So much for my sleepy little life in the country
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Tomorrow we rally on the steps of local council to fight a ridiculous proposal for a leisure centre redevelopment that the Shire can't afford, doesn't want and doesn't need. $24.3 million dollars which will be one big toilet flush. The council closed our outdoor pool here (without community consultation) because it needed $2 million to bring it up to spec and was losing $50,000 per year. The leisure centre is already losing $287,000 per year and if they go ahead with this redevelopment is projected to lose over $500,000 in the first year. We're talking about a large municipality geograpghically, but with a population of 35,000. If the council don't get the grants they want for this project, our rates are going up by $140 per year for the next 50 years (on top of a 6.9% rate rise for four years). They aren't going to get these grants - we've spoken to the politicians concerned and we know for a FACT it won't happen...WE WANT OUR OUTDOOR POOL BACK...for the lousy $2 million we could have it back by next summer and the kids would have somewhere to go instead of roaming the streets...there's grants available on a 1:1 funding basis to do this!
So this sleepy conservative little community is taking to the streets tomorrow to FIGHT like they have never fought before. Council meeting is tomorrow afternoon and the leisure centre decision is on the agenda...
I have spent today handing out flyers, doing interviews with local media, sending out press releases, making banners, researching for my submission to council, plus 100 things I don't remember... I am worn out...and 7.00am tomorrow it all starts again! We'll have TV coverage (had a great story on tonight's news already), I'm doing a live cross to the regional ABC radio station from the rally in the morning, I have to speak with the rest of the media throughout the day to bring them all up to speed and do ongoing interviews, finish my subsmission, rally again in the afternoon and then go to the council meeting...somewhere in all this I have to be a Mum and make sure I don't forget to pick up my kids from school and get them to their various activities...no time for work though!
It's been 20 odd years since I have been this heavily involved in politics etc...man am I feeling the fact the I am 20 years older
...
We've worked on this for months knowing this day is coming...now that it's here I wish I had another week to get things done!
Wish us luck...by this time tomorrow might I will be totally incoherent and wiped out....but I'm sure it will be worth it!