Shaggy Dog Comments...

The Lismore Council class of 1999-2004 gathered for the final time last Tuesday night before the March 27 election. Pictured are Ken Gallen, Frank Swientek, John Chant, John Hampton, Merv King, David Tomlinson, Diana Roberts, Ros Irwin, Brian Suffolk and John Crowther. Missing are Reg Baxter, who's currently recuperating from an operation and the late mayor Bob Gates, although his wife Helen did watch the meeting from the gallery.

While the punters are speculating on just how many councillors voters will return, you can be certain that 32 years of Council experience is going with the departure of Ken Gallen (20 years) and Diana Roberts (12 years), who both declared they wouldn't miss the paperwork. All up, Lismore is likely to lose more than 80 years of council experience. With the number four position in Merv King's group, John Crowther's 30-year-reign is likely to come to an end. And because he's not in a group, Reg Baxter's 16-year contribution will probably conclude. Add Cr Suffolk (4 years) to the casualty list (No. 5 on John Chant's ticket) and that means at best, just six of the current Council (Chant, Irwin, Tomlinson, King, Hampton, Swientek) are likely to survive.

It's worth noting that unlike state and federal politicians, there's no u-beaut superannuation parachute for ex-councillors, but then they won't exactly miss the income - you'd make more money on a work for the dole program.

Towards the end of the meeting, Cr Ken Gallen noted that both he and Diana Roberts had been rostered on for this Monday's public contact forum, suggesting that the ratepayer's concerns might not get the attention someone seeking to be re-elected might provide. "Speak for yourself!" the professional-to-the-end Cr Roberts exclaimed.

Good news for anyone worried about Christmas and New Years day falling on a Saturday this year. Sure, the trains are off the rails, the health system is in crisis and NSW seems to be going to hell in a hand basket, but that hasn't stopped the State Government from making the tough calls. This week NSW Holidays Minister John Della Bosca announced additional public holidays on Tuesday, Dec 28, and Monday, Jan 3. Phew! Glad they averted that crisis.

Speaking of Bob Carr's mob, ABC's Media Watch hooked into the Premier for his recent Byron Bay junket where shark-loving Bob announced that having given up on public transport, he was going and save something, and his choice was the grey nurse shark. With several Sydney media crews in tow, Carr's office didn't bother to tell the local media when Bob lobbed on the North Coast. It was a taxpayer-funded photo opp. He hopped on a boat bound for Julian Rocks to learn "first hand" about the problems facing the sharks, which he called "the Labradors of the sea" for the cameras.

The only problem, as Media Watch presenter David Marr pointed out, was that grey nurse sharks don't visit Byron until winter. We'll let him take up the story: "So why the secrecy? Try as we might, we couldn't get Carr's office to answer that one, but we have a theory. What he wanted in Byron was that backdrop. If he'd given the locals fair warning of his plans he might have attracted more protests over the really big issue in Byron this summer: the $100 million plans of Melbourne developer Becton. Protests like that are so distracting for television cameras. Bob Carr could, of course, have saved all that time and money by taking the press to see those Labradors of the sea a little closer to home - not in the waters off Byron Bay but further south ... at Magic Point - just off the premier's own electorate of Maroubra."

You may remember when Shaggy wished Column 8 compiler George Richards a happy retirement after 45 years on the job. His brother, who lives in Yamba, rang to say George is a busy man and will be dropping by Lismore next month to give the occasional address at the Southern Cross University arts students graduation ceremony.

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