It’s all about ‘us’, not ‘me’

AT THE outset I wish to state my position.

I am double vaccinated against Covid-19, had no hesitation whatsoever, had no adverse effects, as was the case with all other previous immunisations against polio, measles, mumps, chicken pox, yellow fever and all other jabs prior to going travelling.

And I am booked for a booster shot.

Having said that, I understand the reality of normal human anxiety.

As a career psychotherapist of four decades, I have heard pretty much everything that any human being has suffered and have suffered a fair bit of it myself.

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John White
Toodyay

What came first?

WITH respect, Owen Catto’s judgement that the iconic Powder Bark Wandoo is a weed (December Herald) is one of the most surprising we have ever heard.

How can a tree that was propagated by nature centuries ago be in the wrong place?

Perhaps it is more that the road or indeed we recent arrivals to this landscape are in the wrong place?

As to the issue of the Sandplain/Salt Valley Road intersection being unsafe, we are in complete agreement.

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Andrew St John
Safe and Scenic Toodyay Roads Campaign
Toodyay

Shire gets State tick of approval

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THE STATE Government has commended Toodyay’s new council for its response to 23 adverse findings tabled in the WA Parliament last year after a 20-month formal inquiry.

The findings detailed seven years of civic dysfunction that cost Toodyay ratepayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in unlawful spending, futile court cases, unethical conduct and conflicts of interest.

Investigators found that former Toodyay civic leaders failed to properly manage a previous CEO whose contract was terminated by a majority of new councillors after he took three months’ extended sick leave on the morning of a council meeting early last year.

WA Local Government Director General Lanie Chopping said the findings “were distressing to residents and ratepayers”.

She said she was “confident that the shire can restore good governance” through reforms submitted to the State Government for departmental approval.

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They’ve done it again – Australia’s best apple pie

TOODYAY Bakery pastry chef Jodi Johnston (above left) and 3rd-year apprentice Oliva Jarquin have done it again – Australia’s Best Apple Pie for the second time in three years.

“I was stoked,” Jodi said when her creation won last month’s Great Aussie Pie national competition in Sydney.

The recipe includes local Bravo and Granny Smith apples, almond-based frangipani and special cinnamon swirls that give the pastry case its unique appearance.

“We had a few trial runs to get the overall look right,” Jodi said.

Toodyay’s multi-award-winning duo bake 24 of Australia’s best apple pies every day.

Fire chief warns of heightened fire danger

At least 86 homes like this were destroyed in last summer’s catastrophic Wooroloo bushfire.

HEAVY winter rains delayed the start of this year’s fire season but increased undergrowth and an unusually hot summer are likely to increase the bushfire risk in many parts of WA, the State Government has warned.

The 2021 National Seasonal Bushfire Outlook predicts an above-average risk for Perth and large parts of the Midwest, Gascoyne, Pilbara, South-West and Great Southern regions.

High moisture levels in Souh-West soil and vegetation have enabled emergency services to conduct fire mitigation activities throughout spring.

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More than 600 local residents remain unvaccinated

Dennis Toop was one of the first Toodyay residents to be vaccinated against Covid-19 at the Alma Beard Medical Centre in Stirling Terrace last April.

MORE 600 Toodyay residents are estimated to have no vaccine protection against the global Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

A further 1100 local people are estimated to have only partial protection.

National public health figures published on November 28 for 137 WA local government areas ranked Toodyay as having the 16th lowest record for fully vaccinated residents.

No figures were available for a further 49 WA country shires and towns.

The State Government says borders will remain shut until 90 per cent of West Australians are fully vaccinated.

WA will then move from excluding the virus to allowing community transmission within the state, including in Toodyay.

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Local vaccine protesters addressed by hypnotist

Anti-vaccination hypnotist Ken Robshaw addressed an AustraliaOne branch meeting at Toodyay’s Community Resource Centre in Stirling Terrace earlier this month.

A POLITICAL party that proposes to hang Australian prime ministers for treason and jail judges for life is attracting support from Toodyay residents who oppose Covid-19 vaccinations.


About 30 people attended a weekly meeting of the Toodyay branch of the AustraliaOne party at the Toodyay Community Resource Centre in Stirling Terrace earlier this month.


It was addressed by a professional hypnotist from Yallingup who said his audience would regret not making an extra effort to attend Perth “freedom rallies” if crowd sizes were not big enough to stop Covid-19 restrictions.


The AustraliaOne party claims vaccinations are a global plot to control people’s lives.


In a recent video, AustraliaOne leader Riccardo Bosi said Prime Minister Scott Morrison, former prime ministers and other Australian politicians would be hung for betraying their country “when we get in”.

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Burst the bubble

A FEDERAL Election is looming and a date is expected to be announced soon.

What a year it has been.

How surprising to discover in the 21st century that workplace laws, regulations and codes of behaviour don’t exist in the workplace of Australia’s highest office.

Or if they did, nobody with authority saw any need to apply them, or that ‘rules’ supposedly designed to protect workers in our national parliament are so weak that no action can be taken to prevent breaches.

I am shocked.

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Helen Shanks
Toodyay

Feral pigs run amok

NOW THAT summer is upon us with crops being harvested and water holes drying up, we can expect to see increasing impacts of feral pigs throughout the shire.

Large numbers of pigs that were hiding in canola crops during spring can now be seen moving from forested areas to open paddocks in the north-west part of the shire.

Landholders and firebreak contractors are reporting large numbers of feral pigs along the Avon River downstream from Toodyay

Damage to waterway banks and vegetation by these destructive feral animals can be so extensive that it looks like an earth moving machine has run amok.

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Dr Robyn Taylor, President
Toodyay Friends of the River

Where trees are weeds

AS A RESIDENT of Toodyay who uses the Sandplain Road and Salt Valley Road intersections with Toodyay Road daily, I observe many near-accidents.

It is with that background that I question the intent of all activists, environmentalists, Safe and Scenic Toodyay Road members and Shire of Toodyay Environmental Advisory Committee in their efforts to delay the planned roadworks for this disastrous section of road.

We continue to delay, ignore and stifle improving Toodyay road safety at our own peril.

A road death will occur due to unsafe road conditions and it will be on all of our heads.

This is not if, but when.

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Owen Catto
Toodyay

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