tease hair salon, who was instrumental in developing the V Card concept.

"This card is provided by locally-owned retailers, employing local staff and based in the CBD. Shopping locally keeps your hard earned money in the town where we all live."

Richard Fisher from Woody's Original Sports Shoes said if people want their children to grow up and get jobs in Lismore then they need to support the people who will eventually employ them.

"Spending money out of town for items readily available in Lismore just doesn't add up. The more people put into the local economy the more they will get out of it in terms of employment and improved products and services," he said

Retailers currently involved in the V Card initiative include Just a Tease hair salon, The Trendy Tulip (florist and gifts), Woody's Original Sports Shoes & Clothing, Trevor Oram's Living Entertainment and Sista's Café, with interest already coming from other Lismore CBD retailers.

As well as receiving discounts of between 10 and 20 per cent, V Card holders will be kept up to date with a quarterly newsletter.

To apply for a V Card simply, visit a participating retailer.

RSL club seeks financial saviour

While public support for returned servicemen and women and Anzac Day has never been higher, the Lismore RSL Club is facing tough times and considering a merger to ensure its long term survival.

The RSL Club has called for expressions of interest from other clubs within a 50km radius to consider an amalgamation and Club president Jack Piper has written to the club's 8700 members this week to seek their advice.

The 55-year-old Club has struggled financially in recent years and currently has an outstanding debt of $3.3 million. In his letter, Mr Piper says low attendances, combined with increased government regulations, have impacted on the clubs costs and income.

"In spite of the many efforts made by members, staff and directors, we all now find ourselves in the situation of having to seriously consider the viability and continued life of the Lismore RSL Market Street Club. Whilst the [RSL Club-owned] Sports Club [at Goonellabah] has grown in strength over the past few years, its continued growth is being hampered by the slowing performance at the Market Street Club," he wrote to members.

Expressions of interest in the club are due by February 6. Club members will meet to discuss the options and offer any alternatives on March 2.

"It is important to note that any potential amalgamation requires a vote and approval by members in order to proceed," Mr Piper wrote.

He said the Board would endeavour to ensure the culture and name of the RSL Club remained in any merger.

Ballina honours its best

Ballina welcomed 16 new Aussies to its throng, after they took part in a citizenship ceremony on Australia Day.

Ballina shire's outstanding citizens were recognised in front of hundreds who turned out for the Australia Day celebrations beside Missingham Bridge. Australia Day ambassador Nick Bishop, best known for his work on Home and Away and Water Rats, made a dramatic entrance, parachuting in to the festivities before turning to Shakespeare for inspiration is saying that all Australia have the chance to decide who they want to be and what they believe in.

While the Ballina Scope club treated the crowd with damper spread with vegemite or 'cocky's joy (aka golden syrup), Alstonville resident Bob Wilson (see story front page) accepted the citizen of the year award. The other award winners were: Ballina Shire Young Citizen of the Year: William Keane; Community Event of the Year: the Wardell Flower Show, organised by the Pimlico Ladies Charitable Organisation; Community Organisation of the Year: the Ballina Naval & Maritime Museum; and Sports Award: cricketer Melissa Lewis; with a special Certificate of Commendation going to Lance ' the pelican man' Ferris.

Koalas bear up for roadworks

Koala expert Dr Steve Phillips (right) explains koala activity at a reserved tree to Lismore City Council's on-site supervisor Harry Wilson (centre) and Wayne Gillick (ganger) before the start of the Skyline Road upgrade.

The controversial $1.5 million realignment of Skyline Road began this week with Lismore Council taking extra precautions to protect koalas using the area.

Koala expert Dr Steve Phillips spend an hour explaining koala behaviour and their movements in the area to staff involved in the three-month construction. The road is being realigned to remove dangerous curves, but will still be dirt. Almost half the money being spent on the upgrade will go towards protecting the 12 to 15 koalas known to frequent the area.

Dr Phillips pointed out a large male koala known to pass between two trees that will bisected by the realignment, but added that would only take a few days for the koalas to become used to the underpasses being built along the road.

Dr Phillips plans to study the koalas using the area for the next five years and will use sand 'traps' near the underpasses to see what animals are using it.

Last December, Lismore Council narrowly approved the upgrade after years of sometimes bitter debate. At the last minute, even some local residents who backed the project changed their minds.

But mayor Merv King said the project will set a new statewide benchmark for the protection of koala habitat, adding that the work addressed an important safety issue for road users.

"The dangerous sections had been stopping the local school bus from using the road, and were also a potential cause of accidents," he said

Cr King said the road would be upgraded to a 2-lane unsealed standard.

"The design of the project has taken years, partly because of the standard required to protect koalas," he said.

Special work instructions apply to Council employees on the project, which is due to be completed by April. Work could be temporarily halted if a koala is present in nearby tree while council staff wait for it to leave.

Feds offer road money again

With an election looming later this year, the federal Government's has extended its popular Roads to Recovery program, with deputy prime minister John Anderson announcing last Thursday that it would continue for four years to 2009, at the rate of $300 million per year. A third of those funds will now be withheld from local councils for projects the government deems important.

The opposition accused Mr Anderson of creating a $400 million "slush fund".

And motorists can also expect to be paying more for petrol with the government saying it will scrap the fuels grant scheme, introduced to compensate for the GST, to save $800 million. The money will be directed towards the government's yet-to-determined national transport plan.

However, the continued Roads to Recovery program was welcomed by local councils.

Lismore Mayor Merv King said Roads to Recovery was worth at least $800,000 a year to Lismore.

"We have been sweating on this decision - with 800 km of urban and rural roads, Lismore is always finding it difficult to repair and upgrade our roads," he said.

"For example, in the current year, the upgrades at James Gibson Rd at Corndale, Terania St, North Lismore, and the Eltham Rd upgrade were all made possible through Roads to Recovery," he said.

Richmond Valley mayor Charlie Cox said $1.5 million worth of roadworks had been completed under Roads to Recovery, and that the program was worth close to $600,000 a year to the council.

"Roads to Recovery is efficient, effective and doing much to address the huge backlog of work required on the 85 per cent of roads under Council responsibility," he said.

Richmond MP Larry Anthony said the announcement means Ballina Council can continue to use federal funds on projects like the reconstruction and widening of Ellis Road at Alstonville.

Firie honoured

Goonellabah fire captain Kevin Muldoon was awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal in the Australia Day honours. He has been a firefighter for 40 years, joining the Lismore station in March 1964.

He still remembers his first fire -at William Riley's Funeral Parlour, two days after signing on. Kevin had a job at The Star and worked as a retained firefighter, being on call around the clock, but only being paid for the fires and other incidents, including floods and road accidents, he attended.

"There were no pagers in those days - a bell would go off at home or I'd be rung at work." he said. Kevin was part of the original Goonellabah crew when the station opened in 1972 and remains as the only original member.

Born in South Lismore and schooled locally, he said combining two jobs over the years wasn't easy, but he had a lot of support from his family. His love of firefighting continues and he still competes in the Fire Brigade championships, as well as collecting fire fighting paraphernalia.

Fighting fire with money

Rosebank Rural Fire Brigade deputy captain Dave Hughes and his daughter Madelene, a junior member of the brigade (front), with Federal MP Ian Causley and (rear l-r) Clunes Fire Brigade firefighter Julie Blackmore, captain Neville Battistuzzi and firefighter Eric Lawler.

The Clunes and Rosebank Rural Fire Brigades have received $3561 and $2451 in federal Government grants to buy vital to firefighting equipment.

The Clunes brigade bought a laptop computer and handheld radios, while Rosebank has acquired a GPS tracking device, a weather metre and handheld radios.

"We work in dense, isolated bushland and the GPS tracking device gives us the capability to exactly locate people and fires," Rosebank Rural Fire Service deputy captain, Dave Hughes, said. "Additionally the weather metre gives us up-to-the-minute updates on weather conditions, which means we can better predict fire changes. This sort of equipment is absolutely vital for us and we are very appreciative to receive this assistance."

Making the presentation, Federal MP Ian Causley paid tribute to the volunteers for their tireless efforts.

"The Clunes and Rosebank Brigades' unstinting service to the region is to be commended and the firefighters are the true heroes for their courage, bravery and physical stamina. Without these volunteers, I am sure many properties and lives would be put at risk,"he said.

Ballina mayor rejects complaints list

Ballina mayor Phil Silver has played down a Department of Local Government report that listed Ballina as one of the state's most complained about councils saying the raw figures were distorted and reflected a more vexatious time.

The report, released late last year, had Ballina as the second-most complained about council in NSW with 35 complaints, mostly about councillor conflict of interest matter over developments.

Speaking at the start of last Thursday's Council meeting, the Mayor said that with an election due in two months, the figures were being used by potential candidates for "personal political benefit and to belittle the organisation".

"A review of the complaint types revealed that most are of a personal/political nature and not aimed at the organisation per se. In fact, I believe that if complaints by Councillors against their colleagues and complaints by high profile newspaper correspondents against opposing factions in Council are withdrawn, then the level of complaints fall to acceptable levels," Cr Silver said.

The mayor said the complaints were up to 18 months old and were during a time when the Council was dealing with controversial issues.

"This does not diminish the seriousness but... it is my expectation that the situation has improved since then," he said.

"What is most significant is that none of the complaints have given rise to an investigation by the Department."

House plan for Tinkerbell

Lennox Head developer Chris Condon has lodged a new development application (DA) to build houses on the controversial Tinkerbell caravan site in Ballina.

Mr Condon lodged the DA on Christmas eve and it was advertised for public comment for two weeks in January, with submissions closing last Friday. The proposal is being assessed by planners and is likely to go before the March Ballina council meeting.

Last year, Mr Condon failed in his bid to have the area rezoned to allow commercial development, including a Big W retail store, when the plan was defeated on the mayor's casting vote. However, with a new Council being elected in March, and despite the fact that a residential development would be more profitable, Mr Condon may find he has the support from a new council to get his previous proposal approved.

Storm damage

A thunderstorm on Sunday night caused serious damage to homes in the Rock Valley area, as well as leaving a number of homes across the region blacked out. The storm, which brought strong winds and hail, lifted roofs on houses in the Tuncester area and left 1000 homes in the Dunoon and Bexhill area without power for a number of hours on Sunday night.

SES volunteers responded to put tarpaulins over the damaged houses.

Valley survey

Richmond Valley Council has sent a survey to its residents this week asking them to rate satisfaction levels and priorities for the council.

Mayor Charlie Cox said the survey, which canvasses issues ranging from roads to sewage, libraries and cemeteries, would provide important feedback.

The completed survey is due by February 27 and can be sentcv to Council's offices in Casino or Evans Head.

Farmland protected

The NSW Government has slapped new interim rules on Northern Rivers farmland to protect it from residential development.

The new rules will apply for the next two years to 3635km sq of prime farming land in Lismore, Ballina, Richmond Valley, the Tweed, Kyogle and Byron, preventing it from being rezoning for urban or rural residential use.

Assistant planning minister Diane Beamer said the land had been identified as regionally important as part of the Northern Rivers farmland protection project.

Councils will be prevent from rezoning the land while strategic planning under the farmland protection project is carried out.

Details of the lands protected under the interim rules will be available soon from local councils.

Slow down for rain

A spate of recent accidents has prompted Lismore Council's Road Safety Officer to appeal to motorists to slow down in wet weather.

Road Safety Officer, Wendy Johnson said there had been seven local accidents, four occurring in just two hours, since rain began falling a fortnight ago.

"It's the first good rain we have had for quite some time and roads are really slippery," she said.

"The main contributing factors to crashes in wet weather are drivers who speed and drivers who travel too close to other vehicles. Most drivers travel at the posted limit in dry weather, but need to allow for slippery roads, reduced vision and lower traction in wet weather.

"Drivers who check and reduce their driving speed when it's raining, can improve their stopping distance."

Nuts rot

Hot and humid weather is threatening to cost the local macadamia industry $6 million after a rotting disease was found in number of orchards.

Husk rot appears to have developed as a result of high humidity in late December, followed by high January temperatures.

NSW Agriculture horticulturalist Kevin Quinlan said the disease had the potential to reduce the state's $60 million nut harvest by up to 10 per cent if the weather pattern continues.

He said growers should inspect their orchards for sign of the disease, which shows up as a blackening of maturing nuts, causing them to fall to the grown before they mature, and apply fungicide if necessary.

"Growers should also remove all fallen nuts in the pre-harvest clean up to get rid of a major source of reinfection," Mr Quinlan said.

Water restrictions lifted

Heavy rains last week have led to the Dept of Natural Resources lifting rural water restrictions for farmers using river water.

Acting regional director Steve Murray said farmers should fill their off-creek storages now while the rivers contain sufficient flow. He said follow up rains will be needed by the end of February to ensure pumping suspensions are not reintroduced.

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